The Anaheim Convention Center plays host to the WonderCon pop culture convention this weekend and as many as 140,000 people are expected to attend this more comic-book focused event compared with a more Hollywood driven San Diego ComicCon that attracts 150,000 people a day in July.
When WonderCon first came to Anaheim in 2012, as the Moscone Center in San Francisco was unavailable, only 40,000 attended. This weekend’s show has expanded into Halls B, C and D showing a dramatic increase in anticipated attendance. Show organizers sell tickets online only and well in advance, so it’s easy to see how this year’s expanded show provides a glimpse into what could be a coup if Anaheim’s bid for ComicCon is accepted. Anaheim made a formal pitch for the giant ComicCon show a couple of months ago, and oddly enough, the lawsuit joined by the gadfly group CATER preventing the expansion of the San Diego facility, might actually play a tiny role in bringing ComicCon to Anaheim. When you talk with business owners in the Gaslamp district and managers at nearby San Diego Hotels, most are aware of the lawsuit and many aren’t happy about it. An expanded San Diego Convention Center means a bigger ComicCon and more tickets sold which get snatched up over a few hours two days a year.
While there aren’t estimates on how much each WonderCon attendee spends coming to the convention, ComicCon attendees average between $600 and $1,400 a day on hotels, transportation, meals, and …stuff. But in 2012, 40,000 people and this weekend’s event expects more than three times that number. The economic impact of ComicCon on San Diego’s economy is estimated to be between $135 million to $178 million over a five day long weekend. There’s no real agreement on the final numbers, but even on the low end, pretty extraordinary for a weekend long event.
The new hotel construction and development in the Resort District and the Planned Expansion of the Anaheim Convention Center has made a believer of me. I think Anaheim could handle ComicCon; and while the city lacks the charm of San Diego’s Gaslamp District, there are plenty of places a short walk or bus ride away could handle, much like San Diego does. The challenge today is to see how Anaheim handles the long registration lines for people just getting their badge.
The Anaheim Convention Center will also play host to a Star Wars themed show and there’s a Disney D23 convention expected later this year.
Two notable things to reference; the WonderCon people are passing out code of conduct flyers. A number of people “cosplay” in that they dress as comic book or gaming characters. And some costumes are …daring, especially those worn by young women which leads to very inappropriate language and some unwanted touching. WonderCon will have plenty of security available and the community of people who take cosplay seriously will have no problem taking appropriate action for the jerks who get out of line.
Another is a panel Sunday featuring Star Trek Deep Space 9 actress Chase Masterson and Law & Order and Flash actor Jesse Martin leading a panel to focused on educating attended about anti-bullying efforts.
Here’s the announcement:
Los Angeles, CA, March 31, 2015 – Learn how to convert kryptonite into your own personal strength with Pop Culture Anti-Bullying Coalition’s powerful panel, back at WonderCon at the Anaheim Convention Center by popular demand.
Jesse L. Martin of The Flash and Law & Order and the United Nations Association San Diego President Bettina Hausmann join the panel, along with celebs & experts Anthony Breznican (Senior Writer: Entertainment Weekly; Author: Brutal Youth), Deric Hughes (Supervising Producer, Beauty and the Beast), Dr. Andrea Letamendi (The Arkham Sessions), Jenna Busch (Founder, Legion of Leia), and Coalition Founder Chase Masterson (The Flash,Star Trek: DS9).
Topics of discussion will include geek, cyber, and LGBT-bullying, becoming a hero IRL, and analyzing how media affects our attitudes toward bullying and aggression. There will be a Q&A.
End Bullying: Becoming a Superhero IRL (In Real Life)
Sunday, 4/5/15 • 10:30 am
Room 208
The unprecedented Coalition, which is all-volunteer and self-funded, was formed in 2013 by Chase Masterson and author Carrie Goldman (Harper Collins’ Bullied: What Every Parent, Teacher, and Kid Needs to Know About Ending the Cycle of Fear).
“We love superheroes — why not be one?” asks Masterson, who has mentored bullied kids coming out of gangs at Homeboy Industries since 2008. “We’re not just here to make a stand against bullying. Everybody knows that needs to stop. We’re creating a safe, go-to place where teens, kids and adults can find strategies, support, healing and answers.”
President Hausmann concluded, “It is a human right to live lives free of hate, violence, and ignorance — the three legs of the bullying stool. The United Nations as a global body enacted in local contexts supports efforts not only regarding anti-bullying, but pro- openness, pro-understanding, and pro-empathy. It takes dedicated individuals like Chase Masterson and Carrie Goldman, who tirelessly volunteer to promote this important cause, to unite us to stand up against bullying and discrimination. We, the UNA-USA San Diego are proud to support their invaluable works with and through the Pop Culture Anti-Bullying Coalition.”
“We’re standing for nothing less than a cultural revolution,” added Masterson. “In approaching this crucial issue through pop culture, we stand to make paradigm shifts in society through the hearts, minds and actions of young people, toward creating a culture of inclusivity, without identity-based bullying, racism, misogyny, homophobia or other forms of hate.”
“In our digitalized, media-driven society, pop culture has a constant influence on the way that both children and adults interpret the world. When kids see celebrities take action against bullying, it resonates strongly and sends the message that cruelty is not acceptable,” says Goldman.
Coalition Partners include the United Nations Association, the Anti-Defamation League, Cartoon Network’s Stop Bullying: Speak Up, CW Seed’s Husbands and several national non-profits with initiatives to end bullying, including GLSEN,International Bullying Prevention Association, Girl Scouts of America, Brave Girls Alliance and the NoH8 Campaign.
WonderCon, one of the undisputed epi-centers of the pop culture universe, draws over 60,000 fans to the Anaheim Convention Center. Pop Culture Anti- Bullying Coalition breaks unprecedented ground in bringing this crucial issue to the heart of the Con’s entertainment-driven conversations.
“Nothing short of a Justice League.” The Good Men Project
www.AntiBullyingCoalition.com @AntiBullyingCo
– See more at: http://www.cowabungacorner.com/content/pop-culture-anti-bullying-press-release#sthash.7sEk79Ju.dpuf
Interesting, I read an article today that said Wonder Con was moving to LA next year. Maybe this is why.
Due to construction for the expansion of the Anaheim Convention Center