Weekend Adventures Take VIIII Part 1
- Deanna Demonch
- Jul 23, 2016
- 3 min read
Anime Mid Atlantic (AMA) 2016 Take-1
A 3 Day Adventure in Chesapeake, Va. (June 17-19)
A family friendly 3day event that gathered a variety of Anime Loving People young and old! Cosplayers of all skill levels could be found flocking the halls or dancing about. From Exhibitors, Costume Contests, to Concerts, and Dance Parties; AMA offered a variety of panels and events to attend,
One of the biggest highlights of my weekend was running into a few of my Students from my Cosplay Fashion Class I teach during the summer at MOCA! ❤❤❤❤
It was so great to catch up with them and see how much they've grown since I last saw them.
(Note: I have no idea who I stoled these photos from but look how cute my students are!)
Check out more about Virginia's MOCA Teen Summer Art Classes here.
For some reason or another, I've been really interested in cosplay competitions, and decided to enter in the AMA's Masquerade Competition this year. I honestly never imagine the outcome would be such an awarding experience. At the age of 30 *cough* I mean my late 20s *cough*, I won my first trophies ever!
Anyways, I entered into AMA's Masquerade, curious to see what went on in a cosplay competition (Plus, I promised myself that I would be a tad more adventurous this year and try new things... it might have also helped that I really wanted to wear this dress). Rehearsal started at 9:30am saturday morning and I was #11 in the line-up. Music, Lighting, and Introductions... Huh??!!
Did I happen to mention this was my first ever cosplay competition... hehe. Needless to say the staff was super friendly and very helpful! ❤❤❤
Photos by Ken Moral
After the music was picked, the lighting cues in place, and a quick brainstorming for an intro... I was able to get a feel for the stage (just so I don't trip over my own two feet), then headed back to my table till it was time to get ready. As 5pm rolled around for the craftsmanship judging, with last bit of finishing touches and reference photos in hand, I was ready (and slightly nervous). At the time, I didn't realized I had impress not only the judges with my impressive skills but the staff as well with simply being me (and epic sparkly shoes). At 7pm the show started, and I was pretty nervous especially as it got closer to my turn (I seriously thought I was going to trip).
Not only had I made it across the stage once but twice without tripping (go me!).
As the awards were being announced, I honestly thought that I wasn't going to win anything much less two awards, so it was a pleasant surprised when I did (let's be honest... I was still waiting dumbfounded to see who won, till I realized they were actually talking about me). Thanks to a nice lady, I managed to make it up the stage without tripping (She was also nice enough to be an extra pair of hands too ❤❤❤ (Dress+staff+heels then add two trophies to the mix = potential to fall flat on face)).
I won the Best Overall Craftsmanship and the Chairmans Award.❤❤❤❤
Other than the I didn't get to do much else panel/event wise... I always seem to miss the ones I wanted to check out *insert sigh here*
As an Exhibitor, dEMONCH did very well. Stickers, Buttons, & Prints where the highlight of the weekend (this was definitely a print worthy event ❤❤❤). The layout was spacey and comfy between Exhibitors in AA (a little spread apart in some areas), but all-in-all I love the space dEMONCH was given to work with.
The Staff was super friendly (which is always a major plus in my book! Shout Out to the Security Staff! Thank you for always helping me with the doors ❤❤❤ (you guys were life savers)) and very knowledgeable (which is another big plus).
I wasn't a big fan of is how there was things happening between the hotel as well as the conference center, I think I would have liked it in all in one building, but I can understand using every bit of space available to the best advantage.
I give AMA⋆⋆⋆⋆ stars out of five.
dEMONCH will definitely be returning for AMA 2017! Can't wait to see what's in store for next year!
For more information about next years convention. Check out:
Those who Attended or Exhibited these conventions, What where your thoughts and ratings?? (Please No Bashing)
❤dEMONCH
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