PortCon Maine: Little Cons Matter Too!
There's something about going with a con with friends. Many times, it is these people who will make or break your weekend. I believe, without them, PortCon would not be nearly as entertaining and fun as it was this past weekend. Because it is such a small con, it's here that I see a lot of people I miss at the huge conventions like Anime Boston. There was an attendance cap of 2000, but I doubt it made the total attendance of last year's 1650. One major deterrent was the extreme monsoon that occurred on Friday. Since Fridays tend to be one of the larger days for people to come, it's not surprising that it felt much smaller. PortCon also had several events scheduled for Pre-reg people on Thursdays, making this a 4 day con. Maine's laws make it somewhat restrictive, the bars close at about 12:30 as last call is 1 on the weekends, and 12 on weekdays. The convention itself was unable to run events after Midnight.
PortCon has always seemed to be more of a gaming and boffa con, with some anime to attract more people. It's not that it's bad, but it's far more diverse than other anime cons in New England. (I don't count Connecticon in this, since they're specifically designed as a multi-genre con. They're much more a web-comic con than anything else) After moving back to their previous hotel, the convention set up a very large tent for main events. As would be learned, there were several problems with this situation.
Thursday, I left work after a half day. I didn't hit a lick of traffic, and after stopping for 'provisions' in NH, I made my way into Portland at about 4. I met up with one of my roommates, since he was helping out with Opening Ceremonies. Shiva, my second roommate was supposed to arrive later in the evening. In that time, I enjoyed the animecons.com panel. (Somewhat biased) I also failed miserably at Anime Name That Tune. After a bit of socializing, I checked out the dealer's room and artist alley. Thursday night ended up being the best one ever, due to a reasonable group of adults getting our drink on. Between the bar closing at 11, walking to the pub then realizing it had moved, and making it to Sketch's room with a large quantity of drinks, the majority of our group ended up quite drunk. Responsible drunkeness is quite entertaining. Steve came up with a combination of Peach Arbor Mist and Blue Vodka which is tasty, but will knock you flat. It was the most entertaining Thursday I've ever had at a convention. Not due to the con events, but with the people I found there.
Friday, morning started off on a somewhat humorous note, as poor Steve was apparently unable to properly sleep due to my snoring. This was a combination of me being somewhat congested and he being a light sleeper. Shiva found him next to the bed, trying his hardest to drown out the sound with the fan. I eventually got up and made my way to hand in my music for the cosplay events. Friday was severely dampened by the heavy rain that it canceled Boffa. Boffa is a major event at PortCon, which happens outside for safety reasons. The main events tent flooded and had a somewhat moldy smell due to not having circulating air. This required us to stay inside and make our own entertainment; thanks to soap operas. There was the game room, which was small and personal. Many D&D related games were played there. Shiva, Steve, and I entertained ourselves with a marathon Uno game. At this point, it was slowly receding in rain-fall amount. Gale joined somewhat later after her 4 hour trip, as well as Lo, Annie, Courtney, and Mark. It was soon time for Anime Unscripted, a Whose-Line with the con guests participating. The tent had working power, but had the smell of mold everywhere, due to the protective blankets being soaked with rainwater. It was not the best version I had seen, but it wasn't bad at all. At this point, we walk down the block to Chili's, hoping to not break any more lamps. Sketch left early to participate in Extreme Geek, while the rest of us continued eating. After seeing a bit of Extreme Geek (It featured several men running in dresses to Tim Horton's at the next corner) I decided to roam around. We then returned to the hotel room, with a good game of 'Loaded Questions.'
Apparently, I had heard that one of the bands acted with disrespect to their room, and room policies. It's reasons like that which makes the convention move or unable to find a hotel at all.
Saturday
started off slower, as most of the day was devoted to the Masq. It was a very short one, the masq started after 3 and was done with all awards by 5. The majority of the entrants were walk-ons, new to the cosplay scene. Our skit was as follows:
What wasn't shown, is that right after the skit, I wasn't watching where I was going and fell off the stage. We all got a laugh out of it. We ended up with a Judge's Award and a finger puppet kit. PortCon's awards were never meant to be taken seriously. The best skit was a version of McDonalds, with a cast of varied characters. It was better than it sounds. The best cosplay went to an amazing pair of costumes from the Legend of Mana. Apparently, it took 2 years to put them together. It showed.
After cosplay, we went to change into normal clothes and ate at Old Country Buffet. Not long after was time for the rave. None of us stayed too long, as the audio was acting up, and the room smelled like sweaty mold. One whiff from me, and I didn't feel like dancing. I wasted the time in the Video Game room, until it was time for the Mixology panel. Jeni's panel was very informative and worth every minute. It was restricted to 21+, since the topic was about alcohol. At the end, it degenerated into a Rule 34 presentation. My mind is scarred for life. By then it was Midnight and after some post-day antics, we made our way back to the room for more "Loaded Questions." By about 3, we were all tired, and somewhat tipsy.
Sunday was far lighter since everyone is packing up. After checking out, most of the day was spent hanging out and saying goodbye to people. Save some last-minute purchases at the dealers and artists, most of the events could have been done with just the group of friends. After a humorous meeting with a Ruby Tuesday's waitress (Can you go inside and buy me some kitty ears?) It was time to go.
