Staffing an Anime Convention... I could do it again!
Have you ever wondered who runs an Anime Convention ("Con")? I’m not sure how many people know this but an anime convention is completely run by wonderful and glorious volunteers, who have a love for all things manga and anime related. They give up their time, sanity and need for sleep to help but on a "con" that will (hopefully) run smoothly. I was able to be apart of the process, I was a staff member for KATUCON 16. Katsucon is a fan convention for anime, manga and Japanese culture enthusiasts. It is an annual three-day event held in or around Washington, D.C. Katsucon is traditionally held in February over Presidents Day weekend. I was apart of the Operations (Ops) team a.k.a Oops, it was a 24 hour service for ALL THREE DAYS.
If you are wondering what Ops handles: Imagine you are at the rave given by the con and due to all the heavy back beats of the thumpa thumpa and the zany lyrics from the opening theme of your favorite anime playing, you have been dancing up a storm. You decide to quench your thirst with some refreshing water. When you notice there is no more water left (OH, NO!). What do you do? Well, you inform someone working at the rave that there is no more aqua and they inform Operations and we make sure you get the water and continue to enjoy the rave. Operations is an important part of a con, we make sure whatever you need gets done. We are connected to the medical team, volunteers, security, and the hotel liaison. We are 24 hours, we have no breaks. We are awesome. So whenever you are at a con, stop by the Operations Department and give them a high five or chocolate to help them stay awake. Trust me they will need it, ‘cause around 3 a.m. things start to get loopy, they do weird things like have a Pokémon battle over the intercom system with medical and volunteers. I'm telling you loopy.
Rock out and read a book!
Miss Kelly
