Now in its second year, Alcon is held in Leicester's De Montfort University between 5th and 7th September 2008.  The convention is run by the UK branch of the Anime League, an international collective of anime and manga fans.

A three day pass to the convention is £25, and a one day pass is £12.  On site accommodation is available on a first come, first serve basis and must be pre-booked at a cost of £19.50 per night.  Accommodation is available from Thursday 4th September to Sunday 8th September.

As with all conventions you must register your intention to attend and pay in advance.  Registrations are open until all 350 places are filled, and prices will increase after 31st April, so it pays to get in early.

"We are an extremely friendly and innovative anime convention running on Friday 5th- Sunday 7th September 2008 at De Montfort University in Leicester.  It's just £25 for three day entry, and just £19.50 a night for accommodation.  As well as anime screening, there shall be a video gaming room, an Artist Ally, a Cosplayer's Hangout, a Card-Gaming/Roleplaying room, an Anime Bar, a Dealers room and more special events than you can shake a stick at!  Finally!  Keep an eye out for the Pirates v Ninjas v Vampires clans as they battle!  Which side wins?  YOU shall decide!"

Alcon is built around innovative activities, with the likes of Cosplay Blind Date, Plushie Workshop and Iron Artist Contest adding a bit of originality alongside the usual dealers room, anime screenings, Q&A sessions and parties.  The atmosphere at the 2007 event was fun and accepting, if a little bit chaotic.  As you may expect from a first time event most things seemed

 to be done on the fly and much of the planning went out the window.  This time round things should be different, Alcon Chairman Mike Towers explains that they have learnt from 2007, and their planning for the 2008 event started nearly a year in advance.  There are more activities to get involved in than last year, and the Pirates vs Ninjas vs Vampires idea is a clever way of bringing people together.  When you register you pick whether you want to be a vampire, ninja or pirate and build up points for your chosen clan by winning contests and completing activities throughout the weekend.  Whether you want to build up points or not the clan idea gives some common ground and allows a bit of banter between attendees. 

 It's this that's Alcon's strength - it's built around people and camaraderie.  2007's event wasn't as slick as Amecon, or as busy as the MCM Expos, but it felt like an old-fashioned convention and was good fun because of it.  2008's event should be slicker, but hopefully it'll be able to keep the underground feel that the first one had.

To see our other articles on Alcon, please click on the following links:

Alcon 2007 Feature

For further info, please visit www.alcon.org.uk

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