Portcon is not a con purely for anime fans. It's much more laid-back. It's far more helpful to go with PortCon with friends, or make some along the way. It's not purely outstanding, but has its little quirks which make it loveable. It ran into some bad fortune with the weather, but that couldn't be helped. If you're looking for an anime con, PortCon isn't your thing. But if you want less structure and more friend-building, give it a try.
PortCon has always seemed to be more of a gaming and boffa con, with some anime to attract more people. It's not that it's bad, but it's far more diverse than other anime cons in New England. (I don't count Connecticon in this, since they're specifically designed as a multi-genre con. They're much more a web-comic con than anything else) After moving back to their previous hotel, the convention set up a very large tent for main events. As would be learned, there were several problems with this situation.
Thursday, I left work after a half day. I didn't hit a lick of traffic, and after stopping for 'provisions' in NH, I made my way into Portland at about 4. I met up with one of my roommates, since he was helping out with Opening Ceremonies. Shiva, my second roommate was supposed to arrive later in the evening. In that time, I enjoyed the animecons.com panel. (Somewhat biased) I also failed miserably at Anime Name That Tune. After a bit of socializing, I checked out the dealer's room and artist alley. Thursday night ended up being the best one ever, due to a reasonable group of adults getting our drink on. Between the bar closing at 11, walking to the pub then realizing it had moved, and making it to Sketch's room with a large quantity of drinks, the majority of our group ended up quite drunk. Responsible drunkeness is quite entertaining. Steve came up with a combination of Peach Arbor Mist and Blue Vodka which is tasty, but will knock you flat. It was the most entertaining Thursday I've ever had at a convention. Not due to the con events, but with the people I found there.
Friday, morning started off on a somewhat humorous note, as poor Steve was apparently unable to properly sleep due to my snoring. This was a combination of me being somewhat congested and he being a light sleeper. Shiva found him next to the bed, trying his hardest to drown out the sound with the fan. I eventually got up and made my way to hand in my music for the cosplay events. Friday was severely dampened by the heavy rain that it canceled Boffa. Boffa is a major event at PortCon, which happens outside for safety reasons. The main events tent flooded and had a somewhat moldy smell due to not having circulating air. This required us to stay inside and make our own entertainment; thanks to soap operas. There was the game room, which was small and personal. Many D&D related games were played there. Shiva, Steve, and I entertained ourselves with a marathon Uno game. At this point, it was slowly receding in rain-fall amount. Gale joined somewhat later after her 4 hour trip, as well as Lo, Annie, Courtney, and Mark. It was soon time for Anime Unscripted, a Whose-Line with the con guests participating. The tent had working power, but had the smell of mold everywhere, due to the protective blankets being soaked with rainwater. It was not the best version I had seen, but it wasn't bad at all. At this point, we walk down the block to Chili's, hoping to not break any more lamps. Sketch left early to participate in Extreme Geek, while the rest of us continued eating. After seeing a bit of Extreme Geek (It featured several men running in dresses to Tim Horton's at the next corner) I decided to roam around. We then returned to the hotel room, with a good game of 'Loaded Questions.'
Apparently, I had heard that one of the bands acted with disrespect to their room, and room policies. It's reasons like that which makes the convention move or unable to find a hotel at all.
Saturday
started off slower, as most of the day was devoted to the Masq. It was a very short one, the masq started after 3 and was done with all awards by 5. The majority of the entrants were walk-ons, new to the cosplay scene. Our skit was as follows:
Click to viewWhat wasn't shown, is that right after the skit, I wasn't watching where I was going and fell off the stage. We all got a laugh out of it. We ended up with a Judge's Award and a finger puppet kit. PortCon's awards were never meant to be taken seriously. The best skit was a version of McDonalds, with a cast of varied characters. It was better than it sounds. The best cosplay went to an amazing pair of costumes from the Legend of Mana. Apparently, it took 2 years to put them together. It showed.
After cosplay, we went to change into normal clothes and ate at Old Country Buffet. Not long after was time for the rave. None of us stayed too long, as the audio was acting up, and the room smelled like sweaty mold. One whiff from me, and I didn't feel like dancing. I wasted the time in the Video Game room, until it was time for the Mixology panel. Jeni's panel was very informative and worth every minute. It was restricted to 21+, since the topic was about alcohol. At the end, it degenerated into a Rule 34 presentation. My mind is scarred for life. By then it was Midnight and after some post-day antics, we made our way back to the room for more "Loaded Questions." By about 3, we were all tired, and somewhat tipsy.
Sunday was far lighter since everyone is packing up. After checking out, most of the day was spent hanging out and saying goodbye to people. Save some last-minute purchases at the dealers and artists, most of the events could have been done with just the group of friends. After a humorous meeting with a Ruby Tuesday's waitress (Can you go inside and buy me some kitty ears?) It was time to go.
Portcon is not a con purely for anime fans. It's much more laid-back. It's far more helpful to go with PortCon with friends, or make some along the way. It's not purely outstanding, but has its little quirks which make it loveable. It ran into some bad fortune with the weather, but that couldn't be helped. If you're looking for an anime con, PortCon isn't your thing. But if you want less structure and more friend-building, give it a try.