General Information > What's SoyCon?

The Birth and Growth of SoyCon

SoyCon was developed by an ordinary con goer named Soy Sauce. He attended his first convention at Anime Central back in 2005. It was the first time he was exposed to conventions, cosplay, and japanese animation. Soy loved the community and destined himself to comeback a year later with intentions of meeting new people and getting plenty of photo opportunities. Soy has met so many people over the past years that he was almost like the center of a large community network.

In the summer of 2006, Chicagoland Cosplay Club hosted 2 events.One was the C^3 picnic, where cosplayers all over the Chicagoland area gather to cosplay and have some picnic fun. There were some good picnic food, fun music to dance to, and just having a field day with people alike. Also, C^3 hosted the first ever ACen Aftermath Photoshoot in downtown Chicago. It was probably one of the best times anyone could had everexperienced. Until 2007’s ACen Aftermath photoshoot came around. This was the first organized gathering I’d ever put together. The inspiration came from 2006’s ACen Aftermath photoshoot and the experience came from Anime Expo 2007’s Naruto Photoshoot which consisted over 400+ cosplayers. The Chicago photoshoot was a huge success consisting of over 40+ cosplayers attending and having a great time.

After the epicness of the 2007 Photoshoot, Soy had decided if he can create something new and different from the other gatherings that are happening around the midwestern side of the United States. After one proposed idea on the Anime Central forums, many people online quickly responded to his idea of creating his very own Gathering/Convention. With having a litte ego, he decided to rename the event from ACen Aftermath Photoshoot to SoyCon. SoyCon is a 2-Day event where cosplayers from not just only the Chicagoland area, but mainly any of the states that are closeby. The first day will be a photoshoot in downtown Chicago, just like the traditional ACen Aftermath Photoshoot for the past 2 years. The second day will be a large picnic full of events and fun. Panels, participation events, even a cosplay show with awards being handed out. SoyCon made its debut in July 2008 and gathered over 70 attendees on it's first year. What future does SoyCon hold for cosplay gatherings? We'll see that for ourselves at SoyCon.