It’s that time of year in the Rockies again. Cold air and some con funk, though it was a pretty warm weekend overall. I decided to wrap the complete weekend into one quick article. I can honestly say this year was the busiest year we have ever covered. I’m not saying that the convention was not enjoyable and or a bad experience overall it was just frustrating year for us. We had plans and changes occurred and our plans fell apart. Our strategy did have some flexibility as over the weekend and I did get to sit through most of the main events and I did get some great photos.
We will be changing our coverage scope for next year as this year most of our plans just fell apart. A more focused attack plan for next year will be employed. That said, we still had a great time but had to roll with the punches.
The events I got into were ,overall, very good. As usual the AMV and C&C were fantastic, I like the changes made but opted not to shoot photos in C&C because, once again, a set of very rude photographers decided to setup right in front of me. When I asked them to move they promptly told me to go tuck myself in. At that point I said “Forget it, not worth my time.” Instead, I kicked back, put away my gear and took in the moment. Basically, stayed in main events for all of Saturday, only leaving for food and to take in the Saturday crowd.
Speaking of crowd, it was insanely busy this year! There were lines for everything — everywhere — and you had to bump and grind to get around. It was bad these prior few years, but this year takes the cake for crowd and line size. The people were fun and mostly optimistic, I spoke with several groups of people and the overall sense was that everyone was having a good time but many people complained about the lines and the crowds. Some people reported that it took an hour to get into the dealers room and people were, on average, lining up for events several hours in advance so they could get a seat. Those are mega-con sized numbers. I’ve been to Anime Expo and can say the NDK lines are catching up in terms of volume and wait time.
Over the weekend we visited the game room and the activities areas including DDR. Let’s not forget one of our favorite late night pastimes: dancing the night away. I decided to stick my head into the dance on Saturday night. It was hopping but I wasn’t in the mood for the crowd. However, I managed to snap a few shots at the Rave.
Dancing the night away
CLICK ME FOR AMV CONTEST POST
I did not make it to many events but I did spend a good amount of time taking pictures of cosplay which this year was impressive, seems to get better every year. We moved galleries off site to Flicker and Facebook.
HERE IS THE LINK TO THE COSPLAY GALLERY
I always try to bid on something at the auction. It was and is a fun time. Plus, it’s all for a good cause. All funds raised are for Charity. You can pay cash or credit card and yes some of the bidding gets a little heated and sometime out right crazy. But that being said, the items are always cool and sometimes very special.
The opening, closing and charity events were good as usual. If you have never been to one of these events at NDK before, I suggest giving it a shot next year. It is a great way to meet all the guests, staff, and learn about the weekend. Closing and charity auction are always fun and great way to tie up the year. NDK continues to do it right when it comes to these events. I’ve attended many like events at other conventions and can say that NDK thus far stands well above the others. See you Next Year!
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