Nan Desu Kan

NDK 2010 Crazy-Big Update

Welcome to the second-annual Crazy-Big Update. Here we've collected the most important information that everyone needs to know about attending Nan Desu Kan 2010.

Before we get into the juicy stuff, a quick note regarding the website: we recently had some e-mail issues with our server that are now resolved. If you sent us a message using the contact form on the website in the last week, we may not have received your message. If you haven't received a response from us, please resend your message and we'll get back to you as soon as we can!

Guests

We have a diverse range of guests and many have chosen NDK to make a personal landmark. This is Chris Patton's last anime convention, Reba West's first large convention since 2005, echostream's first performance this far west, Wendy Powell's last NDK appearance after three previous appearances, and the first time since 2005 that a convention outside of California has hosted the entire Robotech staff. This also marks a rare convention appearance by veteran Barbara Goodson.

Japanese

Yasuhiro Imagawa

Voice Actors

Barbara Goodson, Chris Cason, Chris Patton, Christopher Bevins, Cristina Vee, Jerry Jewell, Patrick Seitz, Rebecca Forstadt (Reba West), Richard Ian Cox, and Wendy Powell

Musical

Echostream and Kazha

Industry

Kevin McKeever, Steve Yun, and Tommy Yune

Parking

Last year, the most common complaint we received was that there weren't enough parking spaces. We heard you loud and clear and we've got great news: we've secured the parking lot from the building across the street, giving us an additional 900 parking spaces to use. There will be a fee to use this lot—we're still negotiating on rates, but they'll be reasonable—but single-day and weekend parking will be available. (Overnight parking is included with a weekend parking pass.)

Even with an additional 900 parking spaces, however, you may still have trouble finding a parking space at or near the Marriott. We've compiled a list of suggestions for ways to avoid potential parking headaches.

Additional Hotels

The Marriott has been full for several months now, but if you still need a hotel room for NDK weekend, there are other hotels in the area that still have rooms available. We've also worked out special discounts for NDK attendees at several of these hotels, so there are plenty of affordable options to choose from.

Room Changes

Guest autographs will no longer take place behind the registration desk. They're now up on the second floor of the south tower (atrium side) of the hotel. The area behind registration is now reserved primarily for photoshoots.

The Art Show has moved from its old location as well. You can now find it in the Larkspur and Iris rooms down the hallway near Main Events.

Schedules

Have a look at our completed Events Schedule [PDF], which lists virtually everything there is to do at NDK. Pair it up with our Program Guide [PDF], where you can find descriptions of all those activities (and then some), and you'll have a huge head start on figuring out how to spend your NDK weekend.

We've got three video rooms at NDK, two of which run nearly anime non-stop during the convention. Our third room—Asian Cinema—runs live-action TV shows and movies from Asia all weekend. We've combined their schedules into one Video Schedule [PDF] this year so you have one less thing to carry around. We've also got the Video Synopsis Booklet [PDF] for everything showing in all three rooms to help you decide what to watch.

And we'll have paper copies of all of these available at the convention, of course.

Itinerary System

We've brought back a much-loved feature on our site: an NDK itinerary builder. The itinerary builder lets you add most of the activities at NDK—both con-run and attendee-run—to your personal itinerary. We've been busy entering all the activities from our programming schedule and video schedule as well as photoshoots organized by attendees, so you should find most of the activities we have to offer for your itinerary.

To get started, first register an account if you don't have one already (or login to your account if you do; please note that these are different from forum accounts), then go to the My Itinerary page. From there, you can start adding activities to your itinerary. If you've added multiple activities to your itinerary that are scheduled for the same timeframe, you can resolve any overlaps before finally checking out a printable version of your itinerary, which you can bring with you to the convention.

Hours

Several of our departments run on their own schedules, independent of the overall convention schedule. They are:

* Artists Alley hours are approximate; artists choose their own schedules.

Charity Poker Tournament

We're going to have our first charity poker tournament on Friday night. This Texas Hold'em event starts at 10:00 PM in the Concierge Lounge (the gaming room) and it's free to play. We will be accepting donations, however, and all proceeds go to this year's charity, the United Way Gulf Recovery Fund.

Tournament sign-ups start at 5:30 PM on Friday and it's first-come, first-served. Space is limited, so if you're interested in participating, get there early. Come play, donate some money, and help us make the tournament a success so we can make this a permanent fixture at NDK!

Balcony Decorating Contest

We've started our own balcony decorating contest for attendees with rooms that have balconies overlooking the atrium. We're offering great prizes like a free hotel room, free passes to NDK 2011, and free passes to NDK New Year's Eve 2010 for the winners. If you've got an atrium balcony room reserved, be sure to check it out!

Artists Alley Contest

We're opening up a new contest for the artists with tables in Artists Alley. After the convention is over, you'll be allowed to vote on which Artists Alley table from each category (Crafts, Art, and Mixed) you thought were the best. The tables with the most votes will be guaranteed a place in Artists Alley next year. Voting will take place on the forum and go until November 9.

Press Information

Pre-registration for press outlets has closed, but press outlets can still register on-site at our new press check-in table, located between registration and the stairs to the mezzanine. All members of the press will need to check in at the press desk.

New Year's Eve 2010

The NDK New Year's Eve Costume Ball will return this year. We listened to your feedback and we're making a bunch of improvements, so our second go-around should be even more fun than the first!

Right now, though, we're all focused on NDK 2010 so expect more news about NDK NYE shortly after the con.

Attachments: 

NDK 2010 Events Schedule

NDK 2010 Program Guide

NDK 2010 Video Room Schedule

NDK 2010 Video Room Anime Synopses

Hyatt Regency discount available for NDK attendees

For those of you that still need a hotel room for Nan Desu Kan, the Hyatt Regency—one of the Marriott's neighbor hotels—is now offering a special discounted rate for NDK attendees. Rooms start at just $89/night for a king or double room with no additional charge for each extra person (up to four people). Just use their online reservation system to reserve a room for NDK weekend to take advantage of this fantastic offer.