As you might know, Team LoveHATE does conventions. If you didn't, were for hire. Seriously though, we love attending first year cons and helping them out even more. Kintoki was no exception. We were first contacted by Nicole Stockel to be Guests of Honor last September while she introduced us to an idea to create a convention in our lovely hometown Sacramento with a spin on culture.
We were very excited at the prospect of being a part of something new and fresh. As the months went by we started seeing the promotional posters and fliers around town. A couple of months ago we were contacted by Eric San Gregorio and we invited him over to Club Condesa (our base) to discuss our part in the convention and the possibility of us helping out with some special events by providing some unique performances and events with some of our affiliates as well as introducing a charity aspect to Kintoki.
After throwing a few ideas around we decided to hold the first ever dance competition, Filipino Martial Arts demonstrations, a 24 hour game lounge, and silent charity auction.
Jennifer Bambao of Capital Roots spearheaded the Shobu Showdown. Three dance competitions rolled into a two day event with prizes totaling $1600.00. A one thousand dollar 2 on 2 all styles battle for the 16 and up, five hundred dollar scholarship for the 15 and under, and a Cypher competition for a one hundred dollar cash prize. It was great to see hip hop taken to the next level without losing the essence of what hip hop means to everyone. When you walked into this event, you saw a mix of curious cosplayers and intense b-boy's. The bass rumbled throughout the room and people were bobbing their heads.
The Filipino Martial Artists Academy also was a nice addition to the convention, I wish they performed a little later in the day though. Master Nilo and his squad were there doing demonstratrions and some beautiful forms. They are really an amazing group to watch perform.
I enjoyed the amply sized vendor hall and artists alley. We got to visit with a few of our friends like Anthony Leano from the Land Beyond, Carly from Carlyfornia and our favorite photographer, Oscar Benjamin as well as many others.
Moon Stream was off the hook. Their music concert was super amazing. The lights, sound, and setup was sick and their are a super kewl group of guys on and off the stage. Their performance was smooth and for their first American show, I was blown away. They played the crowd during their whole set and even did two encores!
Loki's Planet ran a 24 hour gaming lounge on the 17th floor of the event. We provided a bunch of board games and even twister. Watching cosplayers play twister was pretty entertaining.We also held a charity silent auction for Japan with various items from the vendors that attended the convention. TLH provided the DJ's as well. DJ DubDuece & RSkee went back and forth all night. I got down on some Kinect games around 2am on Saturday and I know DJ R Skee didn't stop spinning till 6a.m.
With some donations from Kintoki and three kegs from Hoppy Brewery as well as a bunch of hard drink from us we were able to host a Charity Chug Fundraiser for the parents of the attendees and the 21 and up where the proceeds went to the American Red Cross Japan Tsunami Relief. Room 702 was the spot for the older crowd. A nice spacious suite with tons of pillows and sitting space. We want to thank all of the people who came up for a drink. Special thanks to Trash Film Orgy, Moon Stream, Anthony, Carlyfornia and Oscar Benjamin for helping the cause.
Overall, Kintoki was an amazing first year and we hope that they come back next year. Sacramento needs a great place for Otakus and Fanboys alike. With a beautiful atmosphere abitious events and tons of great programming, we hope to be invited again for next year. Although the con had a few hiccups, issues were quickly resolved and i'm sure that next year it will be the con to be at.
The Filipino Martial Artists Academy also was a nice addition to the convention, I wish they performed a little later in the day though. Master Nilo and his squad were there doing demonstratrions and some beautiful forms. They are really an amazing group to watch perform.
