Setsucon
Setsucon is an annual two day anime convention held during January at the Blair County Convention Center in Altoona, Pennsylvania. The convention's name comes from the Japanese word "setsu", meaning "snow". It is organized by the Penn State Anime Organization (PSAO). The convention is family-friendly. Programming. The convention typically offers anime showings, artist alley, card-game tournaments, dance, dealer's room, Iron Cosplay, manga library, masquerade, panels, tabletop gaming, video gaming, and workshops. The 2008 host auction raised $1,200 and was donated to the United Way. Todd Haberkorn participated in the 2013 host auction, raising $ 510 for charity. The host auction in 2014 raised nearly $500 for Child's Play. Richard Epcar and Stephanie Sheh participated in the 2015 host auction, along with several cosplayers, raising $800 for Child's Play. Setsucon in 2018 had over 130 hours of convention programming. The 2022 charity video game tournaments benefited the National Alliance on Mental Illness. History. Due to financial issues, the convention's first year in 2007 was reduced from three days to one day. In 2008, the convention expanded to two days due to additional funding. In 2010 on Saturday, Setsucon reached its  venues capacity limit of 900 people before noon. The artists' alley and dealers' room were expanded in 2014. The dance was shut down early in 2015 because of complaints including poor behavior. In 2017, the convention showed never before seen clips from anime licensor Pied Piper, Inc. of the dub for Skip Beat!. In 2018, the convention moved to the Blair County Convention Center in Altoona, Pennsylvania. Setsucon due to the COVID-19 pandemic was scheduled to move to April for 2021, and would also have Friday programming. Instead, they held a virtual event in April, and in 2022 returned to  January with a three day event. The 2022 convention had COVID-19 protocols including masking and vaccination/testing requirements. Associations. Setsucon is a member of the International Otaku Expo Association (I.O.E.A). Setsucon has sponsored a Costume Contest at Schlow Centre Region Library's BookFestPA event, run during the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts.