Go! Daiko-Con report

Artists Alley was full of fun, crafty merchandise. (Patty Hammond)

As I mentioned Friday, this past weekend was Go! Daiko-Con in Troy. Longtime Geek Watch reader Patty Hammond was on hand and offered to share her thoughts and photos. For more pictures, visit her Flikr stream.

Thanks, Patty!!

Free Friday was not packed, but well attended.  I saw quite a few people wandering around and looking at what was available at that time.

Greg Ayres talks during the Opening Ceremonies. (Patty Hammond)

The Opening Ceremonies were good. The guests were required to answer funny questions, and there was a hunt for fish taped under the chairs. Those that found them received a free lunch with voice actor Greg Ayers (“Negima”) on Saturday afternoon.

The dealer room had lots of anime and game related merchandise, costumes, swords/weapons, DVDs and manga for sale.  However, I am not sure how much business they did because I saw alot of people looking, but not buying. Artist Alley had more crafty type stuff and fewer visual artists than last year.

Voice actor Johnny Yong Bosch’s (“Trigun”) band Eyeshine performed three different times over the course of the weekend — two with full sets with sound and light setups and one acoustical with just the band, their instruments and microphones.

Voice acting guests Ayers, Bosch and Alexis Tipton (“Baka and Test”) were always stopping and talking to fans.

Funny story about Ayres during Saturday afternoon:  He was on his way into the panel room when he was stopped by a volunteer who was working crowd control for that room.  The volunteer told him that he needed to get in line for the Greg Ayers panel and then pointed out to him where the end of the line was located.  He stopped, looked at the volunteer and said, “I’m Greg Ayers.” This moment was priceless — too bad I did not get that one recorded.

I did not attend the raves/dances (with guest DJ Ayers) that were held on Friday and Saturday evenings, but based on things that staff members said, both were well attended and all the attendees were having fun without any issues cropping up.

Some of the most well attended panels based on my observation and comments from the staff were panels with the guests, Whose Line Is It Anime, Anime Dating Game and the Toonami Retrospective.

A variety of hats was on sale. (Patty Hammond)

The dealers room had clothing, Ramune, manga, anime and more. (Patty Hammond)

One attendee dressed as Grell from "Black Butler." (Patty Hammond)