Ohayocon

Ohayocon is a three-day anime convention typically held during January in Columbus, Ohio, at the Hyatt Regency Columbus and the Greater Columbus Convention Center. Ohayocon's name is derived from the similarity between "Ohio", the convention's location, and Ohayou (おはよう), which means "good morning" in Japanese.[1][2][3]

Ohayocon
Status	Active
Genre	Anime, Manga, Video Gaming[1]
Venue	Hyatt Regency Columbus Greater Columbus Convention Center
Location(s)	Columbus, Ohio
Country	United States
Inaugurated	2001
Attendance	12,500 in 2012
Website	http://www.ohayocon.org/

Programming

The convention typically offers an anime music contest, an artists' alley, concerts, costume contests, a dealers' room, a formal ball, a masquerade, musical events, panel discussions, a rave, table-top games, tournaments, video gaming, and workshops.[1][3][4][5][6][7][8]

History

In 2007, the Midwest premiere of Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles occurred at the Arena Grand Theatre during Ohayocon.[9] In 2010, crowding was a problem during the rave due to space issues. The convention shared the Columbus Convention Center with other events and only used about one-fourth of the available space.[4] The convention's dance was moved to the convention center ballroom in 2012 to alleviate crowding issues.[6] Ohayocon began using wristbands instead of badges to control unpaid attendance in 2014.[10] During Ohayocon 2015, a transgender teen disappeared during the rave on Saturday night. The teen was attempting to run away and was later found safe in downtown Columbus on Tuesday.[11][12][13] The Columbus Convention Center was undergoing construction during Ohayocon 2017, and the convention continued to use wristbands instead of badges.[14]

