Nov 24, 2025
Neaz West London. by Alex Ellison
seen from Malaysia
seen from China
seen from Canada
seen from Morocco
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from Malaysia
seen from Syria
seen from Canada
seen from Canada
seen from South Korea
seen from Canada
seen from United States
seen from Canada
seen from United States
seen from Canada
seen from Canada
seen from China
seen from China
seen from Canada
Neaz West London. by Alex Ellison
hope i don't actually get attached to the Pokemon i jokingly named after a large headed fascist
Que les cuesta decir que hay otra persona y ya catrehijueputas.
The staff of Providence Anime Conference Gives Tips on What NOT to do when Planning a Con
As we all know, Anime Boston is a well-oiled machine. Its staff works year-round to ensure that we fans have the best possible experience every year.
But what about cons that aren't so lucky?
In their hilariously informative Friday panel, Providence Anime Conference: 10 Years Later, the staff of the one-time New England Anime Society convention detailed their experiences putting on the show. On hand was the convention's founder (and Anime Boston co-founder) Patrick Delahanty, chairperson Christian Daly, exhibits manager Mara K. (who also briefly served as chairperson), and site liasion Elliott Wong. Delahanty opened the panel with the only thing he could say.
"I'm Patrick Delahanty, and it was all my fault."
Delahanty and his staff shared their experiences planning the convention, which everyone wanted to put on for two reasons:
1. It was to be a more mature, serious, 21+ gathering
2. Providence, Rhode Island did not have any sort of anime cons at the time.
Ntaurally, the panel quickly turned into a decent list of what NOT to do if you would ever like to put on an anime convention, age restrictions or not.
So, if you are planning to start your own anime convention someday, be sure to follow these tips, directly from the mouths of the PAC staff.
Don't mention that it is going to be a 21+ convention while promoting it. "I don't know if you've ever said that to a room full of people [of all ages] before, but when we did at Anime Boston in 2007, the reaction was pretty quiet after that."
When promoting, it's a good idea to promote in the state you plan to hold the convention in. "I think the only time we were even IN Providence before the con was when we were touring the facility."
If you didn't plan your promotion table at another convention accordingly, quit while you're ahead. "I had my friend who was cosplaying as Android 18 from Dragon Ball...attract people to our table."
Announce your pre-registration dates early. "We didn't announce them until after Anime Boston 2008, and when no one was signing up, we said, 'uh oh, we may have a BIG problem here.'"
Make sure that your PR director actually does their job. "We didn't know where she was. Well, we did: she was in Alaska. She didn't do anything we asked her to do and resigned three weeks before the event. She told us she would not retaliate against us, though."
Read the contract that you have with the venue thoroughly. "It got to the point where putting on the show and having no one show up would be less expensive than cancelling all of the contracts."
Don't have part of your programming be a panel called "How to Start an Anime Con"--for your own good. "We looked at the slides and realized that we were doing everything wrong!"
Despite the setbacks, Providence Anime Conference actually resonated with the fans who did attend its one and only showing. While hallways were empty (which was naturally frustrating to dealers), panel and video rooms were packed. Fans got to enjoy the unintentional hilarity of such videos as Titanic: The Legend Continues and Penguin Memories. In addition, the staff was treated to one of the best after parties in recent memory.
"Someone tweeted, 'if as many people who asked me about PAC actually went to PAC, it would have been a financial success."
While PAC may be no more (and no, its staff is adamant that it is not coming back), it did manage to inspire at least two other conventions to start 21+ events. In addition, it also was cited as the inspiration behind Anime Boston's 21+ track of programming, which includes everything from videos to fan panels to risque game shows.
--Mike, AB Staff blogger
Almost ready for @great_run GNR #nike #nikefuel #nikeplus #running #fitness #gym #makeitcount #goal #sport #health #greatnorthrun #charity #NEAS #apple #preparation @great_run @nike @apple @neasevents #instalike #instagood #like4like #likeforlike
London 2013