12 May, 2007
Anime Central 2007: The Masquerade That Wasn’t
Posted by: Rachel In: Anime Central| Conventions
Every year, we look forward with sweaty anticipation to the end all be all of the anime convention: the Masquerade. Thousands of people line up hoping to see killer costumes and rioutious skits. It’s expected that the lines will be long, the wait will be lengthy and the crowd will be ansty. This year was no exception, except…it went beyond just being a ridiculously long wait. After thousands of folks lined up to see the spectacle, half of them were turned away. Why? Because they didn’t have a ticket.
This year, ACen’s Masquerade was a nightmare to many, many people. First off, most people had no frick’n clue that the Masquerade was now a ticketed affair. Except, for the people who went to see the band, High and Mighty Color. These fans were told after the concert that they would need a ticket to be seated at this year’s Masquerade. OK, so a ton of people were utterly unaware of this new process and the peeps that did know, didn’t know how to get tickets. So, theres a mix of people randomly lining up without tickets, people looking for tickets, and those with tickets. Why didn’t the IRT tell the slew of people lined up outside that they needed tickets before the line became the monstrosity it does every year? Not only was the line a mess, but the time was off. Instead of the scheduled 5:00, the event was delayed until 6:00pm. WTF?!
Talking to a source, the answer lies in two areas: lack of efficient communication and Chicago’s Fire Marshall. The Fire Marshall descended upon ACen Friday afternoon with the wrath of an otaku scorned and informed the Hyatt that even though 2,000 fit nicely in the ballroom, only 1,250 were now to be allowed in. Fire Code, etc. So, hence, the need for tickets (for counting purposes). Sadly, in a con that’s grown this size and is so all consuming, communication broke down. Be it lack of communication skills, lack of contacting the right people at the right time, whatever, the info that the Masquerade was to be ticketed came too little too late for many fans.
Even the Press didn’t escape from Lady Fate’s Bitchfest. We were assigned to the sides where we were only given the chance to shot ass shots and even then, the entrants practically ran across the stage. After sneaking into the front row, which for some reason was unoccupied, I tried to shoot some decent shots. However, the cosplayers rushed across so quickly, any good shots of their costumes were unattainable.
So, all you who limped away from the Masquerade line with disappointed souls, I feel your pain.