Event history

Dates	Location	Atten.	Guests
January 26–28, 2001	Sheraton Airport Hotel Cleveland, Ohio	800	Michael Brady, Izzy Burger, Jessica Calvello, Juliet Cesario, Robert DeJesus, Tiffany Grant, Jei Fubler Harvey, Neil Nadelman, Jonathan C. Osborne, Jan Scott-Frazier, Scott Simpson, Kazuko Tadano, Brett Weaver, and Greg Wicker.[15]
January 11–13, 2002	Holiday Inn Cleveland-South Independence, Ohio	1,200	Rodney "Largo" Caston, Tiffany Grant, Jonathan C. Osborne, Debora Rabbai, Jan Scott-Frazier.[16]
January 10–12, 2003	Hilton Columbus Columbus, Ohio	2,061	Steve Bennett, Kei Blue, Keith Burgess, Robert DeJesus, Brad DeMoss, Fred Gallagher, Tiffany Grant, Amy Howard-Wilson, Shimpei Itoh, Vic Mignogna, Yad-Ming Mui, Stephanie Nadolny, Dominic Nguyen, Mio Odagi, Jonathan C. Osborne, Chris Patton, Debora Rabbai, Monica Rial, Jan Scott-Frazier, Doug Smith, Jeff Thompson, and Toshifumi Yoshida.[17]
January 23–25, 2004	Hyatt Regency Columbus Columbus, Ohio	3,042	Greg Ayres, Steve Bennett, Blood, Keith Burgess, Austell "DJ Asu" Callwood, Richard Ian Cox, Robert DeJesus, Brad DeMoss, Tiffany Grant, Jason Lee, Scott McNeil, Jillian Michaels, Yad-Ming Mui, Monica Rial, Jan Scott-Frazier, Jeff Thompson, David L. Williams, Amanda Winn-Lee, and Toshifumi Yoshida.[18]
January 14–16, 2005	Hyatt Regency Columbus Columbus Convention Center Columbus, Ohio	4,051	Greg Ayres, Steve Bennett, Keith Burgess, Steve Conte, Emily DeJesus, Robert DeJesus, Tiffany Grant, Bruce Lewis, Mike McFarland, Scott McNeil, Vic Mignogna, Monica Rial, Chris Sabat, Jan Scott-Frazier, Mike Sinterniklaas, Doug Smith, Jeff Thompson, and David L. Williams.[19]
January 6–8, 2006	Hyatt Regency Columbus Columbus Convention Center Columbus, Ohio	4,423	Greg Ayres, Laura Bailey, Johnny Yong Bosch, Emily DeJesus, Robert DeJesus, Michael Dobson, Tiffany Grant, Matt Greenfield, Mike McFarland, Scott McNeil, Dave Merrill, Shaindle Minuk, Peelander-Z, Monica Rial, Chris Sabat, Jan Scott-Frazier, The Spoony Bards, Jeff Thompson, and Toshifumi Yoshida.[20]
January 5–7, 2007	Hyatt Regency Columbus Columbus Convention Center Columbus, Ohio	6,240	Christopher Ayres, Greg Ayres, Chris Bevins, Emily DeJesus, Robert DeJesus, Caitlin Glass, Tiffany Grant, Matt Greenfield, Clarine Harp, Brittney Karbowski, Jason Lee, Bruce Lewis, Mike McFarland, Chris Patton, Monica Rial, Chris Sabat, Jan Scott-Frazier, Rikki Simons, Doug Smith, The Spoony Bards, Amanda Winn-Lee, and Tavisha Wolfgarth-Simons.[21]
January 4–6, 2008	Hyatt Regency Columbus Columbus Convention Center Columbus, Ohio	7,000 (est)	Christopher Ayres, Greg Ayres, Chris Bevins, Johnny Yong Bosch, Emily DeJesus, Robert DeJesus, Eyeshine, Tiffany Grant, Matt Greenfield, Clarine Harp, Brittney Karbowski, Jonathan Klein, Bruce Lewis, Mike McFarland, r*k* Milholland, Monica Rial, Antimere Robinson, Chris Sabat, Jan Scott-Frazier, Rikki Simons, Voices For, and Tavisha Wolfgarth-Simons.[22]
January 30 – February 1, 2009	Hyatt Regency Columbus Columbus Convention Center Columbus, Ohio	8,093	Christopher Ayres, Greg Ayres, Emily DeJesus, Robert DeJesus, Aaron Dismuke, Caitlin Glass, Tiffany Grant, Matt Greenfield, Mohammad "Hawk" Haque, Jerry Jewell, Dave Lister, Mike McFarland, Vic Mignogna, Ananth Panagariya, Chris Patton, Antimere Robinson, Rikki Simons, Mike Sinterniklaas, J. Michael Tatum, Brett Weaver, David L. Williams, and Tavisha Wolfgarth-Simons.[23]
January 29–31, 2010	Hyatt Regency Columbus Greater Columbus Convention Center Columbus, Ohio	10,120	Christopher Ayres, Greg Ayres, Jonathan Coulton, Robert DeJesus, Aaron Dismuke, Tiffany Grant, Matt Greenfield, Illich Guardiola, Carl Gustav Horn, Jerry Jewell, Bruce Lewis, Dave Lister, Jamie McGonnigal, Lisa Ortiz, Wendy Powell, Jan Scott-Frazier, Stephanie Sheh, Rikki Simons, Mike Sinterniklaas, Doug Smith, J. Michael Tatum, Richard Townsend, Shannon Townsend, Voices For, Tom Wayland, and Tavisha Wolfgarth-Simons.[24]
January 28–30, 2011	Hyatt Regency Columbus Greater Columbus Convention Center Columbus, Ohio	11,000	Christopher Ayres, Greg Ayres, Chris Bevins, Kevin Bolk, Robert DeJesus, Kaja Foglio, Phil Foglio, Bruce Lewis, Mundee Lewis, Mike McFarland, Jamie McGonnigal, Carli Mosier, Brina Palencia, Rawly Pickens, Monica Rial, Chris Sabat, Patrick Seitz, Rikki Simons, Doug Smith, and Tavisha Wolfgarth-Simons.[25]
