Daigacon

Daigacon is an anime convention held in Kentucky. This convention was first held March 2-4, 2007, in Bowling Green, Kentucky at the Sloan Convention Center and University Plaza Holiday Inn. The second convention was held March 13-15, 2009, in Cave City, Kentucky at the Cave City Convention Center. The convention is run by the non-profit group of the same name headed by Convention Director Mark Henry. It was the first anime convention to be held in Bowling Green.

Western Kentucky University's anime club, Rising Sun Otaku, and its gamer club, WKU Gamers' Guild, organized the convention. Its mascot Waku-chan was named after WKU.

Guests
Prominent guests included Christopher Ayres, Brittany Karbowski, Jan Scott-Fraiser, Emily and Robert DeJesus, and Austell Callwood from the United States, and songstress Yoko Ishida, cosplay idol Yunmao Ayakawa, and Yasuhiro Koshi from Japan. Ishida performed two concerts. Of the three conventions held the first weekend of March, Daigacon was the only to have guests from Japan.

The band The Spoony Bards performed and Random Battle Group presented a live version of a battle scene from Final Fantasy.

Events

 * Magic: The Gathering play
 * Video Games - such as Halo, Guitar Hero 2, and Super Smash Bros. Melee
 * Cosplay - including costume competitions
 * Panels
 * Artists' Alley
 * Concert
 * Dance
 * Dealers' Room
 * Game Shows

Guests
Guests included Chris Ayers, director of Xenosaga and voice actor for numerous prominent anime; Josh Grelle, a voice actor for multiple ADV Films productions; Jason Thompson, author of “Manga:The Complete Guide", Miss Rose Lee from Raqs Attack and bands including The Man Power and The Protomen.

Events

 * Video Games and tournaments
 * Cosplay - including costume competitions
 * Panels
 * Artists' Alley
 * Concert
 * Rave
 * Dealers' Room

During DaigaCon 2009 closing ceremonies, an executive staff member proposed to his girlfriend, also an executive staff member, receiving a round of applause from the guests and attendees. They are now engaged, and the video of the event can be found on YouTube.