Tekko (convention)
Tekko | |
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Tekkoshocon 2010
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Status | Active |
Genre | Anime, Manga, Japanese popular culture[1][2] |
Venue | David L. Lawrence Convention Center |
Location(s) | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
Country | United States |
Inaugurated | 2003 |
Attendance | 5,983 in 2015[3] |
Organized by | Pittsburgh Japanese Culture Society (PJCS)[2][4] |
Website | |
http://www.teamtekko.us/ |
Tekko (formerly Tekkoshocon) is an annual anime convention held during April at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.[5] The convention has been held in various locations around the Pittsburgh metropolitan area and is run by a non-profit organization, the Pittsburgh Japanese Culture Society (PJCS).[1][2][4] Tekkoshocon's name was a blend of the Japanese word tekkosho, meaning steel mill (a reference to Pittsburgh's industrial steel-producing history), and adapting the suffix "-con" (from convention), which is a common nomenclature archetype among such conventions.[6]
Contents
Programming
The convention typically offers an AMV contest, anime viewings, concerts, cosplay masquerade, costume competitions, dance/rave, dance competition, dealers' room, fashion shows, gaming, karaoke room, panels, video game tournaments, and workshops.[2][4][7][8][9][10] Tekko has held charity events since 2006 supporting organizations such as the National Ovarian Cancer Coalition, and in 2011 the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Gackt's "Show Your Heart" charity, and Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank.[6][8][11] The concerts at Tekko have drawn significant attendees, with over 900 for the Rampant concert in 2011, over 1,000 for Exist Trace in 2012, and 1,100 for Dazzle Vision & Cantoy in 2013.[12][13][14] Tekko contributed almost three million dollars to the Pittsburgh economy in 2014.[15]
History
In 2002 the first attempt to hold an anime convention in Pittsburgh, Takocon, failed due to a booking problem at the Pittsburgh Marriott City Center and the lack of time to acquire additional space.[16] In 2003, the first Tekkoshocon was organized by Rebecca Roach and occurred at the Wyndham Pittsburgh Airport.[7] In 2004, the convention moved to the Pittsburgh Marriott North and became three days. From 2005 to 2007 Tekkoshocon was held in the Pittsburgh ExpoMart/Radisson Hotel Pittsburgh, but due to unexpected demolition work, Tekkoshocon moved to the Radisson Hotel Pittsburgh Green Tree for 2008.[17][18]
Tekkoshocon moved to the larger David L. Lawrence Convention Center in 2009 and for 2010 expanded into a four-day convention.[19][20] In 2011 due to the lack of available space at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, the convention moved to the Wyndham Grand Pittsburgh Downtown (formerly Pittsburgh Hilton).[1] The convention celebrated its tenth anniversary and remained at the Wyndham Grand for 2012 while adding a fifth evening of events offsite at the Hollywood Theater Dormont.[7][21] Due to various issues (crowded staircases, hotel issues, noise complaints including an early shutdown Sunday morning), the convention announced that it would not be returning to the Wyndham Grand for 2013.[9] Tekkoshocon Inc. transferred its property to the Pittsburgh Japanese Culture Society, a non-profit organization, in September 2012.[2] The convention returned to the David L. Lawrence Convention Center starting in 2013, with the name shortened to Tekko for 2014.[2][5][22] Tekko added dressing rooms for cosplayers, non photo cosplay locations, Japanese cultural/educational programming (Tekko Gakkou), and expanded the game room by 50 percent in 2015.[4][15][22]
Event history
Dates | Location | Atten. | Guests |
---|---|---|---|
March 29–30, 2003 | Wyndham Pittsburgh Airport Coraopolis, Pennsylvania |
600[23] | Emily DeJesus, Robert DeJesus, Vic Mignogna, Chris Patton, Debora Rabbai, Monica Rial, Jan Scott-Frazier, and Greg Wicker.[23] |
March 12–14, 2004 | Pittsburgh Marriott North Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania |
Greg Ayres, Steve Bennett, Bob Bergen, Emily DeJesus, Robert DeJesus, Vic Mignogna, Otaku Duet, and Greg Wicker.[24] | |
April 8–10, 2005 | Pittsburgh ExpoMart Radisson Hotel Pittsburgh Monroeville, Pennsylvania |