January 27–29, 2012	Hyatt Regency Columbus Greater Columbus Convention Center Columbus, Ohio	12,500	Christopher Ayres, Greg Ayres, Emily DeJesus, Robert DeJesus, Fred Gallagher, Ryan Gavigan, Todd Haberkorn, Mari Iijima, Trish Ledoux, The Pillowcases, Carrie Savage, Rikki Simons, Brad Swaile, SWEK, J. Michael Tatum, Amanda Winn-Lee, Tavisha Wolfgarth-Simons, Toshifumi Yoshida, and Steve Yun.[26]
January 18–20, 2013	Hyatt Regency Columbus Greater Columbus Convention Center Columbus, Ohio		Christopher Ayres, Greg Ayres, Robert DeJesus, Brian Dobson, Junko Fujiyama, Fred Gallagher, Tiffany Grant, Matt Greenfield, Darrel Guilbeau, Kyle Hebert, Richard Horvitz, Kazha, Kevin Lillard, Dave Lister, Jamie McGonnigal, Jan Scott-Frazier, Rikki Simons, Spike Spencer, Amanda Winn-Lee, Tavisha Wolfgarth-Simons, and YTCracker.[27]
January 24–26, 2014	Hyatt Regency Columbus Greater Columbus Convention Center Columbus, Ohio		Christopher Ayres, Greg Ayres, Tia Ballard, Jessica Calvello, Justin Cook, Emily DeJesus, Robert DeJesus, Illich Guardiola, Richard Horvitz, Jerry Jewell, Brittney Karbowski, Michele Knotz, Mike McFarland, Vic Mignogna, Lisa Ortiz, Rikki Simons, Ian Sinclair, Brad Swaile, J. Michael Tatum, and Tavisha Wolfgarth-Simons.[28][29]
January 30 – February 1, 2015	Hyatt Regency Columbus Greater Columbus Convention Center Columbus, Ohio		Dino Andrade, Dr. Awkward, Christopher Ayres, Greg Ayres, Jessica Calvello, Emily DeJesus, Robert DeJesus, Josh Grelle, Greg Houser, Jerry Jewell, Michele Knotz, Bettina M. Kurkoski, Shin Kurokawa, Cynthia Martinez, David Matranga, Helen McCarthy, Carli Mosier, Rob Mungle, Nylon Pink, Project BECK, Xero Reynolds, Bill Rogers, Brad Swaile, and Greg Wicker.[30]
January 15–17, 2016	Hyatt Regency Columbus Greater Columbus Convention Center Columbus, Ohio		Dino Andrade, Greg Ayres, Jessica Calvello, Emily DeJesus, Joe Digiorgi, Charles Dunbar, Greg Houser, Chuck Huber, Samantha Inoue-Harte, Shin Kurokawa, David Matranga, Carli Mosier, Rob Mungle, Bill Rogers, John Swasey, Veronica Taylor, Jessica von Braun, Brett Weaver, and David L. Williams.[31]
January 13–15, 2017	Hyatt Regency Columbus Greater Columbus Convention Center Columbus, Ohio		Yuu Asakawa, Emily DeJesus, Robert DeJesus, Joe Digiorgi, Kyle Hebert, Shin Kurokawa, Kirby Morrow, Yad-Ming Mui, Rob Mungle, Michelle "Mogchelle" Mussoni, Lisa Ortiz, Chris Patton, Monica Rial, Shadow Clone, Rikki Simons, Mike Sinterniklaas, John Swasey, Shinichi Watanabe, E. K. Weaver, and Tavisha Wolfgarth-Simons.[32]
January 26-28, 2018	Hyatt Regency Columbus Greater Columbus Convention Center Columbus, Ohio		Automaton, Chris Bevins, Kevin Bolk, Emily DeJesus, Robert DeJesus, Diana Garnet, Samantha Inoue-Harte, Jerry Jewell, Shin Kurokawa, Jamie Marchi, Brandon McInnis, Carli Mosier, Chris Moujaes, Michelle "Mogchelle" Mussoni, Chris Patton, Professor Shyguy, Monica Rial, Rachel Robinson, Shadow Clone, Rikki Simons, Mike Sinterniklaas, Brad Swaile, J. Michael Tatum, Thousand Faces Cosplay, Vitamin H Productions, Shinichi Watanabe, and Tavisha Wolfgarth-Simons.[33]
January 11-13, 2019	Hyatt Regency Columbus Greater Columbus Convention Center Columbus, Ohio		Beau Billingslea, Kevin Bolk, Emily DeJesus, Robert DeJesus, Aaron Dismuke, Bill Farmer, Diana Garnet, Caleb Hyles, Jeremy Inman, Samantha Inoue-Harte, Jerry Jewell, Mika Kobayashi, Shin Kurokawa, Jason Marsden, Mike McFarland, Brandon McInnis, Jake Paque, Rikki Simons, Mike Sinterniklaas, J. Michael Tatum, Vitamin H Productions, Shinichi Watanabe, Sarah Wiedenheft, and Tavisha Wolfgarth-Simons.[34]
January 10-12, 2020	Hyatt Regency Columbus Greater Columbus Convention Center Columbus, Ohio		Steve Blum, Jessica Calvello, Emily DeJesus, Robert DeJesus, Aaron Dismuke, Melissa Fahn, Fred Gallagher, Diana Garnet, Matt Greenfield, Richard Horvitz, Caleb Hyles, Samantha Inoue-Harte, Jerry Jewell, Brittney Karbowski, Hirokatsu Kihara, Shin Kurokawa, Briana Lawrence, Jason Marsden, Mary Elizabeth McGlynn, Daman Mills, Rob Mungle, Michelle "Mogchelle" Mussoni, Lisa Ortiz, Wendy Powell, Alejandro Saab, Carrie Savage, Rikki Simons, Michael Sinterniklaas, Jessica Walsh, Shinichi Watanabe, Amanda Winn-Lee, Tavisha Wolfgarth-Simons, and Toshifumi Yoshida.[35]

