DESCRIPTION
Zenkaikon, the Philly area anime convention, celebrates its 4th year at the Radisson Hotel Valley Forge on November 7-8, 2009! Events include panels, videos, artists, dealers, gaming, concerts, cosplay, a Cosplay Ball, "Whose Line Is It Anime" The Cosplay Dating Game, and much more!
HISTORY
Zenkaikon was founded by the merger of two local events, Kosaikon – an anime convention held at Villanova University – and Zentrancon – an anime and science fiction convention held on the University of Pennsylvania campus. Kosaikon held its first event in 2003, where 75 individuals came together to celebrate their interest in Japanese animation. Zentrancon's debut convention took place in October 2005, when 350 people came to Philadelphia to watch anime and science
fiction screenings, meet celebrity guests, and participate in video gaming.
The decision to merge was originally proposed as both conventions wanted to expand, and realized that, together, they could create an even more fun and exciting event for anime fans in the Philadelphia area. Thus, in 2006, Zentrancon became Zenkaikon, and moved to the larger venue of the Valley Forge Scanticon Hotel and Conference Center in King of Prussia, PA. Their 2007 convention had 570 attendees, over a 50% increase since 2005. By 2008, that number had more than doubled, as they welcomed over 1300 attendees to the convention. Having outgrown their previous venue, the staff decided to expand into the Radisson Hotel Valley Forge for their 2009 convention. This year will make the convention’s fourth at the Valley Forge Convention Center Complex.