1,400[6] | Greg Ayres, Emily DeJesus, Michael "Piano Squall" Gluck, Richard "Pocky" Kim, Bruce Lewis, Mike McFarland, Jeff Thompson, and Greg Wicker.[25] |
March 31-April 2, 2006 | Pittsburgh ExpoMart Radisson Hotel Pittsburgh Monroeville, Pennsylvania |
1,771[26] | Greg Ayres, Emily DeJesus, Robert DeJesus, Caitlin Glass, Michael "Piano Squall" Gluck, Tiffany Grant, Matt Greenfield, Hilary Hatch, Kyle Hebert, Michael Poe, and Greg Wicker.[26] |
April 13–15, 2007 | Pittsburgh ExpoMart Radisson Hotel Pittsburgh Monroeville, Pennsylvania |
2,457[27] | Greg Ayres, Hilary Hatch, Kyle Hebert, Mari Iijima, Vic Mignogna, Michael Poe, Carrie Savage, Brett Weaver, and Greg Wicker.[27] |
April 11–13, 2008 | Radisson Hotel Pittsburgh Green Tree Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
Robert Axelrod, Greg Ayres, Emily DeJesus, Robert DeJesus, Aaron Dismuke, Sandy Fox, Tiffany Grant, Matt Greenfield, The Hsu-nami, Mari Iijima, Lex Lang, Mike McFarland, and Carrie Savage.[17] | |
April 3–5, 2009 | David L. Lawrence Convention Center Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
3,239[28] | Greg Ayres, Battlecake, Johnny Yong Bosch, David Brehm, Eyeshine, Freezepop, Hilary Hatch, Jonathan Klein, Otokage, Michael Poe, Derek Stephen Prince, Stephanie Sheh, Uncle Yo, and Stephanie Young.[28] |
April 8–11, 2010 | David L. Lawrence Convention Center Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
3,522[29] | Robert Axelrod, Greg Ayres, Johnny Yong Bosch, Colleen Clinkenbeard, Eyeshine, Barbara Goodson, Todd Haberkorn, Kyle Hebert, Mari Iijima, LeetStreet Boys, Luzmelt, Vic Mignogna, Wendy Powell, Derek Stephen Prince, Carrie Savage, Christopher Corey Smith, Dan Southworth, Suicide Ali, Uncle Yo, and Tommy Yune.[29] |
March 31-April 3, 2011 | Wyndham Grand Pittsburgh Downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
4,000 (est)[7] | Steven Blum, Richard Epcar, lix, Kevin McKeever, Mega Ran, Reni Mimura, Rampant, Ellyn Stern, and Tommy Yune.[30] |
March 21–25, 2012 | Hollywood Theater Dormont (21st)[21] Wyndham Grand Pittsburgh Downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
3,600 (est)[2] | Exist Trace, David J. Fielding, Todd Haberkorn, Kevin McKeever, Mega Ran, SoundWitch, Uncle Yo, and Travis Willingham.[31] |
April 4–7, 2013 | Hollywood Theater Dormont (4th)[32] David L. Lawrence Convention Center Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
Cantoy, Chris Cason, Dazzle Vision, David J. Fielding, Initial P, Tony Oliver, Chii Sakurabi, Uncle Yo, Cristina Vee, and Tommy Yune.[33] | |
April 4–6, 2014 | David L. Lawrence Convention Center Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
5,111[34] | Charles Dunbar, Gacharic Spin, Caitlin Glass, Brittney Karbowski, Lolita Dark, Uncle Yo, David Vincent, and Greg Wicker.[34] |
April 16–19, 2015 | David L. Lawrence Convention Center Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
5,983[3] | Jerry Jewell, Nancy Kepner, Jamie Marchi, RinRin, ROOKiEZ is PUNK'D, J. Michael Tatum, Tune in Tokyo, and Uncle Yo.[3] |
Tekko 1/2
Tekko 1/2 was a one-day anime convention created by the staff of Tekkoshocon that included anime showings, cosplay, karaoke, panels, and video games. Due to growth the event moved from the Carnegie Library to the Best Western Parkway Center Inn in 2008.[35]
Event history
Dates | Location | Atten. | Guests |
---|---|---|---|
October 1, 2005[36] | Carnegie Library Main (Oakland) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
||
October 14, 2006 | Carnegie Library Main (Oakland) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
Mandy St. Jean[37] | |
October 27, 2007[38] | Carnegie Library Main (Oakland) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
||
October 4, 2008 | Best Western Parkway Center Inn Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
Battlecake, Carrie Savage, and Uncle Yo.[39] |
KuroKiiro Festival
The KuroKiiro Festival is an educational anime festival that includes a carnival, dance, dancing maid cafe, swap meet, talent show, vendors, video gaming, and workshops.[40][41] In 2010, KuroKiiro moved to the Boyd Community Center (former school) in Pittsburgh and formed its own maid cafe group called KuroKiiro Cafe.[42][43] The event returned to the Boyd Community Center in 2011 and was held over Thanksgiving weekend.[43] KuroKiiro again returned to the Boyd Community Center in 2012 and 2013.[40][44] For 2014 the convention moved to the California University of Pennsylvania Convocation Center in California, Pennsylvania.[45]
