Kawaii Kon 2012 at the Hawaii Convention Center: A Celebration of Creativity & Imagination in Cosplay

I went with my son to Oahu as a chaperone for the Kealakehe High School Anime Club to attend the 7th Annual Kawaii Kon (or “Cute Convention” in Japanese) at the Hawaii Convention Center in Honolulu. 

Kealakehe High School Anime Club 2012 Kawaii Kon Excursion

Below are some of the Kealakehe High School Anime Clubbers at the Kona International Airport. I called this the “before” shot of our Kawaii Kon excursion, since we hadn’t left for Oahu yet.

And here they are at Kawaii Kon (pictured below), standing in line for the opening ceremony…they are a really nice group of kids, all very unique, and when you ask them about their favorite Anime, you always end up having an awesome conversation…more beauty comes out in them!

What is Anime?

The word “Anime” typically refers to Japanese cartoons, but at Kawaii Kon, all cartoons and fictional characters come out to play! The Kealakehe High School Anime Club is the biggest club on campus and 20 of us went over to represent the school…it was so much fun!

The “Cosplay” or Costume Play was amazing this year! Thousands of people dressed up in one way or another with their favorite cartoon character represented by either a full costume, a fuzzy tail, a hat with ears, or a cardboard sword. The creativity of each cosplay made this event most intriguing!

Much mahalo goes out to Angel Rumbaoa (Kawaii Kon Administrator) for these successful annual events that attract people from all walks of life, in all parts of the country – anyone interested in Japanese cartoons, games, technology, and are still in touch with their ability to act out their own imagination!

Angel said there were 2,500 people who pre-registered for this event, and every day we saw thousands more people lined up just to get in who weren’t registered! Thanks to Angel and Kawaii Kon for helping to keep the kid in all of us alive! I suggested to Angel that we would love a Cosplay Parade at the next Anime convention!

Some of the Cosplay

Okay, more to come. I’ll be touching on the activities we do at Kawaii Kon, and also show you:

• The Dealer’s Room: where you can buy some rare Anime DVD’s, Manga, Cosplay, and Plushy friends.
• The Artists Gallery: where the Anime artists sell their amazing drawings and works of art!

Interested in Attending a Kawaii Kon Event?

If you would like to attend the next Kawaii Kon event, visit www.Kawaii-Kon.org. It’s such a fun way to bond with anyone interested in animation, Japanese games, and technology – and your inner child!

They offer group rate discounts and other special features…tell Angel Rumbaoa your group of 20 or more are coming, and he might give your group a special rate! 

We stayed at Ala Moana Hotel, which was so convenient to the Convention and Ala Moana Shopping Center. The kids had a blast being in the middle of the action!

So, my favorite Cosplay character is Pikachu, what’s yours?