Kin-Yoobi Con 2007-2012 www.kinyoobicon.com
- orginal site design and layout by Daniel Tran
- site information and content by Neal Trotter
- special thanks to Thaigger, Mike Pham & guest artists
August 11-12, 2012 (Saturday-Sunday)
The Hilton Newark/Fremont Hotel
39900 Balentine Drive
Newark, CA 94560-0564
[Information and History]
Kin-Yoobi Con 2012 is coming August 11-12, 2012 at the Hilton Newark/Fremont
Hotel in Newark, California. This will be Kin-Yoobi Con's sixth annual
convention and this time we'll be featuring even more unique activities than
ever before!
For the first time Kin-Yoobi Con will be hosted at the Hilton Newark/Fremont
Hotel! For five years past Kin-Yoobi Con has taken place at Chabot College in
Hayward, California. There are several reasons for the move. The first being
that attendees will be able to rent a hotel room within the actual facility the
convention is being held. This obviously makes it easier for attendees to stay
for the whole weekend.
Another related reason is that Kin-Yoobi Con 2012 will be featuring late
night programming for the first time! Expect our late night programming to be
engaging and highly entertaining. These won't be events that are only good to
simply pass the time.
Kin-Yoobi Con focuses on featuring a diverse array of events, from game
shows to fashion shows, from scavenger hunts to fan dubbing, from karaoke
contests to video game tournaments! We want not only to cater to the otaku and
hardcore gamer but also the average anime fan and game player. We strive to
entertain and spark creativity within our attendees.
We have some traditions at Kin-Yoobi Con. Unique activities and events are
one of them. Free food is another. A complimentary breakfast will be provided
for attendees who rent a room at the convention. Also free parking at our
convention is another tradition we will continue to offer this time around.
Kin-Yoobi Con 2012 is August 11th, a Saturday, and August 12th, a Sunday.
For the first time we'll be hosting our convention on a Sunday. For those
Japanese language knowers who are wondering why there is no programming on
Friday (Kin-Yoobi is Japanese for Friday after all) let's just say we have some
unofficial programming on that day in works. Stay tuned.
Kin-Yoobi Con 2012 will be our best iteration yet. Hope to see you there!
[EVENTS & PANELS]
Here is a description of each event we plan to host at Kin-Yoobi Con 2012.
Anime Bingo
It's bingo with a twist, namely an anime theme. The squares on the game
cards are various anime inspired archetypes and categories making for a fun
filled way to make game winning vertical, horizontal, and diagonal lines. Prizes
are given for every bingo!
Mini Medal Scavenger Hunt
Our scavenger hunt is inspired by the popular mini-quest in the long running RPG
video game series, Dragon Quest. We scatter mini medals throughout the
convention area for attendees to find. Hunt individually or as a team. Bring in
the most mini-medals for a prize!
Fan Dubbing
A fun and goofy event. We play a random anime on the main stage with the sound
completely off and no subtitles. Then, participants improvise the dubbing for
the anime with their acting skill, or lack there of. It's a blast either way.
Anime Comedy Hour
It's an open mic session! Come on and put your comedy chops to the test in front
of a live audience. The stipulation: Your bit must have an anime or gaming
theme. The stakes: Well, that depends on how good you are. Let's just say in the
past two years we've hosted this event, our audience has been more or less
forgiving to those that dare to experiment. However, when it's a good bit, the
laughter can be heard from across the block.
Free Breakfast
Attendees who reserve a room at the Newark/Fremont Hilton Hotel during Kin-Yoobi
Con 2012 will receive a free complimentary breakfast. We're still working out
the details so check back for complete information. We're keeping Kin-Yoobi
Con's free food for attendees tradition alive.
Swap Meet
This event is kind of like a flea market where attendees can come, sell,
exhange, and trade their video game and anime collectibles and memorabilia. Only
lasting two hours for one day, take advantage of this great opportunity. It's
free for all attendees but space is limited and it's on a first come first serve
basis. Go to the registration section to register.
