Ichibancon Weekend 1: Full of Cosplay, Community, and Care!

Ichibancon is a Concord, NC based convention that “features a variety of entertainment in a diverse, multi-function, crowd-friendly environment.” Known famously by con-goers as “the circle con,” it is held annually at the Embassy Suites, and features an easy layout of a perfect circle. As Ichibancon has grown in popularity, it was decided this year that the convention would be held for two weekends instead of one. I attended for two days last year, and was instantly pretty enamored with the atmosphere. This year, I got the pleasure to go to Weekend 1 as press for All Ages of Geek! Admittedly, I didn’t get to do nearly as much as I wanted to— but that’s the nature of conventions. There is so much to do, and so little time. I spent the weekend with my friends cosplaying, exploring the con grounds, and interacting with the attendees. I realized that the thing I found myself wanting to focus on when it came to this convention was simple: the community of it. Since it’s still a relatively smaller convention, it’s an intimate experience. It’s easy to make friends, to have meaningful conversations, to learn about new things, and to appreciate all sorts of different fandom cultures.

One of my favorite events from the weekend was the Formal Ball. Guests were encouraged to come in fancy cosplay and nice outfits of all sorts to come and dance to instrumental music from their favorite franchises. At the beginning of the ball, there was a screen at the front of the room with illustrated instructions to a simple waltz. However, we were lucky enough to have someone present there that has done ballroom dancing before, and eagerly taught everyone by demonstration. I even got the chance to dance with him (seriously, Willy, I will think about that dance every day for the rest of my life.) Pictured below is Willy and one of the wonderful people who works for Ichi!

Events like this are the kind of thing that makes this convention shine. They also do concerts, idol nights, and other big dances. There was even an emo night and a glow stick dance! The energy at each was off the charts. Even with smaller crowds, you could see how much fun people were having. The fun wasn’t just happening at the designated events either. On Friday night, there was an impromptu dance party in the hotel lobby. I was standing on the mezzanine helping a friend film a Tik Tok when suddenly the music started, and I looked down to see people doing the Cupid Shuffle.

Naturally, my friends and I joined in from two floors above. There’s just something so incredible about seeing Sora, Princess Daisy, Toga from My Hero Academia, and Sailor Moon line dancing together. It’s that kind of lovely chaos that stays with you long after you’re back home, back to your regular old job, in blue jeans, and absent a wig-induced headache.

And speaking of cosplay, irrevocably my favorite thing about conventions, the people at Ichibancon knew how to bring their A game. I went to the cosplay contest, and was constantly in awe of the craftsmanship, attention to detail, and care that went into the costumes. I love seeing the big props, the beautiful wig styling, and the endlessly impressive sewing skills. There were also a number of contestants that just had the most electric and captivating stage presences. Another big draw for cosplayers is meetups! Meetups are a great example of the power of community. They are usually hosted and coordinated by con-goers, and gain traction through word-of-mouth and social media posts. The con-goers communicate with the con hosts to lock down location and times. Typically, there is one location where fandoms will rotate use. I got to appreciate a lot of different cosplays at all the meetups that were hosted over the weekend. I attended the My Hero Academia meetup as a cosplayer. That’s me on the far right as one of the many Dekus!

I attended meetups for Chainsaw Man, Genshin Impact, and Demon Slayer as a photographer and cheerleader. Below are some pictures I took of the Demon Slayer meetup! I was particularly obsessed with all the different Mitsuri’s, and how each one had a unique wig. I love that even a character with such a distinct hairstyle can still inspire these different little touches in their cosplays.

Other highlights of the weekend include the always incredible Artist Alley, The Maid Cafe, the Thursday night craft fair, and the Sunday afternoon flea market! Artist Alley is often where I find myself gravitating at any lull in my day. I just love seeing all the talented artists, and getting to chat with them about their work. At this point, I’ve been to a lot of cons in North Carolina, and I love seeing artists that I’ve met before and seeing what new things they’ve gotten into. The Thursday night craft fair is a first-come first-serve event in one of the panel rooms where artists and creators who didn’t get an official Artist Alley booth are encouraged to come set up at a table and sell their wares. I don’t know a lot of cons that do things like this, so it’s definitely something about Ichibancon that helps it stand out and feel special. Similarly, the flea market on Sunday is the same basic format but includes people re-selling all sorts of things. This includes cosplay, wigs, art, merchandise, clothes, games, movies, etc. The flea market had so many people interested in selling that it took up two panel rooms. Below is a picture of the main room!

Ichibancon had a seriously stacked guest list this year. The lines for meet and greets with notable voice actors such as Ricco Fajardo, Zeno Robinson, John Gremillion, Cassandra Lee Morris, and Erica Luttrell were always full. I had the pleasure of meeting Ricco Fajardo with some of my friends, and he was just the sweetest human. Getting a chance to chat with voice actors is always something I like to do, and I love that at Ichi it’s obvious they’re having fun and want to talk to everyone for as long as possible. Long lines feel more like a welcomed ache when you know they’re happening because somebody is so engrossed in a conversation with someone who admires them.

Here’s a picture of me and my friends with Ricco!

One of the last things I want to talk about is giving a huge shout out to The Variant. “The Variant is a collective of writers, artists, cosplayers, photographers… strives to take an exclusive look into the world of Comics, Cosplay, and Conventions.” You can find out more about them here: https://the-variant.com/

I was introduced to The Variant at Ichibancon last year, and since then I have seen them at a lot of events, and I always love interacting with them. One of the things they do is offer free professional photo shoots for people attending the con. And while they could easily just offer one pose for every person, they spend time to make sure you have options and angles. Cosplay is often an expensive hobby, and booking professional photo shoots can be out of the question for a lot of people on a budget. The Variant offering to do this for people is something that I find so kind and inspiring. They do give people the option to purchase physical prints or flash drives of their pictures so that they can have them immediately and edit them however they please. Otherwise, after you get a few shots— they’ll tell you that they’ll have everything posted on their website in a few weeks with their watermark. But as someone who has been photographed by them a few times, their turnaround time is pretty impressive considering the volume of shoots they do, and their quality is excellent. The Variant always sets up shop at Ichibancon outside of Artist Alley, and works tirelessly through the entire weekend. I seriously can not sing their praises enough.

Finally, let me just say— the people running Ichibancon are so helpful, generous, hardworking, and passionate. Thank you to Maddeax Khloe and the press and photography team for being so welcoming. I was incredibly nervous, and I feel like I didn’t take nearly enough advantage of my opportunity this year, but you guys were great and it made me feel more impassioned and emboldened to attend more events as press. I hope you know how much I, and so many other people, appreciate you and the work you do.

Ichibancon 2024 Weekend 1 was truly an unforgettable experience for me. I look forward to coming back next year!