References

1. Gearino, Dan (2011-01-30). "Anime fans find fun in dressing up in character". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved 2012-06-17.
2. "Ohayocon brings cosplay to Ohio". The News Record. 2010-01-03. Retrieved 2018-02-17.
3. Siegel, Jim (2014-01-26). "Ohayocon fans come dressed in elaborate costumes for convention". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved 2014-02-05.
4. Kopf, Ryan (2010-01-31). "Ohayocon Celebrates 10th Year in 2010". UpcomingCons.com. Retrieved 2013-09-01.
5. Kopf, Ryan (2011-02-02). "Ohayocon 2011 Review: Some kind of difference". UpcomingCons.com. Archived from the original on July 2, 2014. Retrieved 2013-09-02.
6. Kopf, Ryan (2012-02-10). "Ohayocon 2012 Review". UpcomingCons.com. Retrieved 2013-09-02.
7. Stabile, Kaitlyn (2014-02-02). "Ohayocon a great way to meet people". The Eastern Echo. Retrieved 2014-02-05.
8. Thompson, Erica (January 24, 2018). "Community feature: Eclectic Ohayocon community returns to Short North". Columbus Alive. Retrieved 12 April 2019.
9. Ball, Ryan (2007-01-04). "Robotech Movie Premieres in Midwest". Animation Magazine. Retrieved 2012-06-17.
10. Reed, Stephan (2014-01-24). "Ohayocon Changes and Constants". CityScene. Archived from the original on February 9, 2015. Retrieved 2014-02-05.
11. Decker, Theodore (February 4, 2015). "Missing transgender teen found; runaway knew about search". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
12. McEntyre, Glenn (February 3, 2015). "Teen Reported Missing From Columbus Convention Found Safe". WBNS-TV. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
13. Bowersock, Mike (February 3, 2015). "Transgender Teen Found, Talks To NBC4". nbc4i. Archived from the original on April 16, 2015. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
14. Kramer, Cheyanne (January 24, 2017). "Anime fans gather for Ohayocon 2017". The Oakland Post. Retrieved 18 March 2017.
15. "Ohayocon 2001 Convention Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2018-02-23.
16. "Ohayocon 2002 Convention Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2018-02-23.
17. "Ohayocon 2003 Convention Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2018-02-23.
18. "Ohayocon 2004 Convention Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2018-02-23.
19. "Ohayocon 2005 Convention Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2018-02-23.
20. "Ohayocon 2006 Convention Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2018-02-23.
21. "Ohayocon 2007 Convention Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2018-02-23.
22. "Ohayocon 2008 Convention Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2018-02-23.
23. "Ohayocon 2009 Convention Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2018-02-23.
24. "Ohayocon 2010 Convention Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2018-02-23.
25. "Ohayocon 2011 Convention Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2018-02-23.
26. "Ohayocon 2012 Convention Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2018-02-23.
27. "Ohayocon 2013 Convention Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2018-02-23.
28. "Ohayocon 2014 Convention Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2018-02-23.
29. Reed, Stephan. "Here Comes Ohayocon!". CityScene. Archived from the original on February 22, 2014. Retrieved 2014-02-05.
30. "Ohayocon 2015 Convention Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2018-02-23.
31. "Ohayocon 2016 Convention Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2018-02-23.
32. "Ohayocon 2017 Convention Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2018-02-23.
33. "Ohayocon 2018 Convention Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2018-02-23.
34. "Ohayocon 2019 Convention Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2019-01-16.
35. "Ohayocon 2020 Convention Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2020-02-21.

External links

• Ohayocon Website