Wheel of Fandom
This
gameshow is based off of the popular Wheel of Fortune gameshow with an anime
twist. The mystery quotes the contestants must solve are all famous lines from
anime. We give out some of our biggest prizes for winners of this event.
Panel Discussions
A
staple activity for just about any convention, panel discussions are talks given
by speakers who are knowledgable about the field the convention is about, in our
case, anime and games. Q&A and audience participation is usual. Check in the
future for specific panel titles and times.
Anime Charades
Charades is when participants try to get their team members to guess correctly a
situation or thing by acting it out without speaking. In this version the
situation or thing is anime or game related. Very fun.
Cosplay Contest
Our
most popular event. Cosplay (for those unfamilar) is when participants dress in
elaborate costumes of characters from anime or video games. These costumes are
often times completely hand made and take large amounts of time, effort, and
resources to create. This contest honors the very best cosplayers that attend
our convention. We reserve big prizes for winners of this event. Check back for
information on rules, regulations, and categories for this event.
Anime Charity Date Auction
This
event has been a hit ever since we first introduced it four years ago. Think
about a character from an anime or video game that you took a fancy towards.
It's nothing to be ashamed of. Such thoughts are simply playful ideas that exist
only in our minds, right? Not entirely so with this event. A lot of cosplayers
come to our convention and many happen to be dressed as that one character
you've playfully fancied in your mind. And, if it so happens that this same
cosplayer also auctions him or herself out on a date, and it's also for a good
charitable cause, there wouldn't be anything wrong with allowing that playful
thought to exist outside of your head, for the duration of one date at least.
<(o^_^o)>
Ball Room Dancing
Did you bring your boyfriend or girlfriend to Kin-Yoobi Con? Want to do
something romantic? Maybe you're trying to find something to do with the date
you just won during our Anime Dating Auction. Perhaps you're just with a friend
that likes to slow dance. Or maybe you met someone cool at the convention and
want to dance. That's cool. Participate in our Ball Room Dance event where we
play slow music featured in anime and video games. It's a great way to connect
with each other through dance and fandom.
Opening Ceremonies
The first event of the day for all the early birds showing up at the start of
the convention. Join the stage MC's as they deliver witty banter, light comedy,
and conversation with the audience as they introduce the convention as a whole.
Closing Ceremonies
Time to drive the convention to a close with our very last event. The MC's on
the main stage will host a raffle with prizes for all attendees who stay to the
very end. Music, preformances, and witty banter from MC's and audience members
will also be included as Kin-Yoobi Con 2011 goes out with a bang.
Vendor Dealing / Artist Alley
You
should try to save up for Kin-Yoobi Con 2011 if you can. There will be vendors
selling various anime and game related merchandise such as plushies, clothes,
posters, manga, DVDs, stickers, etc. They'll also be artists in the area selling
fan art as well as original art pre-made and via commission. To register as a
vendor or artist go to our registration section of the website.
Karaoke
The
beauty of this activity is that you can sing along to your favorite anime or
video game theme whether you can carry a tune or are tone deaf. Actually,
karaoke is Japanese for tone deaf, literally translating into "without voice".
Just a fun fact for us people who can't really sing to remember while we recite
our favorite themes that we've memorized so strongly. Just let loose and have
fun.
Karaoke Contest
So, we have our normal karaoke activity for everyone, and then we have our
Karaoke Contest for participants who have some real vocal talent. Participants
will be judged not only on how well they stay in pitch however, other criteria
include visual flare, including dress and dancing, and overall stage presence.
Prizes will be given to winners!
Video Game Tournaments
These are popular events that bring in gamers throughout the whole San Francisco
Bay Area and beyond. Many come to our convention just to compete at these
tournaments. Winners receive big prizes and the games featured are the most
popular among the competitive gaming community.
Casual Video Gaming (All day, both days)
An
activity that always remains popular since we've featured it at our first
convention five years ago. All attendees are free to play video games we'll
feature from all current generation gaming consoles such as Xbox 360 and
PlayStation 3 as well as many previous generation consoles such as Sega
Dreamcast and Super Nintnedo. Many types of video games will be available to
play andattendees can even bring their own games and consoles to play with
others.
