Kumoricon Makes the Move to the Oregon Convention Center

PORTLAND, OR – (August 10, 2016) – Kumoricon is excited to make the Oregon Convention Center its new home for its 2016 convention, to be hosted October 28 – 30. At 14 years old, Kumoricon is the oldest anime convention in Oregon and SW Washington. Kumoricon is an opportunity for people of all ages to explore and share their enthusiasm for Japanese media and Asian culture. The 3-day event attracted almost 6,000 convention attendees in 2015. Memberships range from $40 to $300 and are on sale now, here.

“Kumoricon has grown so much in the last five years,” says Phillip Koop, Chairman of Kumoricon 2016, “And with the move to the OCC, we expect to grow even more. This move will allow us to expand our offerings of events, panels, workshops, exhibitors, and more. We're really excited about the future of the convention.”

Kumoricon encourages and welcomes people of all ages and interest groups. While anime (Japanese animation), manga (Japanese comic books), and Japanese Culture are the main focus of Kumoricon, there are plenty of activities and panels to attend. From cosplay and karaoke, to workshops, guest and industry panel presentations, to dances and open video and tabletop gaming, Kumoricon aims to present a wide variety of content for everyone to enjoy. The convention will be host to a variety of Guests of Honor in 2016, with more to be announced at a later date.
Confirmed Guests of Honor include:

CAITLIN GLASS: A voice actress and ADR Director, best known for the role of Winry Rockbell in Fullmetal Alchemist, Caitlin has been working in the anime industry since 2004. In 2008, Caitlin directed the widely popular fan favorite Ouran High School Host Club, as well as playing Haruhi Fujioka. Caitlin also lends her voice to Rose in Tales of Zestiria, Elma in Xenoblade Chronicles X, and Cammy White & Decapre in the Street Fighter IV series of video games.

D.C. DOUGLAS: D.C. will forever be known as either the sinister voice of Albert Wesker (Resident Evil), screaming "Chriiiisssss" as he melts in a lava lake, or as the soulful voice of Legion in the Mass Effect series, pulling on the heartstrings of fans around the world. These roles are a far cry from his other roles, such as the persnickety alien Zepht in Star Trek: Enterprise or the logical autobot Chase on Discovery Family's Transformers: Rescue Bots. And we can't forget him as Bud in Sharknado 2. He is also known for his roles in anime such as: One Piece as X Drake, Naruto / Naruto: Shippuden as Gari, Hajime no Ippo - Champion Road as Makunouchi Ippo.

SHIGETO KOYAMA (Studio Trigger): Shigeto Koyama has been an active designer in Japan's media industry for over a decade. Starting his career with working on Aim for the Top 2! (Diebuster) in 2004, Shigeto has worked on numerous animation titles over the years. Some of these notable titles includes: Heroman, Eureka Seven, Gurren Lagann, Star Driver, Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt, Rebuild of Evangelion, Kill la Kill, and Big Hero 6. In 2015, he directed his first short animation film Obake-chan. Koyama has also been leading the art direction of Good Smile Racing since 2014.

KIERAN STRANGE: He's been compared to Tony Stark, Ramona Flowers, Hawkeye, and Tank Girl! - but IRL, he's Kieran Strange, a quirky and powerful young artist blending pop sensibilities, dynamic guitars, and high-energy live shows into his own brand of British poppunk. At the age of seventeen, he left his parents, family, and small English fishing village behind in order to chase his dream of making music; he travelled to Vancouver, Canada where he now resides, writing and performing songs about rebellion, relationships, and RPGs.

SONNY STRAIT: Most recognized as the voice of Krillin on the wildly popular, animated TV show Dragon Ball Z and as an illustrator for, arguably, the most famous, independently published comic book series Elfquest. Strait has over 20 years of experience in the arts. As a voice actor, Strait is considered to be one of the most recognized in the business. He has worked on many popular animated series including Usopp in One Piece, Maes Hughes in Fullmetal Alchemist, and Cartoon Network's laid-back robot host Toonami TOM.

AUSTIN TINDLE: Actor and writer Austin Tindle is known for lending his voice to a variety of FUNimation projects including Ayumu Aikawa in Is This a Zombie?, Accelerator in A Certain Magical Index, Shu Ouma in Guilty Crown, Marco Bott in Attack on Titan, and Karma in Assassination Classroom. Austin also stars as Kaneki in Tokyo Ghoul.

ERIC VALE: This man has voiced characters such as Trunks in Dragon Ball Z, Sanji in One Piece, Yuki in Fruits Basket, Kymblee in Fullmetal Alchemist, America and Canada in Hetalia, and most recently Nishiki in Tokyo Ghoul. He's written screenplays as well as scripted over 50 anime programs and he's a full-on, for reals published writer. Eric has also directed for film and stage.

HIROMI WAKABAYASHI (Studio Trigger): Previously a member of Studio GAINAX, Hiromi Wakabayashi has been involved in several works with Hiroyuki Imaishi, and is most notable for working on design production for Gurren Lagann. Wakabayashi was also involved on Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt as co-creator, writer, and episodic director. After joining TRIGGER, Wakabayashi wrote the script for Episode 4 of Kill la Kill and directed the series' 2nd ending sequence. More importantly, he assisted and oversaw the design team of Kill la Kill as its creative producer. Later on, he was involved in Little Witch Academia and Inferno Cop doing story development. Wakabayashi has also been working as the creative director for TRIGGER's latest animation series Space Patrol Luluco.

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ABOUT KUMORICON
Founded in 2003 in Springfield, OR, Kumoricon is a 100% volunteer-run event, including its executive staff and board. Celebrating fourteen years of anime and Japanese culture, Kumoricon is back for its biggest year yet! Gaining its namesake (kumori) from the Japanese word "cloudy", we embody everything it means to live in the Pacific Northwest and love this fandom. Stretching across generations, anime fans have gathered together for an amazing annual event, rain or shine. Returning to Portland, Oregon, the staff are excited to bring you another wonderful anime convention designed and operated with the fans and their devotion in mind.