For free entertainment this weekend, you could stake out a spot at the Crown Center food court and watch not only a comprehensive array of anime and video-game-themed costumes but also an equally wide range of amusing reactions from bewildered shoppers. But if you purchase a $45 pass to
Naka-Kon, the convention for which people don their colored tights and fuzzy tails, you'll have access to many more entertainment options, including 24-hour gaming and anime screening rooms; an exhibit hall containing hundreds of collectible DVDs, action figures and plush dolls; panels such as "Otaku Dating and You"; a concert by intergalactic punk outfit Peelander-Z; and a formal ball, for those who love the phrase "dress up" even when it's not followed by "as your favorite Final Fantasy character." Naka-Kon starts at 4 p.m. today and runs through 6 p.m. Sunday at the Hyatt Regency Crown Center (2345 McGee). For more information, see
naka-kon.com.
Fri., Feb. 19, 1-7 p.m.; Sat., Feb. 20; Sun., Feb. 21, 2010