Cosplay Cafe
A nice, quaint event where our staff and volunteers dress in Cosplay and
entertain attendees with playful conversation and table top games, similar to
the service of a Geisha. Small treats and snacks will also be provided.
Anime DJ'ing
In between the live bands and outside events and activities, our DJ will always
provide a fandom catered ambience, mixing music from anime, video games, and
other cool works of fiction.
Live Band Performances
There's
nothing like hearing a band live. It's quite an experience that eclipses the
feeling you get when you listen on CD or with your mp3 player. At Kin-Yoobi Con,
live band performances go even further because you have to apply the multiplier
that is live music based off of anime and/or video games. Now not only are you
endulging yourself in the music live, your also endulging yourself in the fandom
of the music. That's Kin-Yoobi Con, baby.
Jan-ken-pon
Did you know it was the Japanese that evented the version of the game,
Paper-Rock-Scissors, that we play here in America? You probably did. You also
probably know that they play a more active and vocal version today. We'll be
hosting that more fun version of the game at Kin-Yoobi Con 2011, complete with
mandatory Japanese vocalizations and gestures. It'll be a lot of fun.
Fan Art Competition
We
definitely have had some very talented artists that have attended Kin-Yoobi Con
in the past four years. We've hosted this competition in 2009 and it was a big
hit. We'll be bringing it back in Kin-Yoobi Con 2011. We give artists a limited
time to draw a popular anime or video game character. The audience decides the
winning illustration. Winners receive prizes!
Anime Improv
This
is when you get to show off your acting skills. We make up a random scenerio and
you play the role of a particular anime or video game character in that
scenerio. Your acting skills decide how the character you choose reacts in our
scenerios. The audience decides the accuracy of the protrayal. And it's all on
the fly, straight up improv.
Anime Feud
We gave a fandom make-over to the popular Family Feud gameshow. Similar rules:
Teams compete against each other by trying to guess the most popular answers to
survey questions. Our survey questions are all based off of anime and video game
trivia. That's what gives it that Kin-Yoobi Con spin. The other thing that gives
this gameshow that spin is the fact that the answers come from subscibers of our
Youtube Channel.
Anime Jeopardy
Are you one of those people that watches Jeopardy and tries to guess the answers
of the questions before the answers are given? Can you imagine how much more
easier that would be if all the questions were based off of anime? Well, that's
the reality with this event. However, getting at the answers might be a little
more difficult than you would think with our version of Jeopardy. Better
brush up on your anime trivia if you hope to win one of our prizes.
Fashion Show
For
the third time Kin-Yoobi Con will showcase Japanese inspired fashion in runway
style fashion. From Lolita to Visual Kei, we’re going back to how our fashion
show first started, with more style categories and fashion types. If you’re a
fashion designer interested in displaying your works at Kin-Yoobi Con 2012 go to
the registration section for more details.
Anime Rave
Time to get down and get into the zone of the dance. Loose yourself to the
music, become a slave to the beat. Our DJ will be mixing dance songs from anime
and video games to let loose the fandom in all of us. You've got to just, let
your body go with the flow.
Golden Carnival
We introduced this event for our five year anniversary and we’ll continue to
host it this time around. It's a festival within a festival where we'll feature
a number of carnival games based off of various anime and video games. Check
back for information of the specific games we plan to host in this event.
Table Top Gaming
We've
been featuring all types of games since Kin-Yoobi Con's inception, not just
video games. We've featured pen and paper games like Dungeons and Dragons, table
top games like Warhammer, and trading card games like Yu-Gi-Oh. This year is no
exception. Check back for information on the specific table top games we plan to
host.
Be sure to check back for more updates on guests and events, the site will be updated as we get new information in.
[GUESTS]
Vic Mignogna
Vic
has been acting for stage and screen since he was 8 years old. But he started
his career in anime a little over ten years ago as Vega in Streetfighter II.
