#Oni-Con

what is the age range of oni-con participants? my 12 year old really wants to come but Im not sure what to expect. She also wants to wear a costume but i dont have the money to spend. does she have to wear a costume? do most people come in costume? are there things that are not appropriate for her to see? What about a 7 year old?

The age range varies a lot. There's people as young or even younger then your children that go, and it can go up to or even beyond the age of 40; it really depends on the con scene and who goes/doesn't go.

If you're on a tight budget, having him dress up in cosplay isn't necessary/mandatory, but it'd wouldn't hurt. On average, I'd say about two-thirds or so (this is just a really broad guesstimation) of the entire convention attendees cosplay, whether it be from an anime, J-Rock/Visual Kei, or literally anything else. The con itself is open to all ages as far as I'm concerned.

My son (12) will be going with me, as well as part of his Anime Club from school. I went last year with one of my friends, and there wasn't too much that I thought I needed to shield my son from.

There is hentai sold in the dealer room (anime porn), but they are pretty good about not letting children view their products. That would be the main thing to keep an eye on, in my opinion.

As for cosplay, there are loads of characters that would be easy to dress up as for little to no money. Black pants and a white button-up shirt = school uniform for a guy. You can find Naruto headbands at FamilyDollar for a couple of bucks. Loose black dress and a red ribbon in her hair = Kiki from Kiki's Delivery Service. Look around! You will be surprised at how easy it is to dress up for little to no money. (BTW - my son is going as Luffy from One Piece, and that's just a straw hat, cut off shorts and a red vest. We'll see if he still wants to do that the day of the Con, though! lol)

Oh, and I will be cosplaying, too. It's a load of fun!

AS far as I know & am concerned we are open to people of all ages. There are somethings you won't want to them to get into, but usually the con & the dealers are good about keeping those secured from young children. Most adult panels are held in the evenings, and if really needs be there is a age limit on the panel and we have people check ID's at the door to the room. The dealers are good about watching who is in their Hentai section, and pretty much all dealers that sell weapons check ID's or make sure there is a parent present (at least those I have seen have).
Cosplaying: not everyone does it. But like said above there are usually some really easy & cheap ways to cosplay. Heck I went as Tifa from Final Fantasy 7. All i needed was a black mini skirt, white tank top, fingerless gloves, boots, suspenders, & a belt. Luckily I didn't even need a wig, since i already have long dark brown hair..

My pre-registration still hasn't gone through and I'm really worried D:
Is there a back up of pre-registrations to check trhoguh or is it just not sending? We have waited a while and oni-con is almost ehre so im really really really nervous now.

also when will they be releasing a schedual of main events and such? Or is there already one up and i just missed it? x.x

pre-reg ended a while ago and the schedule doesnt come out till the day of the con