Ki-Tori Con 2019
March 24, 2019-Oglethorpe University hosted its third annual anime and gaming convention, Ki-Tori Con. The event was hosted by Oglethorpe’s own anime club, Anime Anonymous, along with OU Alumni Rachel Farrington and Rachel Millin. The free, and open to the public, convention lasted from Saturday, March 23, 2019, to Sunday, March 24, 2019, in the Turner Lynch Campus Center.
Officially starting at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, the convention was started by well-known music group Peachy Parade. They sang, danced, and energized the audience for the rest of the day. Within the con was an artist’s Alley, where customers could buy art, bracelets, pendants, plushy figures, among other collectibles. In addition, numerous guests came out to host panels about subjects such as cosplay and costuming, gaming, and how to be successful on YouTube. The guests included Angelic Daze, Bep Cosplays and Sanura Cosplay, and they covered a range of topics, including How to Get Started in Cosplaying, Budgeting for Cosplay, and Diversity in the Cosplay Community.
The attendees were very diverse when discussing costuming and design. The costumes ranged from all different types of anime and popular media, with some dressed as Deadpool, Maleficent, characters from My Hero Academia, The Walking Dead, Star Wars, and a host of other characters from multiple popular entertainment shows. However, there was just as much diversity in background as there was in costuming.
The various backgrounds that came to Oglethorpe ranged from children to adults of all ages, local students to out-of-state residents as far away as Kansas, and many ethnicities, religious beliefs and sexualities. But the common factor between all of them was the energetic and friendly atmosphere they brought to the con with them.
Furthermore, there were several activities for participants to take part in, such as Guess the Anime Music, a gaming tournament to win gift cards and convention passes, an origami and lantern workshop to create your own souvenirs and an exciting Rave, complete with strobe lights, loud music and nonalcoholic drinks.
Ki-Tori Con 2019 was a booming success both days, with patrons eagerly saying that they will come back to Oglethorpe for Ki-Tori Con 2020 and some even expressing interest to join the Stormy Petrel family as a college choice. It was a very exciting time for both the Oglethorpe volunteers and the people who visited, and neither side can wait until next year.
