Forum - View topicNEWS: Maryland's Katsucon Cancels 2021 Event
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CrypticPurpose
 Posts: 341 |
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Depressing but necessary
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Redbeard 101
Oscar the Grouch
Forums Superstar  Posts: 16970 |
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I have a friend who staffs this con. She's been having to do staff work days there to get ready for the con up til just last week. I find it utterly ridiculous that they waited this damn long to cancel it. Got a lot of people they need to send refunds to.
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wmderemer
 It...it's not like I post for you or anything! Posts: 308 Location: Stroudsburg, PA |
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Sadly, like Otakon and other events that cancelled this year, they probably had to wait for force majeure to kick in to save them from eating contracts... But yeah, I am not surprised by this... it's due to our country's POOR handling of COVID that has lead to this... to the 2020-2021 NBA and NHL seasons probably starting late and staying in bubbles as much as possible with little/no fans...to the 2021 MLB season probably resembling this years, just starting at the normal April date... and likely will lead my trip to Japan with PacSet in March (which was already rescheduled from October 2020) being postponed and rescheduled again for either late 2021 or sometime in 2022... Trust me, as this is my 1st trip to Japan, I am really pissed that we're in such bad shape leading to Japan not letting Americans in yet... |
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Zalis116
Moderator
 Posts: 6902 Location: Kazune City |
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With Katsucon being one of the last 2020 shows to actually take place, it's definitely time to start expecting more spring/summer conventions that cancelled this year to face another lost event in 2021. I'm particularly worried about Naka-Kon in the Kansas City area, which was actively setting up and getting ready to go on Thursday, March 12th when everything shut down. Unlike many later shows that were able to get out of contracts, Naka had already spent money on pre-con expenses that they couldn't recover. Assuming they can't hold an event in 2021, it wouldn't surprise me to see a crowdfunding drive just for the purposes of staying alive and being able to return in 2022.
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Cardcaptor Takato
 Posts: 5246 |
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Remember when everyone myself included thought things would be better by now?
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omiya
 Posts: 1856 Location: Adelaide, South Australia |
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I've been "forever hopeful" that things would get better, although unsure of when, so put my airfares on credit rather than getting them refunded, and letting tickets to events in Japan roll over to future dates. Some of the events may yet go ahead before overseas tourist travel from Australia to Japan is possible, so in that case I'll offer my tickets to friends in Japan. The way out of the present situation is slow and will require improved public health measures all round. I don't want to make the situation worse by undertaking non-essential travel. All of that is minor compared to volunteer-run conventions who face really large financial losses due to events not being able to go ahead after being planned at a time when they were initially thought to be feasible. |
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Aresef
Posts: 918 Location: MD |
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I'm disappointed I won't have the chance to skip this event next year but I look forward to skipping it again in 2022.
I'm holding out hope that the postponed June date for Power Morphicon can stick. |
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Greed1914
 Posts: 4671 |
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That's why I'm not surprised that we're seeing things like Comic-con tentatively going with only roll-over admission and an anime convention postponed it's May event (which was already delayed from this year) to December, which seemed like they were not very hopeful about next year, but didn't want to admit it just yet. Several conventions got down to the wire and made moves to stall things without cancelling until they could get out of contracts, so I wouldn't be surprised if we see more announce delays/cancellations so they don't get stuck having to eat the costs. |
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TarsTarkas
 Posts: 5958 Location: Virginia, United States |
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Even if Japan opens up to U.S. citizens again, is it really going to be worth the expense to go there during the pandemic economic downturn? Are sightseeing areas open for visitors, are conventions and events happening, and anime/manga related shopping areas open?
I have periodic TAD work opportunities in Japan, but really wouldn't want to go there before the conventions and events start happening again. |
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hikura
Posts: 565 |
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Not to bash you. But with how some of the local,state and the federal government handled the pandemic it should not have surprised you. I do not blame them for shutting it down. It's better to be safe than sorry. |
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LadyKuzunoha
 Posts: 91 Location: United States |
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Hate to bring up old wounds and please pardon my bluntness, but I agree this honestly isn't surprising at all. Not only because of how Covid spreads easily in close spaces, but also remembering how one of the founders and director of the Japanese Culture Institute at Katsucon, not to mention wife of the at-the-time co-chair (I can't find a current list of staff positions, so my apologies if I am incorrect about which positions she and her husband held), passed away after contracting H1N1 back in 2014, the timing of which suggests she may have picked it up at the convention. I highly doubt that anyone at Katsucon wants that to happen again, whether there is force majeure or not, though force majeure would certainly make this call simpler from a financial and legal standpoint.
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Aresef
Posts: 918 Location: MD |
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The fact of the matter is we're expected to go through the worst of it this winter. I don't see conventions being a thing again for at least another five or six months. And even then, they're going to look different whether there's a vaccine out or not.
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