07/20/2024
Hey y’all, Grey here, Kentokyocon’s social media coordinator!
First of all, I’m SO sorry for the long long long radio silence from the con. I promise it’s not us trying to pull a fast one on you — we just wanted to make sure we didn’t share any information (good or bad) prematurely. I’ve seen y’all commenting and asking about the state of the con and it has been breaking my heart to not have news to share. I’ve finally got answers about the state of the show, and can share.
The bad news is that Kentokyocon 2024 is not going to happen. We weren’t able to secure a venue after searching tirelessly and following up diligently with several event centers in the area (and trust me, we tried ‘em all). There simply wasn’t one that worked for the size of our convention that had availability that worked for us. The choice was to force y’all to decide between us and other cons that you know, love, and want to support, or to not have the con this year. Since finding a venue has taken so long, we weren’t able to begin the secondary stages of planning (like getting guests, planning events, etc) with enough time to execute to the level that we expect of ourselves. In the interest of putting on the best possible show for you and making sure your experience is great, we made the decision to skip this year’s show and go full speed ahead for 2025.
I know this sucks. Speaking candidly, as an attendee and volunteer for the con for almost 10 years, I’m sad to see a summer without Kentokyocon. I speak for the entire exec board when I say that our main concern was not returning to a venue that caused stress and difficulties for both attendee and volunteers alike. We want Kentokyocon to be a place where folks feel safe and comfortable, and there was not a venue that fit that bill that has been responsive to us yet.
Our next steps are to nail down a date for next year. This means that the time of year that Kentokyocon takes place may change, and potentially significantly so, as we try to find a venue in the Lexington area. Our goal is to keep things local to y’all, our amazing attendees. Our entire board is working hard to find somewhere to call home, and all of us want to see this show succeed! If you have any contact with venues in the area, feel free to send us a message with contact info and we’ll run with it! I’m confident that with flexibility in date in mind, and the amazing crew that we have running the show, we’ll be able to do some really incredible things in 2025.
If you’ve read this far, thank you so much. It’s my goal, personally, to make sure that we are as transparent and honest with y’all as we possibly can be at all times, and I appreciate all that you do to support our little con. I’m so sorry that we weren’t able to make the con happen for you this summer, and I hope that you all can hold on just a little longer and see us in the new year. This isn’t goodbye, it’s just see you a little later.
(If you are supposed to receive a free badge for 2024 as a contest winner or otherwise, that free badge WILL BE HONORED for the 2025 show.)
