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Hi there! It’s Oct. 1, only about three months until Ohayocon 20, and we want to let you know what’s happening. Here’s some news:

Registration

Panels

Cosplay

Gaming

  • Want to take on Ohio’s best PC gamers? Tournament signups are available now! We’re offering: League of Legends, Teamfight Tactics (one of the first Teamfight Tactics tournaments in the history of anime conventions), Overwatch, and CS:GO! The registration deadline is Oct. 31, 2019, so sign up today! (We’re still working on our console tournament offerings.)
  • DMs, submit your Game Event Application and join the fun!
  • We’ve updated the Indie Gaming Showcase page so you can see all the exciting new (and returning!) independently designed games we’re featuring this Ohayocon.

Special Guests

  • We have already announced some special guests for the Fan Guests, Voice Actors, and Industry Speakers categories. These are not all of them, of course, so be sure you’re subscribed to our Facebook and Twitter feeds, as well as our email update list (sign up below or to the left, depending on where you’re reading this).

Volunteering

  • Our new staff application is still available, as is the Kohai Program application, if you want to join us. The new staff application is due Oct. 15, 2019 for priority consideration; there is no deadline for the Kohai Program application.
  • On that note, we want to announce a new, shorter staff service-hour quota option: for only 15 hours of scheduled work (compared to the standard 25), you will receive every benefit offered to staff except for lodging. If you’re in the Columbus area, or already have a room with your friends, this is a great way to help and still have plenty of time to enjoy your favorite Ohayocon activities! Let’s work together.

And that’s it! We invite you to follow us on Facebook and Twitter to stay up to date on all things Ohayocon. We also have an email update list: sign up below or to the left (depending on where you’re reading this). As always, you can browse our Frequently Asked Questions page and access our contact form from there. See you soon!

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Weekend Badges for Ohayocon 20 are just $45 now, but you have to pre-register by Sept. 19! After that, the price jumps to $50. This is the best deal we offer for a weekend full of entertaining contests, games, panels, anime screenings, and so much more. Visit our registration page and get your badge, and we’ll see you in January!

(Psst! Don’t forget, if you want to volunteer or join staff, we’re still accepting applications!)

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Finally, the wait is over! The Ohayocon 20 Artist Alley application is available. All the information you need is available on the Artist Alley page. Not sure if Ohayocon Artist Alley is right for you? If you make your own products with your own IP, then you are likely eligible to apply for space in our annual nerdy art fair. These spaces cost less than Dealers Room spaces, and retail is prohibited so you won’t have to compete with commercial dealers right next to you. (The full rules are written in the application, accessible via the Artist Alley page.)

The deadline is Aug. 31, 2019 with no exceptions, so go apply!

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Another Ohayocon has come and gone — thank you so much! We couldn’t do it without your support each year.

Did you know you can win a free badge to Ohayocon 20? Just fill out our feedback survey by Jan. 23, 2019 and be entered in the drawing!

We miss you already, and we can’t wait to see you next year!

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You spoke, we listened! You want to see original characters and designs, gijinka, lolitas, and furries, etc. in an official contest. We want to see your creativity and talent in a whole new light, so we are opening submissions for our all-styles fashion show! Create an outfit inspired by anime, manga, video games, movies, pop culture, fan art, or something completely original.

You may compete with an outfit which you made, and it doesn’t matter whether it’s an original character or one already existing in any medium. We want you to be as creative as possible!

Information and the registration form are available via https://goo.gl/forms/QcV3ZxEAPKzQWCmm1. Good luck!

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Cowboy Bebop voice actor Beau Billingslea, international musical talent Diana Garnet, YouTube cover artist Caleb Hyles, and distinguished anime industry veteran Michael Sinterniklaas will add their voices to our fugue in January!

