First off, I’m writing this on my phone so apologies about the brevity of the article. This past weekend was the second annual UwU Con at Legacy Park in Mesa which is a huge sports complex. This was my first year attending (which I went Friday and Saturday) and I wasn’t quite sure what I was getting into but let’s touch on that.

Having the event at the sports complex is a little… odd at first but it is a spacious area with room to hold even more attendees if the event grows. The convention did a good of having staff stationed at the multiple entrance points where unsuspecting users of the sports facilities may accidentally wander in. There were only two areas that I noticed where those worlds collide which were the Food District outside the event and the cafe that separated the cosplay area and the vendor/guest area. Speaking of those areas, it really felt like the two areas could have been combined and as the convention grows, then the two areas utilized but that’s just my opinion as an outsider. The cosplay area was almost a little awkward with the handful of booths separated by hundreds of feet.

The guest list was outstanding, with many guests who have been involved in many popular properties. A lot of the guests had decent sized lines for autographs and photos but I did attend two panels featuring the Japanese guests. The two panels I attended had a small turn out, 10-20 attendees in each. I think a bit more promotion ahead of time (even an overhead announcement during) could have definitely helped. It did look like the Star Wars Rebels panel was well attended which is great to hear. Besides doing some shopping, panels, guests or eating some really good meals from the Food District, UwU Con held a cosplay contest and a rave which are some really good night time activities to give attendees value to the badge prices.

We have one “big” pop culture convention in Arizona that’s not anime specific and it’s the only one where I (personally) feel it’s worth attending multiple days. So with that in mind, I am always pulling for new events to succeed and grow because I would love to see more fun and worthy (price wise) events in Arizona. I don’t think UwU is there quite yet, but it feels like they at least have a good foundation. I don’t have answers to this but I wonder if the location out in Mesa prevents more attendees as there is no easy public transportation (much like the light rail for Downtown Phoenix or Downtown Mesa). Regardless, I didn’t experience any big red flags, didn’t see any terrible behavior from attendees, and I’d like to think it was a successful year for the con, enough that we get a third year.