Earlier today, the official Project: A-Kon Facebook page updated with a letter from eventPower President Frank Powell. In the letter, Powell announces that he acquired the convention, and will serve as the organization’s new president.
Powell entered the events management business in the 1980s, and has produced more than one thousand events to date. In his letter, Powell explained that he began working with A-Kon in 2015 and “fell in love with the event and fans.” He added that he invested in the event when he heard that it was facing financial difficulties, in order to “provide stability to the event and keep it going.”
On January 16, the A-Kon staff announced that the convention has been acquired, and is operating under new ownership. The event will be pushed back to June 27 – 30, and the venue will return to Dallas from its current venue in Fort Worth.
Project: A-Kon is North America’s longest running anime convention. The first event ran from July 28–29, 1990 at the Richardson Hilton in Richardson, Texas. The con attracted 380 attendees in its debut year.
Last year’s A-Kon was held at Fort Worth’s Fort Worth Convention Center from June 7 – 10. The event saw 34,684 attendees, with a turnstile count of 126,291. Guests included Richard Epcar, Matthew Mercer, and Tetsuro Shimaguchi.
Source: Facebook (ProjectAKon) (Thanks to Yatta-tachi Editor-in-Chief Katy Castillo for the tip!)