In the world of anime, Beau has voiced a multitude of characters including: Jet Black in Cowboy Bebop; The Fourth Raikage and Homura in the animated series Naruto; Ogremon, Saggitarimon and Parrotmon in Digimon; Michael in Argentosoma; Seal Walrus in Wolf’s Rain; Gohei in Rurouni Kenshin; Dee Jay in Super Street Fighter II and many others. Beau appears as Captain Abbott of the S.S. Bradbury in Star Trek: Into Darkness. Beau’s sci-fi feature films include The Blob, My Favorite Martians, Leprechaun in the Hood, and Halloween H2O.

 Born in Washington D.C., U.S.A., this 100% American is one of few prominent foreign artists signed to a major Japanese record label. Full of cute charm and an insatiable interest for all things Japan, Diana was heavily influenced by her anime-loving father, and was immersed into anime culture at a young age. Her interest became life-changing when she first heard “Yuzurenai Negai” by Naomi Tamura, which inspired her life goal to become a singer in Japan.

Caleb Hyles is a dynamic entertainer and YouTube cover artist, singing a bit of everything, from top 40 and hard rock to Broadway and anime. You can find all sorts of covers on his YouTube channel, which is going 850,000+ subscribers strong! Be part of the Hyles Hype Crew and join him at his concert, sing with him at a sing-along, and ask him anything at his panels!

Having grown up in a theatrical family and being tossed into children’s church choir at a young age, Caleb has always loved singing. He created his cover channel back in 2009 to share his goofy personality on Rockband with friends and family, but he never expected that working on his YouTube channel would turn into his career. Since his viral cover of “Let It Go” in 2014, Caleb has been recognized by the likes of Ryan Seacrest, Tyler Oakley, and DeeDee Magno Hall, along with many others in the entertainment industry.

Michael Sinterniklaas is a veteran of the anime industry and has worked as an ADR Director, actor, voice actor, script writer, sound engineer, mixer and producer. In 1999, Michael founded NYAV Post, a bicoastal recording studio that has worked on over 500 anime and non-anime titles.

Michael is a prolific actor and has voiced countless roles in anime such as Dagger in Black Butler: Book of Circus; Netherlands in Hetalia; Xellos in Slayers Revolution and Evolution-R; Joshua and Kennedy in Pokémon; Lucemon in Digimon; Ivan Karelin, Dark Magician and Mahad in YuGiOh; Origami Cyclone in Tiger & Bunny; Sarutobi Sasuke in Sengoku Basara; Sora and Utakata in Naruto; Age in Patema Inverted; and Takeru in FREEDOM.

FLOOR WARS

Floor Wars is back for its second year, and bigger than ever! Floor Wars is a 1-on-1, all-styles dance battle, which has been widely popularized in the furry community for years, and even longer before that. We’re continuing to work side by side with these dancers from the community to bring you this outrageously exciting and dynamic competition. Break out your dancing shoes, find some cardboard, and get yourself ready, because you’ll need to bring your A-game for this intense dancing competition!

DAD JOKE OFF

Introducing Who’s Your Daddy, Ohayocon’s first dad-joke competition. Teams of two battle it out, using attendee-submitted horrible jokes; if you laugh you tap out. Then a new team comes to challenge the winners until the ultimate Dads are crowned. Can you outlast others in this competition? We will supply the jokes for this competition in order to provide a level playing field, but we need your help! So if you’ve got some great dad jokes in your back pocket, submit them and you might see them in the competition!

There’s only about two months to go until Ohayocon, and we’re getting pumped! See you there!

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Camp Ohayocon will feature four PC tournaments: League of Legends, Fortnite, Overwatch and Hearthstone. Tournament registration is available at PC Gaming. Some games may occur before Ohayocon if there are enough players. The tournaments are sponsored by ALLMID E-sports Events.

We’re also excited to bring back the escape room! This camp-themed game of puzzles and mysteries will be available to all badge holders at no additional charge. We’re also looking for donations of old camping gear such as flashlights, sleeping bags and other thematic props. We need to be able to plan the game well in advance, so we need these things by Nov. 23, 2018. Please send an email to liveevents@ohayocon.org if you would like to donate, and thank you!