2018
History
Kumoricon began in 2003 in Springfield, Oregon for two days on Thanksgiving weekend. From 2004 to 2015, it was located in the Portland, Oregon metro area and held all three days (and in some years four days) of Labor Day weekend. In 2016, it moved to the Oregon Convention Center and changed to Halloween weekend. Kumoricon is the largest anime convention in the Portland metro area and in Oregon. Kumoricon's staff are all volunteers.
| Year | Dates | Attendance | Staff | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Nov 29-30 | 400 | 22 | Springfield, OR – Clarion Hotel |
| 2004 | Sep 4-6 | 1250 | 34 | Portland, OR – Portland Marriott Downtown |
| 2005 | Sep 3-5 | 1750 | 40 | Portland, OR – DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Portland |
| 2006 | Sep 2-4 | 2257 | 70 | Portland, OR – Red Lion on the River |
| 2007 | Sep 1-3 | 3003 | 130 | Vancouver, WA – Hilton Vancouver Washington |
| 2008 | Aug 30-Sep 1 | 4470 | 140 | Portland, OR – DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Portland |
| 2009 | Sep 5-7 | 4558 | 203 | Portland, OR – Hilton Portland and Executive Tower |
| 2010 | Sep 4-6 | 4055 | 216 | Portland, OR – Hilton Portland and Executive Tower |
| 2011 | Sep 3-5 | 3956 | 226 | Vancouver, WA – Hilton Vancouver Washington / Red Lion Hotel Vancouver at the Quay |
| 2012 | Sep 1-3 | 4574 | 311 | Vancouver, WA – Hilton Vancouver Washington / Red Lion Hotel Vancouver at the Quay |
| 2013 | Aug 31-Sep 2 | 5836 | 360 | Vancouver, WA – Hilton Vancouver Washington / Red Lion Hotel Vancouver at the Quay |
| 2014 | Aug 29-Sep 1 | 6361 | 437 | Vancouver, WA – Hilton Vancouver Washington / Red Lion Hotel Vancouver at the Quay |
| 2015 | Sep 4-7 | 5949 | 497 | Vancouver, WA – Hilton Vancouver Washington / Red Lion Hotel Vancouver at the Quay |
| 2016 | Oct 28-30 | 6880 | 517 | Portland, OR – Oregon Convention Center |
| 2017 | Oct 27-29 | 7263 | 561 | Portland, OR – Oregon Convention Center |
| 2018 | Oct 26-28 | 7924 | Portland, OR – Oregon Convention Center | |
| 2019 | Nov 15-17 | Portland, OR – Oregon Convention Center |
*Estimated figure
More information about how we report attendance
For increased transparency, we report attendance in three ways:
(1) Paid regular attendees
This method counts paid regular attendees, and also VIP members.
All paid attendees are counted, whether or not the person picked up their badge.
(2) Total paid members
This method counts all paid regular attendees (method #1 above), and also adds exhibitors and artists, who pay for their spot in the Exhibits Hall, Artist Alley, or Small Press.
(3) Total badgeholders (a.k.a. "warm body count")
This method counts all of the above, and all other badge types, including staff (all staff are volunteers), panelists, guests of honor, industry, and press.
However, this differs from methods #1 and #2, in that for all membership types, it only includes people who actually picked up their badges.
Did Kumoricon change how it reports attendance?
For most of Kumoricon's history, we only reported numbers using method #1 (paid regular attendees). To provide additional information, we updated our website in August 2018 to report numbers using all three methods. At this time, we did not change our policy for how we count paid regular attendees.
When we started reporting using these additional counting methods, we were able to recompute exact numbers for the previous two convention years (back to 2016) based on our membership database. Numbers for years prior to 2016 are estimates based on information in our publication materials. Estimates are rounded to the nearest 50 and marked with the * symbol.
Based on recomputation from our membership database, some of the "paid regular attendees" numbers from 2012 to 2016 varied slightly due to greater precision in our record-keeping and counting programming—however, our policy for this counting method did not change. You can compare our most up-to-date, accurate numbers reported above with previous numbers we reported using our website archive's snapshot of the 2017 page.