Since then Vic has been in more than a hundred and fifty shows and video games,
known for such roles as Edward Elric in Fullmetal Alchemist, Tamaki Suou in
Ouran High School Host Club, Fai in Tsubasa Chronicle, Dark in DN Angel, Kurz in
Full Metal Panic, Broly in Dragonball Z, Kougaijji in Saiyuki, Ikkaku in Bleach,
Yukito in Air, Takanaga in Wallflower, Tatsu in Peacemaker, Luciano in Code
Geass, Virgil Walsh in Trinity Blood, Hikaru in Macross and many more.
Currently Vic is playing roles in the new Wolverine and Iron Man series on G4.
He's also playing Zero in Vampire Knight, and Yoshimori in Adult Swim's
Kekkaishi. He is also back in the role of Edward for Fullmetal Alchemist
Brotherhood, playing Death Scythe in Soul Eater, as well as Pokemon, Naruto,
Bleach and several others. Vic has also voiced roles in a large number of video
games including Soul Calibur, Disgaea, Persona III, Sonic Colours, Project
Sylpheed, DBZ, Bleach, FMA and more. But even longer than his voice acting, Vic
has been a professional music composer / singer / producer who has written and
produced hundreds of songs for TV, radio and CD. He sings the themes for shows
like One Piece & DBGT, and has produced several CDs of his own original music,
all available on iTunes. And finally, in addition to anime and music, Vic has a
degree in film and is deeply involved in the popular web Star Trek web series
like “Star Trek Phase II” and “Starship Farragut” as an actor and director. Vic
works regularly writing, producing and directing video and film productions of
all kinds.
Robert Axelrod
Mr. Axelrod is a busy voice over artist. He is the voice of Lord Zedd and
Finster on the "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers". The Lord Zedd voice is one of the
most recognizable character voices around. He voiced Armadillomon and Wizardmon
on "Digimon, Microchip, The Punisher's sidekick, on "Spiderman", Rico on
"Robotech", and has voiced countless Anime features including "Akira", "The Big
O", "Cowboy Bebop", "Brain Scratch", et al. As Lord Zedd, he starred in both the
first Power Rangers feature film and the wildly popular live show that toured
the country. He was a regular character on Saban Entertainment's "Wowser" series
(as Ratso Catso), "Journey To The Heart of the World" (as Scarface), "Hallo
Spencer" (as Elmer), and more. He just finished narrating the mockumentary
"Safety First: The Rise of Women and voicing four Anime series, "Gaiking",
"Danguard Ace", "Captain Horlock", "The Adventures of Nadja", and "Fist of the
North Star".
akai SKY
Fusing the best of two worlds, akai SKY merges heavy American rock influences with Japanese rock melody and lyrics. With Ryuusei’s powerful vocals, Hayashi’s intense guitar, Umi’s lively bass and Jinra’s dynamic drumming, akai SKY has been creating attention-grabbing music and performing energetically since 2005. The band released its first four-track EP album, Tokyo Beat Riot, in May 2010 which is available for purchase as a compact disc or digital download.
Kurenai
"It all started with a dream to create great music and share our love of music with the world. One day we decided to get together and play a few songs that we love, and we realized that we had great potential. That day, the dream was born. We decided to call ourselves Kurenai, after one of our favorite X Japan songs, and since then we have been unstoppable. We have performed at local anime conventions, and slowly started to work our way to other conventions and other venues entirely. Our love for music is the driving force behind everything we do and through music our friendship has grown stronger.
We draw inspiration from bands like High and Mighty Colors and Asian Kung-Fu Generation, just to name a couple. Hopefully we can one day inspire others to follow their dreams, just as we have."
- Kurenai
The Shogunate
The Shogunate is a group of artists united by a love of music, video games, pop culture and animation. Untied by the bonds that hold most people back, they strive to give there best in all fronts of entertainment. From their high energy live shows, to the earth shattering sounds of their album. you can tell with out a doubt The Shogunate gives it their all every time.
Be sure to check back for more updates on guests and events,
the site will be updated as we get new information in.
[Hotel and Location]
The Hilton Newark/Fremont Hotel
Kin-Yoobi Con is happening August 11-12, 2012 and has also
moved to a new location, the Hilton Newark/Fremont Hotel!
