Hey PulpFest members? Are you interested in Japanese anime, manga, or video games? Then you’ll be happy to know that your PulpFest organizing committee has worked out a dual membership with Matsuricon, the annual pop-culture event that showcases both Japanese and American popular culture. The two conventions will be sharing the Hyatt Regency Columbus this year. Matsuricon will also be holding some events in the Columbus Convention Center and the Crowne Plaza, right across the street from the Hyatt.
According to the convention’s web page, Matsuricon is “a festival of everything geeky and otaku, from anime to video games, Doctor Who to Marvel, My Little Pony to Homestuck, and everything in between.” It is an anime con first, but likes to include as much as possible because of the obvious overlap of fandoms. The Matsuri family was created to reflect its family-friendly environment. It strives to be an event that the entire family can go to, and encourages families to attend. There is something for everyone at Matsuricon!
Matsuricon 2015 will open on Friday, August 14th at 10 AM. Its hours on Friday and Saturday are 10 AM to 10 PM and Sunday, August 16th, 10 AM to 1 PM. The gaming area will be open until 2 AM on Friday and Saturday nights and 4 PM on Sunday afternoon. Normally, a full weekend membership, paid at the door would cost $55. However, if you show your PulpFest badge and some form of identification — such as a driver’s license — at the Matsuricon registration area, located in the Crowne Plaza at 33 East Nationwide Boulevard, you will be able to purchase a membership to Matsuricon for the entire weekend for $35, a discount of twenty dollars.
You will be able to enjoy music video contests, cosplay, social gaming, tabletop gaming, video gaming, panel presentations, the convention’s dealers’ room, artist alley, photoshoots, an extensive guest list, auctions, raffles, and much, much more. Enjoy TOKYO ATTACK, the SAILOR MOON INVASION, and everything else Matsuricon has to offer. And all this is on top of the great programming and tremendous dealers’ room that PulpFest is so well known for!
To learn more about what Matsuricon has to offer, please visit the convention’s website at matsuricon.org/.
But there’s more! Matsuricon members who show their badge and some form of identification at the PulpFest registration area, located outside our dealers’ room in the Regency Ballroom on the third floor of the Hyatt Regency Columbus, will receive a four-day membership to PulpFest 2015 for $30, a savings of 25% off our regular at-the-door registration fee! One-day memberships will also be available for $20. Look for the PulpFest SHOP banner and you’ll find our registration area.
PulpFest begins on Thursday, August 13th, with early-bird shopping in our dealers’ room from 6 PM to 10 PM. We’ll also have a full slate of programming, beginning at 8 PM and running to about 1 AM. Our dealers’ room is open on Friday and Saturday from 10 AM until 4:30 PM and on Sunday from 10 AM until 2 PM. We’ll also have programming events on Friday and Saturday afternoons, plus evening programming on each night from about 7 PM until 1 AM. There will be no programming on Sunday. PulpFest will also have a gaming track located on the second floor of the Hyatt Regency in the Clark Room. Games will run from 10 AM to 10 PM on Friday and Saturday and from 10 AM until 2 PM on Sunday. Find the PulpFest PLAY banner and you’re there!
In 2015, PulpFest will be celebrating the 125th anniversary of the birth of H. P. Lovecraft, the writer who created “Great Cthulhu.” Additionally, we’ll be saluting the “Thrilling Group” of pulp magazines, the company that gave us The Phantom Detective, The Black Bat, Captain Future, Thunder Jim Wade, and so much more! We’ll also have appearances by horror and science-fiction writer Chet Williamson, WEIRD TALES artist Jon Arfstrom, and presentations on The Shadow, Street & Smith comic books and Golden Age heroes such as The Black Terror and The Fighting Yank! All PulpFest programming will take place on the second floor of the Hyatt Regency. Look for the PulpFest PANELS banner and you’re there and to learn more about all of the great programming that PulpFest 2015 has to offer, please click the red “schedule” button located on our home page. You’ll find us at pulpcon.org/.
(This year, PulpFest will mark its different locations with the banners pictured above. The SHOP banner will be outside our dealers’ room. That’s where you’ll be able to register. The PANELS banner will be located outside our programming area, located on the second floor of the Hyatt Regency. The PLAY banner will be standing outside our gaming area, also located on the Hyatt’s second floor. Find them and you’re there!)
