Latest News
Check out our forums!
Reminder: Book Your Hotel Room!
The hotel room block closes on January 13, so book your room soon! This really is the best place to stay for your money! It's only $89 a night for a King room, and this is the Crowne Plaza in Clayton we're talking about! Even if you know someone who isn't planning on going to the convention, they can get the convention rate when they book a room by phone. It's SOO much cheaper than the regular price and very worth it! Plus it helps us out by bringing our room rental price down, allowing us to keep more of the money we make to use for better guests and events next year!
Book your room by calling the Crowne Plaza at (314) 726-5400 and telling them that you're with "Kawa Kon". If you already booked your room but forgot to mention Kawa Kon, it's not too late to get the discount! Call and ask them to place your room in our block.
Panelist Deadline Changed
Attention prospective panelists! Due to an earlier-than-expected program book deadline, ALL panelist forms MUST be postmarked by January 10, 2009. That's five days earlier than the original deadline. We would love to have more panelists, so if there's something you want to teach, demonstrate, or simply talk about, go ahead and send in a form. We also have a list of ideas for you on the Panel Programming page.
Jeopardy Jam with the Spoony Bards
On Friday night, right before the Marshmallow Mixer dance, the Spoony Bards will do something so amazing, so exciting, and so unprecedented that you will just have to see it for yourself! The Bards are hosting their first EVER Jeopardy Jam! The Jeopardy Jam is a game of anime fandom Jeopardy with a twist. The Bards will play the incidental music (i.e. the familiar "do do do do") as well as two rounds of Name That Tune. Find out more on the Events Page!
Local Artist GoHs: Jon Klement and Mike Cole
Jon Klement and Mike Cole return for another year as our Local Artist Guests of Honor! These hilarious webcomic artists of Smerdiverse fame are becoming more popular by the minute! Check out their biographies on the Guests Page.
Event Schedule is Online!
Check out a simple schedule of the main events on our Schedule Page! These are all of the LARGE scheduled events. Several smaller events such as card game tournaments, movie and show premieres, and panels will be announced soon!
Voice Actor Guest of Honor!
Our voice actor guest of honor for 2009 is Spike Spencer! Spike has been a voice actor since before anime was cool and has voiced major characters in Neon Genesis Evangelion, Bleach, Martian Successor Nadesico, and Code Geass. Find out more about him on the Guests Page.
Bishounen Needed!
Think you've got the looks to be a bishounen in the date auction? Enter to be auctioned off! The entry form and more information are on the Events Page.
Artist Guests of Honor - Otaku-no-Yen
Richard and Shannon of the webcomic Otaku-no-Yen are coming to spread their knowledge of anime-style drawing and show you never-before-seen work! Check out a little more about them and one of their new characters on the Guests Page!
Want to get in FREE? Volunteer!
Think you might not have the money to go to Kawa Kon? Never fear! We have all sorts of great volunteer opportunities, and they all might just be FUN!
Volunteers are what makes our convention go, and you don't have to work that many hours to get in free (although it would be awesome if you worked more than required).
Check out the Volunteers Page for more information on what you can do as a volunteer!
A Note From the Con Chair 
I would like to take a moment to set the record straight about why we changed the name to Kawa Kon.
I mentioned in the past that we changed the name to establish an identity, and that is the truth. Anime St. Louis is a very generic name, and, with only two years of three-day conventions under our belt, we felt we could make the change more smoothly than a highly established anime convention like, say, Anime Boston. The word "kawa", meaning "river" in Japanese, refers to the many rivers in the St. Louis area (which happen to be causing a lot of chaos with all of the recent rain... that was not intentional, obviously).
There is another reason why we are pushing the name change, and it also has to do with identity. Another group is calling themselves "Anime St. Louis". It is made up of some of the people who worked at last year's Anime St. Louis. This group is not affiliated with us and does not own the name Anime St. Louis or the affiliated websites.
I want to squelch all of the rumors about who is who.
I have been the acting convention chair of Anime St. Louis since 2006, and I have been the driving force in bringing you St. Louis's only three-day anime convention. I, along with the rest of the staff, will continue to bring you a friendly convention, full of familiar faces and the activities that we have been putting on for the past couple of years.
This year, you'll see the Spoony Bards return to the stage at our new venue, the Crowne Plaza Clayton. The roomy Crowne Plaza will give us more than double the space in the main events hall as last year. A lot of your favorite dealers will be returning too.
We're also bringing back the best events from last year, including Whose Line Is It Anime?, the Worst Video Game Tournament, and the ever-popular Bishounen Date Auction. Our masquerade staff is working to create a smoother, better-than-ever masquerade! With our cool new theme for 2009, we'll bring Iron Mech, the Midnight Anime Roast, and Marshmallow Mechs.
I hope to see you all there!
Sincerely,
Katrina (Johnson) Lynn
Convention Chair, Kawa Kon
First Guests: The Spoony Bards!
We're pleased to announce that the Spoony Bards are returning to St. Louis after their most triumphant appearance in 2008! Find out more about them and their music on the Guests Page!
Artist and Dealer Registration Open!
Head on over to the Artists' Alley and Dealers' Room pages for forms and information!
Mail-In Registration Open!
Until we get online registration set up for 2009, you can register by mail. It's cheap, easy, and you can take advantage of the lowest rates for Kawa Kon, as low as $5 for an adult's one day cosplayer pass and FREE for a one day cosplayer pass for children 6-12! Hop on over to the Registration Page for details!
Kawa Kouples - Treat Your Sweet!
For couples 16 years of age or over, we have a little something to add romance to your Valentine's Day weekend! Anime-style! It's called Kawa Kouples, and it gives you and your sweetheart every reason to make Kawa Kon your date destination! Check it out on the Registration Page.
Registration Info Up!
We've got the information up only at this point, but registration should be open by the end of the week. Check out the Registration page for next year's prices! When registration opens, there will be a sweet (quite literally) new deal for couples who want to spend Valentine's Day at Kawa Kon.
Website Changes (And More to Come!)
We've added event descriptions and some staff bios. A wave of big changes will come soon, including an announcement of the date and location for 2009 by the end of the month.
Our entire website will have a cool new look soon.
Look for our new flier at WorldCon this week, and wait for it to appear at some of your favorite local hangouts in the next few weeks.
Announcing: An Awesome New Theme!
Following the pattern from 2008 of pairing our main theme with food, our theme for 2009 is "Mechs and Marshmallows", celebrating all of our fine metal friends and, of course, fluffy, cylindrical snacks! We will have several events based on our theme and lots of yummy artwork coming soon!
Big Name Change!
For 2009, we will be starting our changeover to a new name and a bit of a new game! This is going to be a year of changes. A lot of new staff members have joined the team, and the familiar look of the website will change pretty soon. We'll still bring you the same great convention and your favorite events from past years as well as some new ideas to spice things up.
Our teaser tagline for now, "Boldly going where otakudom has never gone before!", is temporary until we announce next year's theme, but it reflects the sense of change and new adventures that will continue throughout the 2009 convention. Anime St. Louis will continue to take you on adventures, whether they be into Japan's past or a robot-filled future.
We will continue to use Anime St. Louis as a subtitle for our convention name throughout this year, but don't be surprised if we don't use it much past 2009. Our beautiful new name, Kawa Kon, means "River Con", and the river, as those of you who are familiar with Mark Twain will know, is forever changing.
For any additional information about Kawa Kon, don't hesitate to email us at katrina@kawakon.com.
All content on this website is © 2008 Kawa Kon LLC. Anime St. Louis and Kawa Kon are trademarks of Kawa Kon LLC.
| 
