SaikouCon

SaikouCon was an annual three day anime convention held during August at the Mountain Laurel Resort in White Haven, Pennsylvania.[3] The convention's name in Japanese translates to "best convention." It was the first anime convention hosted in the Lehigh Valley.[1][4]

SaikouCon
StatusDefunct
GenreAnime, Manga, Japanese culture[1]
VenueMountain Laurel Resort
Location(s)White Haven, Pennsylvania
CountryUnited States
Inaugurated2013[1]
Attendance2,800 in 2019[2]
Organized byMichael Meade[1]
Websitehttp://www.saikoucon.com

Programming

The convention typically offered a dance party, costume contest, concerts, a merchant’s hall, tabletop games, video games, and workshops.[5][6][7] The 2014 charity auction benefited the Dave Thomas Foundation and St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital.[5]

History

SaikouCon for 2013 and 2014 was located at the Holiday Inn Conference Center Lehigh Valley in Breinigsville.[1][5] For 2015 the convention was located at the Best Western Lehigh Valley Hotel Conference Center. SaikouCon moved from the Split Rock Resort in Lake Harmony back to Allentown for 2017, being located at the Holiday Inn Center City.[7] The 2018 convention was held at the Econo Lodge Conference Center in Allentown.[8][9] SaikouCon was postponed in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[3][10][11] SaikouCon 2021 was cancelled due to various issues including the event's lack of programming, with the convention also closing due to operational problems.[3][12][13]

Event History
DatesLocationAtten.Guests
August 23-25, 2013 Holiday Inn Conference Center Lehigh Valley
Breinigsville, Pennsylvania		850Joshua Adams, The D20 Girls Project, Terri Doty, Darrel Guilbeau, Hitomi Himekawa, Greg Houser, League of Hot Geeks, Uke Li, Jessie Pridemore, Bill Rogers, Jad Saxton, Sci-Fi Photo Guys, The Slants, DJ Soul Eater, and Marc Swint.[14]
August 22-24, 2014 Holiday Inn Conference Center Lehigh Valley
Breinigsville, Pennsylvania		1,500The Adarna, The Asterplace, Cosplay Burlesque, Greg Houser, League of Hot Geeks, Jessie Pridemore, Bill Rogers, Sci-Fi Photo Guys, Sonny Strait, and Marc Swint.[15]
August 28-30, 2015 Best Western Lehigh Valley Hotel Conference Center
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania		3,000The Adarna, Leah Clark, Cosplay Burlesque, Hazel Dayze, Koralene, Danielle McRae, Jessie Pridemore, Sci-Fi Photo Guys, and Adam WarRock.[16]
August 26-28, 2016 Split Rock Resort
Lake Harmony, Pennsylvania		2,850The Adarna, Dino Andrade, Robert Axelrod, Celsius, Cloudsofsand, Cosplay Burlesque, Deprived, Foxxy, Darrel Guilbeau, Koralene, Jessie Pridemore, REAKT, Sci-Fi Photo Guys, Take Away The Ugly, and Kari Wahlgren.[17]
August 18-20, 2017 Holiday Inn Allentown Center City
Allentown, Pennsylvania		The Adarna, Leah Clark, Deprived, Gigi Edgley, R. Bruce Elliott, Foxxy, The Gothic Celt, Greg Houser, Koralene, The Manly Battleships, REAKT, and Oscar Seung.[18]
July 27-29, 2018 Econo Lodge Conference Center
Allentown, Pennsylvania		8BIT Ambitions, The Adarna, Dolly Love, Gigi Edgley, Foxxy, Kohei Hattori, Christina Marie Kelly, Koralene, REAKT, Stellure, TiA, and Lex Winter.[19]
August 2-4, 2019 Mountain Laurel Resort
White Haven, Pennsylvania		2,8008BIT Ambitions, Cosplay Burlesque, Dolly Love, Foxxy, Greg Houser, The Manly Battleships, Pine State Heroes, and WildSpice.[2]

References
  1. Higgins, Tim (August 23, 2013). "SaikouCon, the first Lehigh Valley anime convention, features voice actors, animators and industry insiders". The Morning Call. Tribune Publishing Company.
  2. "SaikouCon 2019 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved August 26, 2022.
  3. Hodgkins, Crystalyn (August 11, 2021). "Pennsylvania's SaikouCon Cancels 2021 Event, All Future Events". Anime News Network. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
  4. "New Anime convention comes to the region". WFMZ. August 24, 2013. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
  5. Higgins, Tim (August 21, 2014). "SaikouCon returns to Lehigh Valley as anime remains hot". The Morning Call. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
  6. Muschick, Paul (August 30, 2015). "At local convention devoted to Japanese animation and pop culture, comic characters spring from pages to life". The Morning Call. Tribune Publishing Company.
  7. Peterson, Margie (August 16, 2017). "Anime fans: Get dressed and ready for SaikouCon in Allentown". The Morning Call. Tribune Publishing Company. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
  8. Reed, Donna (5 March 2018). "For Hotels, Make Believe is very real for business". Lehigh Valley Business. BridgeTower Media. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
  9. "SaikouCon anime convention kicks off in the Lehigh Valley". WFMZ. July 27, 2018. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
  10. "SaikouCon 2020 Postponed". Facebook. SaikouCon. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
  11. "SaikouCon 2020 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved August 29, 2022.
  12. Davidson, Danica (11 August 2021). "Former Con Chair Says There Will Never Be Another SaikouCon". Otaku USA Magazine. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
  13. "SaikouCon 2021 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved August 29, 2022.
  14. "SaikouCon 2013 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved August 25, 2022.
  15. "SaikouCon 2014 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved August 25, 2022.
  16. "SaikouCon 2015 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved August 25, 2022.
  17. "SaikouCon 2016 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved August 25, 2022.
  18. "SaikouCon 2017 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved August 25, 2022.
  19. "SaikouCon 2018 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved August 26, 2022.

SaikouCon Anime Convention 69News WFMZ-TV YouTube, Retrieved 29 August 2022

41°04′22.2″N 75°42′40.2″W

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