Spring is here! The sun is shining, the rain is lessening slowly but surely, and the cherry blossoms are out. That means it’s time again for Sakura-Con!
This is a convention I have been attending since I was in middle school (I know, I’m old), and I’m loving that it looks like it’s going to be sunny out during the convention (fingers crossed it will be very nice out). Sakura-Con is one of those fun but busy cons for me when I go, I do a lot of con crunching to make sure my cosplay is good (or up to my standards) so I can have fun walking around. Although, I do tend to be extremely busy. I have five panels I’m on (crying forever), photoshoots, and meet ups (I can never miss a One Piece meetup again) that I have to be at during the first two days. I am trying my hardest to make sure everything is done and ready before the convention starts, at least three days before. I just really want to be able to walk around, get photos, and shop for some merch. At Emerald City Comic Con, I barely had any time and was at meetups, and photoshoots constantly. I ended up missing out on food, water, and chill time shopping.
I’m currently looking at the schedule for Sakura-Con, not the best or easiest app to use for this event (and you have to constantly look up the event when re-opening the app). So far from my quick glance over the schedule, there looks to be a lot of great programming this year. Lots of open workshops for prop building, game learning, and tournaments. There’s also a lot panels on photography as well as modeling for cosplay photos. I’ve seen some new things added onto the schedule as well, original design cosplay showcase and how NOT to plan an anime convention. I have made space in my schedule to check out a lot of these (I hope I’m not too busy this year to go check some of these out!)
Dreamland Maid Cafe will also be in attendance, and I love going to maid cafes with friends. It’s always such a fun time having sweet snacks, drinks, and playing games with friends and the maid assigned to your group. A nice way to still be at the con but taking a little break and a step back from all the go-go-go happening. I also spied that a cosplay swap meet would be happening on Sunday of the convention…I am so excited to check this out! I have a handful of cosplays I have bought and no longer want and would love to pick up some new things.
There’s also more heat on Sakura-Con this year more so than others, mainly because of accessibility. There has been an outpouring of convention goers who have publicly spoken about this and have made a petition, to demand Sakura-Con resolve accessibility and privacy issues, and have been sharing it everywhere online. The majority of conventions have special features/accommodations and so forth for people with disabilities. They are taking steps forward to help with this, such as holding open forums and creating a page on the event site for ADA. At this point we will all just have to wait and see how the convention goes this weekend, and what they will learn they need to improve on going forward.
Sakura-Con also happens to land on Easter Sunday, many con goers have fun with this and go as bunny versions of their cosplays/characters and pass out goodies for everyone. This will be my first year. I myself will be passing out some small goodies to people (and dressed as a bunny Demon Slayer character). I’m super excited to take part in this tradition at Sakura-Con and hopefully brighten someone’s day with a small gift.
This convention will also be party filled, hosting their own raves and dances Friday and Saturday. There will be many events/raves, held outside of the convention all anime themed to fit the weekend. First off is We Touch Grass on Thursday night, Friday night is Senpai Squad, and Saturday night is another one at the club Spin. I’ve also seen a lot more pop up in this last week before con, so plan wisely if you are going and use the buddy system! Don’t go with strangers, don’t drink anything already opened or left alone (or could have been opened). Have fun but please, everyone stay safe!
Tickets are still available online for Sakura-Con, and there will be no on site sales for the convention this weekend. Sakura-Con starts Friday April 18 and goes through Sunday April 20, and is being held at the Seattle Convention Center and at the newer convention center building (the Summit Building).
Are you going to Sakura-Con? What are you looking forward to? Feel free to leave a comment below or chat with us on Threads at @theconventioncollective, or Bluesky at @theconcollective.bsky.social
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