NerdBot Con took place on September 24, 2016 in downtown Pasadena at the Pasadena Convention Center. This is a first year con that established a huge online prescence via Facebook. If I could find an easy descriptor for NerdBotCon, it would be anything that's considered geeky within the realm of western popular culture. This is the first event I attended on the west coast where it was a fan driven event with a focus on western entertainment. While there is some anime prescence and a handful of anime and JRPG cosplayers, most of the crowd was from the western pop culture side of things. There were guests present at this con, but most of them were cosplayers I have never heard of and I've been in the scene since 1999. There wasn't much in terms of creators and people involved in the industry save for a voice actor or two in the vendors hall. This was the first year for NerdBotCon and likewise, it does run into first year problems.

This is not to say that the con does not have much potential, Southern California has been needing a fan driven pop culture event. I liked the fact that there were cosplay meetups, karaoke, video gaming tournaments, panels, etc. There was a lot of things going on between 10AM to 5PM. However, there were a few elements that made the con very draining. The biggest problem is the amount of sound traveling through the convention center at any given time. On the top level, there were cover bands blaring music; while they performed fine, I thought having this programming track was a bit too much. Additionally, there was also music coming from the lower floor whether it be a band, DJ, or karaoke. While I'm used to bands and karaoke present at anime events, these are done in rooms where the sound does not intrude on events running concurrently.

There were a few decent panels that were worth checking out. Most of these panels were cosplay focused. I was not sure how the vetting process was to submit panels. We did submit this year by submitting an email, but never heard back. I went to the Mental Health in Cosplay panel. The panelists did cover topics within finding confidence and inner strength in the cosplay hobby. This seemed like a needed discussion panel that should be at cons given the amount of cosplayers who indentify one way or another. Another interesting panel was the Military and Cosplay panel hosted by Brandon Jackson. There were different generations from different branches talking about their experience being hard core geeks and serving. A lot of them had interesting stories to tell; this was a fairly unique panel that I felt that I got a lot out of. However, not all panels were run well. I was disapointed in the Cosplay Photography panel. One of our colleagues went in wanting to learn more about being behind the camera. As a graphics design person, she felt that the panelists were too focused on their inside jokes; they seemed to all know each other. Additionally, there was no project and no visuals for a basic photography panel. The only thing we got out of this panel was a textbook example of how not to run a panel and that you can sneak in a snake at NerdBotCon.

There were a few cosplay meet ups at NerdBotCon. We went to the Disney cosplay meet up. It was run by the same person who ran the Disney cosplay meet up at Long Beach Comic Con. We had a comparably smaller group. Jared went in his Jungle Cruise cap'n outfit. I went as Vanessa from The Little Mermaid. Deb ended up using my point and click for photos. It didn't last too long; however, we ended up just hanging out at the meet up point to talk Disney and planning for the next Southern California event, Comikaze. The Pasadena Playhouse area was a nice place for private cosplay photoshoots and cosplay meetups. Additionally, it was also a nice place to catch a breather from the noise coming in from the convention center.

The convention center also had vendors and artists dealing various geeky wares. Most of them were selling old toys, collectable Funko Pop figures, and various art that you would typically find in Artist Alley. I ended up getting some Steven Universe fanart and having a good conversation with one of the artists. Deb ended up buying the last of the Ecto Coolers at the Southland Ghostbusters booth; that totally made her con. There was also a Cosplay Activity Room. As someone who's been active in the New England cosplay scene, I immediately thought it's where Death Match, Cosplay Chess, or even the repair station would be. This was pretty much where you can meet e-famous cosplayers, cosplaying groups for charity, or shooting storm troopers with nerf guns.

Though the con ran from 10AM to 5PM, there was an after party at the local Dave and Busters. By the time it was 4PM, we already felt drained from the convention. While this is the first year and there is plenty of room for improvement, it would have been helpful if the website was consistently updated. We didn't know the schedule until the Sunday before the Saturday of NerdBotCon. Cosplay contest rules were not even up until days before the con. Granted that this is a one day event, but advance notice would have been very much appreciated. I thought the karaoke would have a dedicated room like anime conventions; had no idea this was going to be a main stage type of event only going on for 90 minutes.

Overall, NerdBotCon Year One is not a bad con, but certainly has potential for being a splendid fan driven pop culture event. It works as a one dayer for now. However, it would have been nice if this was not right after Long Beach Comic Con. Otherwise, with a price of $16 the door, it's worth checking out if you're curious about it. It's not too expensive, but here's hoping that next year will be better than the first.

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