Sakura-Con 2026: The good, the bad, the ugly!
Well, it's that time of year again folks. It's time for my review of the convention Sakura-Con 2026. Once again, this convention took place at the Seattle convention Center. What was different about this year was this. Not only did the con use the Summit and Arch buildings but the nearby Arch Tower.
Thus, proving that Sakura-Con has grown in an exponential way. That's no small feat as the Seattle Convention Center is a very large complex. So, to achieve such a feat is not something to scoff at. Kudos to Sakura-Con for making things work.
Now this con critique will concentrate on the good, the bad and the ugly of the convention. Once again, my seven-tier system will get utilized. Also, to any Sakura-Con staff I must once again add context. This is not meant in any way, shape, or form as a personal attack on you. Another thing of note is there will also be some travel commentary here.
Now with that said let the critique begin!
This year was different for this con critic as I decided to take the Amtrak Cascades line up to Seattle. To my surprise and delight the customer service turned out to be very good. When I arrived at Portland Union Train Station an Amtrak staff member found me real fast. That employee then escorted me to the Metropolitan Lounge. There I sat on one of the comfortable couches and read my book.
It should be of note there are complimentary snacks available in the lounge. But for the train trip itself it might not hurt to have some extras. Or one can buy some snacks from the souvenir shop in the station. That was before a Red Cap or baggage handler came and got us for the train.
The train trip itself was calm and uneventful. Well, uneventful other than a brief pause outside of Tacoma. A south bound train had to pass by. But other than that, it was a good trip. I can recommend it for the scenic view.
Also, I can say the Swiss and turkey club from the Bistro was okay as were the chips. The Gold Peak Unsweetened Iced Tea was good. But I can say I give a high recommendation to the Ivar's Clam Chowder, it's delicious.
After arriving in Seattle my girlfriend picked me up from King Street Station. From there it was off to the Hyatt at Olive 8 hotel. As always, I give a high recommendation to this hotel. It's situated near the Arch building and tower as well as the Summit building. So, it's a great midway point for all the action.
I can say that this year at Sakura-Con took me by surprise in some very good ways. I'll explain as I lay things out in my seven-tier system.
Attendee/Customer service was very good this year. The ADA staff was very on the ball this year especially in the autographs area. No sooner did one staff member go off to do something then another was asking if I needed anything. That is good and solid customer service. Excellent work from the staff.
The next subject is staff organization and communication. The good of it is when my girlfriend and I were in line to get our badges, pick up lines were longer. But they were also organized and there were plenty of staff there to keep the lines going. So, no complaints at all there. To be fair especially on Day 2 I noticed some panel/event line organization was a slight bit off.
But the staff managed to solve those problems with some good, civilized dialogue. This was especially true with the cosplay contest line. When there's that good communication any problem can get solved with teamwork. So, things were a slight bit shaky with the lines. But the staff were able to get things settled and organized with that good communication.
So, it's not too severe a problem.
Now comes staff morale for the convention. I'm happy to report the staff were upbeat and cheerful. This despite the hectic pace of running the convention. The staff did very well in their attitude and their hope that the convention would do well. So, there's no complaints about anything here.
Next up, comes accessibility. For those out there who have handicaps this is a must. To be fair the double door elevators for the Summit building were a slight bit of a surprise. And I still think Sakura-Con could have a tram. This transport would be useful for those who have asthma and breathing issues.
Also, Sakura-Con could take a cue from its little sister down south. Have a large print version of the convention schedule. This would be of especially good use to those of us who have visual issues. But it was pretty easy to get around despite the issues. The convention has stepped up their game this year.
And now the fifth tier comes into play, panel/event variety. For the most part there was lots of variety at the convention. Though I will say this about the Autistic and Neuro-Diverse panel. You might want to ask for a bigger room next year. I was unable to get into the 10th anniversary celebration due to fire code.
Yeah, the room was at capacity. Holy mackerel that's a surprise! There was a pretty good selection of panels to attend this year. I only hope that next year more of the rooms at the Arch building and Tower get used. those places are still quite useful.
Now the next tier in my judgment of a convention is food availability. Some may think this a petty thing but it's not. Hungry con goers can get grouchy and brings on the possibility for all kinds of trouble. This year I'm happy to say there was plenty to eat for everyone. This critic tried their pizza and Mac and cheese with chicken bites in it.
Also, I went to Taco Del Mar and tried a Vietnamese Sandwich restaurant in the Arch building. Taco Del Mar's burritos are always good. And the Vietnamese sandwich and Milk tea were very good. Though of note I excluded the jalapenos from my sandwich. I'm not that keen on super spicy food.
I imagine a lot of people are much the same way.
Also, of note the hotels have restaurants available to sate the appetite of any con goer. The Hyatt at Olive 8 was no exception as it has a restaurant and a bagel shop. I still think many of these shops would do well to allow money and cards instead of being card only places. If the power goes out or something bad happens, they may need to rely on an alternative source of income. It's not good to put all one's eggs in a single basket.
But there was plenty of food available and that's a good thing.
Now comes the seventh and what one could argue is one of the most important tiers. How well did Sakura-Con keep modern politics out of the convention. And I am pleased to report that there was not a sign of any political jargon or anything at the convention. Even the restaurants showed no sign of anything political. No modern politics means the only thing that will happen is people will have a good time.
That's what fan conventions should be about. Sakura-Con and the convention center buildings did a very good job this year. I offer up nothing but praises on that count.
Now before I give my final verdict there is something I noticed this year. I noticed this in the very back of the larger Main Events Hall. There were several sets of four screens set in square formations. They had couches in front of them so people could sit and watch the main events on stage. This I suspect was because some people don't like getting cooped up in the Main Events Hall rows of chairs.
So why not have some comfy couches where people can view the events on stage? This was an innovative and very good idea!
I don't know when Sakura-Con came up with this idea, but it was brilliant! And with the way modern technology is they were able to execute it with no problem. For those who have limited vision or don't like crowds this is a great way to watch things with no issues at all. For that matter there were smaller screens all around the Main events hall. So, it wasn't hard to see the main events stage, again well done!
This was a big step up for Sakura-Con and I applaud this effort. This is an idea that worked out very well and I hope they institute it for next year. You did something very good so keep this idea in mind.
Now comes the convention final verdict. On the whole Sakura-Con stepped up its game to a new level this year. Everything was well executed and well thought out. Someone told me once it takes a couple years for conventions to institute good new ideas. If that's the case, then I'd say Sakura-Con did well this year.
Things have fallen into place in an excellent fashion for 2026.
I am very excited for what next year will bring. And I can say I will definitely take the Amtrak Cascades line up to Seattle next year. On the whole I give Sakura-Con 2026 a B plus rating. So it's rating went up in a very good way!
The convention took its game to a whole new level and I'm eager to see what the future holds.
Before I end this review one little thing remains. I'd like to send a very special shout-out to a young lady named Sonja. My girlfriend and I met her in the audience while watching the cosplay contest. My thanks young lady for providing some great conversation. And thank you for being a wonderful person, I hope our paths cross again next year.
Meanwhile may you know nothing but joy, happiness, and personal triumph in your life.
Thanks for reading this convention critique, everyone. I'll be back in November with my Kumoricon 2026 review. Take care convention lovers!
Thanks for reading this convention review. It was a pleasure to put this glowing review together. I love it when a convention excels. If anyone from Kumoricon sees this report they might want to take notes.
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