Why should you rent a hotel room for Kin-Yoobi Con
2012?
1. Special discounted rate for attendees.
2. Day 0 Friday pool party only open to attendees with room reservations.
3. Free Sunday breakfast included with hotel reservation.
4. Late night/early morning programming.
The Hilton Newark/Fremont Hotel is located at:
39900 Balentine Drive
Newark, CA 94560-0564
[Registration]
Attendee Registration
We appreciate your interest in Kin-Yoobi Con 2012. This year our attendee
preregistration is much smoother than it's ever been before. Preregistration for
the full weekend is $30.
By registering for Kin-Yoobi Con
2012 you acknowledge that you agree to our
weapons policy as well as our
policies and procedures. Click for full
details.
Don’t prefer to preregister by credit card? No problem. You can pay for
preregistration by check. Please make check payable to “Game-Zone Recreation.”
Please include a hard copy of an
attendee preregistration form with check for each attendee you are
preregistering.
Kinyoobi Con Preregistration form: 
Please mail your check with preregistration form(s) to:
37053 Cherry Street - Suite 201A
Newark, CA 94560
At the door pricing the day of will be:
Saturday: $25 (plus $15 to include Sunday)
Sunday: $20
Hotel Registration
Registration for rooms at the Newark/Fremont Hilton Hotel for Kin-Yoobi Con 2012
will be $79.00 plus tax per day. Dates available are: 8/09/12 to 8/12/12.
Here are some ways for attendees to book your room:
Go to:
www.newarkfremont.hilton.com
Click on: Check Availability
Put in your dates
Under the Group/Convention area put in GAZ and press continue
The room types and rates will populate
OR
Call 1-800-445-8667 and ask for the Game Zone Recreation rate or give them the
group code: GAZ
to receive the rates
Vendor Registration
A table reservation for vendors is $150 for the full weekend and includs two
full weekend admission badges, one for the vendor and one for a helper (2 free
full weekend attendee badges with table purchase). Tables positioned directly in
front of entrances where attendees are likely to see first are available for
$160 for the full weekend and also include two full weekend admission badges.
Please send us an email to
registration@gzronline.com with the full name(s) of those being registered.
Please read the Kin-Yoobi Con
Vendor/Artist Terms of Agreement and Limit of Liability for complete
information. Vendors must turn in a signed copy of this form on arrival. Vendors
can pay at the door but keep in mind, space is limited and preregistered vendors
have priority. Pregistration can be paid by credit card via paypal or mail in
check.
Artist Registration
A table reservation for artists is $60 for the full weekend and includes one
admission badge for the artist (1 free full weekend badge with table purchase).
An artist can purchase one additional helper badge at $30 for the full weekend.
Please send us an email to
registration@gzronline.com with the full name(s) of those being registered.
Please read the Kin-Yoobi Con
Vendor Terms of Agreement and Limit of Liability for complete information.
Artists must turn in a signed copy of this form on arrival. Artists can pay at
the door but keep in mind, space is limited and preregistered artists have
priority. Pregistration can be paid by credit card via paypal or mail in check.
Kin-Yoobi Con Vendor/Artist Terms of Agreement and Limit of Liability
We will send you an invoice if you choose to pay by credit card. We provide
receipts for all payment transactions, credit or check.
If you choose to pay by check please make the check payable to “Game-Zone
Recreation.” Please mail your check to address:
Game-Zone Recreation
37053 Cherry Street - Suite 201A
Newark, CA 94560
Panel Registration
Would you like to host a panel at Kin-Yoobi Con? A 1
hour panel will get you and a helper free admission for the day your hosting it.
A 2 hour panel, two 1 hour panels, or more will get you and a helper free
admission for both days. If you're interested in hosting a panel with us please
send us an email to
registration@gzronline.com with all the information requested on our
Panel Submission Form. Panel space is limited so the sooner you register the
better chance you'll be approved to host your panel.
Volunteer Registration
Interested in volunteering for Kin-Yoobi Con. Volunteer for six
hours and get a full weekend badge. Send us an email at
registration@gzronline.com to register as a volunteer.