Gavin Went to EvilleCon 2017! (Review)

Gavin spent his weekend at Evansville's biggest Anime convention!

I love going to conventions; whether it be a comic con, toy con, or anime con, I just love the atmosphere. I love seeing people who might be a little weird to the rest of the world get together and finally fit in. I also love seeing all the costumes, merch, and guest panels. EvilleCon 2017 had no shortage of fun.

EvillCon 2017 was slightly different than the last two years I attended, and that is mostly because the location changed. The past two years, they were at the Old National Event's Plaza, but this year they opted to move to the Holiday Inn near the airport. This wasn't a big deal, but you could tell there was slightly less room than prior years. They made due with the space they had and everything was laid out well, though.

The man who puts this all together every year, Robert Grimwood aka Ox-King

There was a ton of stuff to do that ranged from guest panels to autograph signings with some of anime's hottest voice actors (which were free if you brought your own merch) to panels about video games, Speed-Friending, and tons more. At night, they had events for adults that I could talk about, but what happens at the 18+ EvilleCon panels stays at 18+ EvilleCon panels. They also held dance parties on Friday and Saturday night. I attended because I like to pretend that I party. DJ Zackachu put on a great show and got everyone super excited.

We have no idea who glow finger guy was...

OK, now let's get to why I was specifically at EvilleCon. I was asked by one of the staffers (the always charming Joey Stalker) to be a judge for EvilleCon's Got Talent, their yearly talent show. I happily accepted because I'm really good at judging others so it's glad to see my talent recognized. This year had some very tough competition and the talents were all pretty great. From ocarina players to dancers to a stand-up comic, EvilleCon's Got Talent featured an unrivaled mix of talents.

The Finalists!

The other judges besides me were the previously mentioned DJ Zackachu and Tracy Moore (wife and hype-woman of author Shane Moore), who couldn't have been nicer. We had a really fun mix of personalities that meshed well in the judging. And before you ask, there were no Simon Cowell's. Some of the contestants were as young as 13, I'm a judge, not a monster.

We are now best friends and should get an apartment together!

At the end of the day, the champion of EvilleCon's Got Talent was aspiring stand-up comic Kris Izzi, who honestly, I didn't like during his audition, but really improved over the next two days and deserved to win. You can check out his winning performance below:

Overall, my EvilleCon 2017 experience was a ton of fun. I know it was a ton of fun because I have a serious case of the PostCon Blues today. EvilleCon continues to grow each year and I already can't wait until next year!

*Note: I was unable to attend this years Cosplay Contest due to other obligations (and by that I mean I went to go see Beauty and the Beast with my lady and her parents that were in town. I heard the contest went amazing, as per usual.