Kitsune Kon returns to KI Center

Kitsune Kon will take over Green Bay’s KI Convention Center this weekend, July 11-13, just as it has each summer for more than a decade, celebrating anime and drawing in fans of the genre from near and far.

[Kitsune Kon] started a little over ten years ago in Green Bay at the KI Convention Center and we haven’t really changed much,” said Mark Halberg, head of media and press for Kitsune Kon. “We center around the anime community, but we have a lot of people that come that have interest in manga, Dungeons and Dragons and various different board games.”

While the actual convention may not have undergone drastic change since it started, what has changed is the size of the convention.
“We first started at the same location that we’re at right now, but we had very limited access,” Halberg said. “We only needed a couple rooms at the time for main programming and a couple panel rooms. We didn’t have the attendance to really fill out the attached hotel rooms or other hotel rooms that are close by…” he said. “Fast forward to this year where it’s grown by so much that not only are the hotel rooms sold out within minutes, but other hotel rooms in the area get sold out incredibly quickly.”

With that growth, the convention has become large enough to fill three full days with programming.

“It’s big enough that you can walk around and there’s plenty to do…” Halberg said. “One great thing about attending is that you’re not going to be bored. There’s always going to be something going on at any point during the day that you can do or attend or watch or see. There’s just so many things that go on.”

With a dealers’ hall, artist alleys, panels, cosplay wrestling, cosplay contests, photo opportunities, gaming sessions and more, there’s no shortage of things to do at Kitsune Kon.

But despite the incredible growth the convention has seen and the abundance of programming, Halberg said it still feels like a local event, making it a must-attend event for long-time convention goers and a great opportunity for first-time attendees to dip their toes into the convention scene.

“The main thing that sets Kitsune Kon apart is that you get the feeling of a large convention when you look at the guests and the panels and the area where it is, but once you get to the convention, everyone’s walking around and you get that hometown feeling,” he said. “There are so many staff there to be able to answer any questions and everything is neat and organized. There’s no confusion on where you need to go and everything is easily laid out.”

More information, as well as tickets for the convention, can be found at kitsunekon.com.