Event history
Dates | Location | Atten. | Guests |
---|---|---|---|
October 3–4, 2009 | Best Western Parkway Center Inn Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
Battlecake, Dino Lionetti, Carrie Savage, and The SoftReset.[46] | |
November 5–7, 2010 | Boyd Community Center Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
Stephanie Nadolny and Uncle Yo.[42] | |
November 25–27, 2011 | Boyd Community Center Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
Kent Williams[47] | |
November 16–18, 2012 | Boyd Community Center Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
Kyle Hebert[41] | |
November 1–3, 2013 | Boyd Community Center Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
Crispin Freeman and Greg Wicker.[44] | |
August 29–31, 2014 | California University of Pennsylvania, Convocation Center California, Pennsylvania |
Leah Clark, Charles Dunbar, Nancy Kepner, Tyson Rinehart, and Greg Wicker.[45] |
Sangawa Project
The Sangawa Project is an 18+ anime event created by the staff of Tekkoshocon geared towards mature fans that includes an AMV contest, cosplay contest, dealers room, panels, and classic video games.[48][49] Sangawa's name comes from the Japanese word for "three rivers", in reference to Pittsburgh's nickname.[50] The event acts as a revenue source, along with the KuroKiiro Festival, for Tekkoshocon.[7] For 2014 the convention moved to the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.[51]
Event history
Dates | Location | Atten. | Guests |
---|---|---|---|
December 4–5, 2010 | Best Western Parkway Center Inn Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
106 | Dan Woren[52] |
July 15–17, 2011 | Best Western Parkway Center Inn Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
Matt K. Miller[53] | |
July 13–15, 2012[54] | Best Western Parkway Center Inn Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
Kevin McKeever and Jeff Ryan.[55] | |
December 5–7, 2014 | DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Pittsburgh Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
300+[56] | Monica Rial[51] |
December 4-6, 2015 | DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Pittsburgh Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
Charles Dunbar, Nancy Kepner, Vic Mignogna and Sonny Strait.[57] |
See also
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tekkoshocon. |
References
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- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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- ↑ 17.0 17.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 22.0 22.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 23.0 23.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 26.0 26.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 27.0 27.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 28.0 28.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 29.0 29.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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- ↑ 34.0 34.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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- ↑ 40.0 40.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 41.0 41.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 42.0 42.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 43.0 43.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 44.0 44.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 45.0 45.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 51.0 51.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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External links
- Tekko Website
- KuroKiiro Festival Website
- Sangawa Project Website
- Pittsburgh Japanese Culture Society (PJCS) Website
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- Commons category link is locally defined
- Anime conventions in the United States
- Recurring events established in 2003
- 2003 establishments in Pennsylvania
- Annual events in Pennsylvania
- Festivals in Pennsylvania
- Visitor attractions in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania
- Culture of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Visitor attractions in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania