Kraken Con Fall 2015

[the USS Hornet during Kraken Con Fall 2015]

Saturday, September-26, was Kraken Con in Alameda, California. It was held on the USS Hornet, which is a US Navy ship that has been turned into a museum. Kraken Con is similar to SacAnime, because it holds cons twice yearly; they had one in April this year in Oakland, California and then of course their second one was the con I just attended. 

[Before Fall Kraken Con 2015]

I arrived late, because I had to work earlier and thus I had no time to cosplay, but I was able to throw on some fan gear and look okay. I received a lot of compliments on my dress and I wore this to SacAnime earlier this year too (unfortunately, I have not pictures from that day) and also received a lot of praise for it there. I bought the dress from Hot Topic and it was on sale too. In my opinion, Hot Topic has really become a great source for fan gear and collectibles in terms of current media and pop culture genres. 

[Luigi and Mario cosplayers at Kraken Con Fall 2015]

On with the con! When first walking into the convention area, I spotted these adorable girls cosplaying Luigi and Mario from Nintendo.

[myself with a Sailor Moon cosplayer at Kraken Con Fall 2015]

Once inside the con, or aboard the ship, it took a minute to figure out where everything was. To the left of the entrance was the small room that was not only the viewing room for movies, but also the exhibit hall. Unlike most cons, there was no separate Artist Alley and vendor room; it was just all together in one area, which was fine, because it was very small in both numbers of attendance and exhibitors.

[DC's Bumble Bee cosplayer at Kraken Con Fall 2015]

I felt like the con was in a very bad location. It felt like it was in the middle of nowhere. To get to the con we had to drive through a rather deserted part of Alameda, which is okay for a journey to a shipyard or military base, but not that welcoming for a con. Parking was free and there was plenty of it; that's an upside considering that con parking can be near impossible to find and/or expensive. The con did offer shuttle service as well.

Inside of the ship it was kind of smelly. My sailor source says that is normal for being on a ship and included that if one lives on a ship for a while the smell is actually worse. Again, it's okay for a museum of a Navy Ship that is actually on the ship, but it's not pleasant for a con. 

There was not much room for setup inside. The layout of the con was awkward. For example, the volume of the viewing for movies was not on since it was in the exhibit hall. A guest of the con, Christy Carlson Romano, was actually doing her autographs outside, because there was no room on the ship to do it. Everything was going on around the museum display and that only added to awkwardness. 

[Takoyaki by HiroTako]

I didn't even purchase anything from the con, except some Takoyaki. The takoyaki was delicious! A street food vendor called "HiroTako" was aboard and selling it, and it was very good and authentic! My only issue was getting to it! I had to climb up numerous stairs that were only a one way direction. That meant anyone trying to go up or down at the same time as others had to wait. It's understandable for a ship, but not for a con; just another reason why the con should not have been on a ship.

Since I have never been to Kraken Con, I cannot compare it to the one held in Oakland earlier this year or to any others in the past. I can say from this experience that I'm disappointed and I felt like the location really hurt the con's turn out. If I were a part of the organization I would make sure that next fall I held the con in a much better location that allowed for a more pleasant experience for the attendees. The food vendors were excellent though and they had a topnotch guest list, but definitely needs improvements in the future for the overall experience.

If you attended Kraken Con then please let me know what you thought! Any other comments are free to be left below!