Hub Goes to: AVCon
Where? Adelaide Showground
When? June 28th-30th 2024
Rating: 4 Stars.
‘AVCon is an annual Anime and Video Games Festival held in Adelaide. It celebrates the world of anime, gaming, cosplay, pop culture, art, and more in one big community-based event for all ages.’
AVCon was a true celebration of all things pop culture! Two jam-packed days the Adelaide Showground saw multiple international guests including Bryce Papenbrok (Ladybug and Cat noir, Demonslayer, Attack on Titan), Dokibird (VTuber Extrodinare), Galaxy Girl Paida (US based J-Pop Idol) and Babybeard (J-pop/Metal Fusion Artist), local guests, over 100 different artist alley vendors and tattoo artists, multiple e-sports competitions, cosplay, unique panels, arcades, indie games and even the worlds biggest game and watch!
No matter how long or short you were there for there was always something fun and free to do. The AVCon app was particularly helpful in scheduling days and intuitive to use. The layout of the con was pretty good with stages being far enough away from each other for the sound to not cross over too much, however the artist alleys were particularly narrow which created some congestion on the Saturday. Moreover the entrance and the food trucks were not undercover outside the convention hall (likely due to crossover with university exams) which did run the risk of attendees being rained on, which wasn’t an issue this time but is something to note.
The curation of the con, especially the artist alley was extremely well done, there was a strong balance of anime and video game content with a variety of vendors with different interests, price points, colour schemes and goods beyond the classic acrylic key chain and pin which I did appreciate. The guest artists both local and international were also diverse yet all entertaining and held their own on the various stages.
The running of the e-sports tournaments, whilst experiencing some technical issues on the Saturday, was also great with a strong depth of skill amongst participants in the variety of games played which included titles such as Pokémon, Halo, Mario Kart, Street Fighter and Suika game. The cosplay competitions also demonstrated the dedication and talent of the attendees with various categories for beginners and advanced cosplayers alike. A personal highlight was a hand-crocheted Yor Forger assassin outfit in the children’s category.
It was really nice seeing AVCon getting the support it deserves with the Saturday selling out before midday. Despite some minor hiccups mainly due to the unexpected influx of attendees, it is an extremely well-run event especially as it is volunteer-driven. AVCon is a testament to the strength and comradery of the Anime and Gaming communities, especially after Covid. I would recommend anyone who is even slightly interested in either to attend next year.