Nebraskon: A Genuine Community
Some days ago, I got a phone call from The Daily Record, and the first of two questions that was asked of me was,
“Do you like anime?"
I froze, and some part of me was dragged back to middle school when that question was as often a way to find friends as it was a trap that would end with name-calling. Internally I searched for the most professional way to say yes.
“I love stories, no matter where they come from."
"Great! Do you want to cover the upcoming Nebraskon?”
It felt like a bullet had been dodged, even if one hadn’t ever been fired – and though I should have only felt relief at getting the honor of writing an article about it, worry about what to wear took hold; after all, anime conventions are known for their boisterous and flamboyant costumes, and even those without the proper attire attend wearing badges and pins and shirts that display affection for a certain character or story. Owning none of those things while also not wanting to go wearing plain clothes, I dressed in my favorite slacks and lavender button-up with a pretty purple tie under what I felt was a slick gray vest.
The Nebraska Convention for Japanese Animation and International Pop Culture, or “Nebraskon," was held at the Mid-America Center in Council Bluffs from October 18th to the 20th. It was obvious how much I stood out when I arrived at the arena center as I ambled among colorful crowds of smiling and sometimes bouncing guests of all ages while seeking a captivating story among their dalliances.
“Surely," I thought confidently, “there is a story here that is more than, “The convention is for all ages!"
Nebraskon was certainly at least that: in the morning there were activities for children: centers for beads and coloring in a well-lit area, and there were gaming rooms and even a board-game concourse that wrapped around the whole of the arena and was active all day. On the first evening of the convention there was an age-restricted burlesque show, and a dance-party on the second.
Next to a room where a workshop on sewing costumes was being held I approached a mother and her young daughter – Michelle and Annie – who were both dressed up in detailed outfits. They were ever polite when I introduced myself, asking after an interview. They were very happy to talk about the convention, starting with that it wasn’t their first year there. With my little black notebook in my hand, ready to scribble their responses I asked the most basic question I could:
“What keeps you coming back?”
“It’s family friendly!" Michelle beamed, “Everyone treats us like family here."
Interview after interview I’d ask different questions, ever seeking an angle on the elusive story I was chasing, and each guest would tell me in some way that they loved being there at Nebraskon. At a table next to the suites, a friendly man who chuckled and nodded when I asked if I could put him down as, “Tom from Des Moines,” stated confidently,
“It’s the perfect site, you can see everything in a day.” Then in referencing other anime conventions he added, "Chicago isn’t personable, and Iowa's (involves) drinking all the time. Nebraska’s is always a great experience.”
I wasn’t frustrated that everyone kept telling me how family-friendly and fun it was per se, but I felt that there must be a “deeper" story among it all. That if I looked harder and interviewed more people, alone in my ironed lavender button-up and tie I’d find gold.
On the second day there was a wonderful auction that Nebraskon put together for NAMI (the National Alliance on Mental Illness) in which the convention raised over ten thousand dollars for local mental health services, “at-cost to ourselves”, Jesse Smith, one of the board members of Nebraskon stated – impassioned after telling me that people of conventions past had went up to him and said that they were thinking of “ending it all until they came to Nebraskon and saw other people just like them, and saw how friendly everyone is.”
He and the President Becky Potter send representatives around to other conventions to get the items they purchased for auction autographed by as many famous people in the anime community as possible so the charity can bring in more money. It was rather important to them that as many people as possible get help: that the convention not grow too fast so that it can retain its personable and family-friendly aura and that they can find a way to say “yes" to every suggestion from the volunteer staff who they showered with praise.
A story all on its own was there, I knew. I could write articles on them both, but, to focus just there in that single interview felt like I wouldn’t be capturing the whole spirit of the convention that I was starting to see. I kept on my hunt into the start of the evening on the second day when Becky brought me into the largest hall where they were hosting the main event: the cosplay exhibition. Lights beamed from a stage that looked professional and ready to receive a rockstar, into a darkness filled with many thousands of people. Dry ice fog blew from hidden fans and an announcer, quick with her words, introduced the people and groups that were to showcase their costumes, or “cosplay."
And when anyone walked onto stage regardless of how complex their outfit was a cheer would erupt from the audience – no matter the skill level of the artist on that platform, they would get a loud and resounding acknowledgement from viewers and peers. Sitting in that darkness I found myself enamored with the courage that the contestants displayed, showing off the costumes that some had been working on for years, then modeling them for the crowd on that rockstar-stage to be met with overwhelming respect via the adoration of the audience.
It was such a genuine and accepting community.
It was during the award ceremony for the winners that I found myself watching a veteran cosplayer approach me and introduce herself as Adrienne Ottemann from Quite-A-Riot Cosplay. She settled into spot next to me and glanced at the press-pass hanging around my neck and said,
“Hey Press, you kinda stand out. Do you see anyone else with a tie?”
I chuckled – probably while blushing – and tried defending my choice: to tell her that I didn't own any cool costumes, when she gestured out towards the crowd and added,
“They are worried you’ll judge them, you’re dressed like “The Man”."
In a moment of reflection I held back an urge to bandy witty words.
Initially I thought dressing up in a tie would be the professional option, but, maybe it was because I felt more secure in it as a stranger in their strange, but welcoming land.
“My outfit,” I mused, “is my armor.”
Around me in the convention center were thousands – nearly seven thousand people dressed in their own “armor” that allowed them to be secure in who they were while surrounded by others who lifted them up.
Knights and cool clowns, heroes and villains; Nebraskon was a place where they could be whoever they wanted to be and they would be accepted for it, and if they had the courage they could stand up on that rockstar stage and be celebrated for who they were by an audience of their peers in a place where they don't have to worry about the intent of someone asking them, “Do you like anime?"
The final day of the convention came and I woke with the new nickname of “Press" hanging over my head. Choosing to dress down, humbled, I sought out more interviews with only my camera and my little black note-book. Surprisingly I found that dressed as “The Man" or not, the guests gave the same answers that I got in the beginning, only this time with a stronger enthusiasm I wouldn’t have gotten the day before.
Before the cosplay contest in the waiting room for the contestants, I approached a cosplayer dressed in a hand-made forest-ranger costume that looked right out of some grand fantasy epic. Seeming easy going and approachable I asked after an interview. The charming young woman who introduced herself as “Crystal," welcomed it, and when I asked her what drew her to cosplay and the convention she replied,
“I like seeing the cosplays and the people, and I love bringing a character to life!”
That forest-ranger grinned wide when she later won the Mainstage Best-in-Show as she was met with a resounding cheer by a symphony of her peers.
Thank you, Nebraskon, for welcoming an outsider – purple tie and all – into your friendly and warm community. You can reach NAMI at https://naminebraska.org/
Austin Petak is an aspiring novelist and freelance journalist who loves seeking stories and the quiet passions of the soul. If you are interested in reaching out to me to cover a story, you may find him at austinpetak@gmail.com.
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