First held in 1990 with just 380 people in attendance,[1] A-Kon is North America's longest running convention primarily focused on anime.

[2] A-Kon consists of many volunteer managed teams each dedicated to operating a portion of this large convention.

While the focus of the convention was originally centered on anime fandom and screenings of films and television series, many other activities take place encompassing various segments of geek and Japanese pop culture.

These events include panels with American authors and artists, a console gaming room, tabletop gaming room, cosplay, scavenger hunts, martial arts demonstrations, an art show, and concerts by Japanese and SteamPunk bands.

The convention also maintains a vigorous social network presence on Facebook and Twitter, having about 15,000[3] and 7,000[4] followers respectively, through which they post information and run contests throughout the year.