I’ve found that the older I get, the more I enjoy the smaller, family-friendly conventions. Sure, the big party cons can be a lot of fun, but smaller cons feel more like a community, and that’s the best way to describe WasabiCon in Jacksonville, Florida.
Upon arrival I was kindly greeted and welcomed by one of the coordinators to pickup my press pass. She gave me a brief history of the convention: WasabiCon started in 2012 and has grown from 700 attendees in its inaugural year to bringing in over 3,600 fans.
First stop was the vendors room to see if I could find anything to add to my Zelda collection, and I’m absolutely in love with the Link and Zelda print I bought from Lisa Villella Illustration.
I also saw some pretty cool perler art from Pixel Power. Check out all that Nintendo representation. I’m also currently regretting not picking up any of that Zelda or Star Fox art.
Of course, no convention is complete without cosplay. There weren’t a ton of Zelda-related cosplays, the popular theme was My Hero Academia, but I did manage to spot Majora’s Mask.
A variety of panels were offered, ranging from fan panels, to performances, to professional panels from the celebrity guests: Amanda Miller (Boruto, Sailor Moon, Hunter x Hunter), Bryce Papenbrook (Sword Art Online, Attack on Titan, A Lull in the Sea), and David Matranga (My Hero Academia, Attack on Titan, Black Clover). Most of the panel rooms were small and intimate, giving the audience and panelists the opportunity to interact with each other.
My only real complaint is due WasabiCon’s rapid growth, the convention center got pretty cramped, but that also speaks to the success of the con. Hopefully they’ll be able to secure a bigger venue in the future.
I definitely enjoyed my time at the convention, and I love that it’s something families can do together.