Are these numbers "turnstile" numbers?
No. For all three counting methods we report, we count unique individuals. This means that each person is counted no more than once, even if they attended more than one day (or all days) of the convention.
Some types of conferences or events report "turnstile" attendance numbers, which means that if a person buys a full-event badge for a three-day conference, they count three times in the attendance figures. Kumoricon, like almost all other anime conventions, does not report using "turnstile" numbers in its primary attendance reports.
(Prior to 2012, there is a rare exception to this, which we believe has only a negligible impact on the reported numbers: In the rare case that a person buys two separate single-day badges, they may have been double-counted, due to not being tracked under the same badge. Almost all of our attendees who attend for more than one day buy a weekend membership, in which this double-counting does not occur. Our newer software avoids duplicate counting for years 2012 and later because it identifies repeat single-day badge purchases as the same person.)
Staff are listed in a separate column. Does this mean that staff are not counted in the attendance number?
Staff are not counted in the attendance number for the "paid regular attendees" or "total paid members" counting methods. Staff are only counted in the "total badgeholders" counting method (a.k.a. "warm body count").
Mini-Events
Kumoricon has produced several one-day mini-events, including dances and "mini-cons".
This list only includes events which were hosted or co-hosted by Kumoricon. It does not include events hosted only by other organizations at which Kumoricon provided activities or content.
| Date | Title | Description | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 11, 2007 | Mini-con | Miniature version of Kumoricon | Hilton Vancouver Washington |
| Feb 2, 2008 | Winter Formal Masquerade Ball | Formal masquerade ball | Milwaukie Community Club |
| May 10, 2008 | Kumoricon Lite | Miniature version of Kumoricon | Portland State University |
| July 19, 2008 | Summer Swing Dance | Informal swing dance | Norse Hall |
| Nov 1, 2008 | Kumoricon Lite | Miniature version of Kumoricon | Portland State University |
| Feb 7, 2009 | (Please Don’t Let It) Snow Ball | Anime-themed dance | Milwaukie Community Club |
| July 18, 2009 | Dance Dance Kumoricon | Gaming-themed dance | Norse Hall |
| Apr 24, 2010 | Kumori-Cat Ball | Cosplay-themed dance | Multnomah Arts Center |
| Oct 30, 2010 | GameDay/MiniCon | Miniature version of Kumoricon | Hilton Vancouver Washington |
| June 27, 2015 | Kumoricon Lite | Miniature version of Kumoricon | DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Portland |
| August 21, 2016 | Kumoricon Lite | Miniature version of Kumoricon | Ambridge Event Center |
| July 28, 2018 | Kumoricon Lite | Miniature version of Kumoricon | DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Portland |
Website History
- Kumoricon 2006
- Kumoricon 2007
- Kumoricon 2008
- Winter Masquerade Ball – Formal masquerade ball as a stand-alone event on February 2, 2008
- Summer Swing Dance – Swing dance as a stand-alone event on July 19, 2008
- Kumoricon 2009
- (Please Don't Let It) Snow Ball – Anime-themed dance as a stand-alone event on February 7, 2009
- Dance Dance Kumoricon – Gaming-themed dance as a stand-alone event on July 18, 2009
- Kumoricon 2010
- Kumori-Cat Ball – Cosplay-themed dance as a stand-alone event on April 24, 2010
- Kumoricon 2011
- Kumoricon 2012
- Kumoricon 2013
- Kumoricon 2014
- Kumoricon 2015
- Kumoricon Lite – Miniature version of Kumoricon as a stand-alone event on June 27, 2015
- Kumoricon 2016
- Kumoricon Lite – Miniature version of Kumoricon as a stand-alone event on August 21, 2016
- Kumoricon 2017
- Kumoricon 2018
- Kumoricon Lite – Miniature version of Kumoricon as a stand-alone event on July 28, 2018
Publications History
Mascot and cover contest galleries
