I registered for ACen a few months ago when things were looking positive on the COVID front, but in light of recent negative developments especially in the Chicagoland area, I will not be attending.
I’ve been a happy attendee of Anime Central, ACen, many times over the years. I love the size and scale of the convention, especially all the stuff on offer in the Exhibit Hall, the industry announcements and exclusive events. I had been really looking forward to the screening of a few premiers this year, for instance.
But with size comes crowds, obviously, and my experience with the convention has been congestion and lines, and well-attended panels especially for these exclusives.
I hope that everyone who attends has a great experience and does everything they can do to be safe, but regrettably I don’t think I want to risk exposure right now. I still plan to staff Matsuricon later this summer as it is a smaller and less-crowded event, and my office is sending me to a professional development event as well. Hopefully this new spike leaves us before then.
Featured image is a screenshot of Cook County cases retrieved from Google on Friday, May 20, 2022.
