The Geekiary Does Momocon

Typically, during this time of year, I venture down to MegaCon Orlando, but life being what it is right now, I decided to scope out some closer conventions. As everyone knows, I’m an avid attendee of DragonCon and MomoCon is basically DragonCon’s little sister. With some great guests this year, I decided to give it a try.

MomoCon describes itself as a family friendly, all-ages convention. Unlike DragonCon, it takes place primarily in the Georgia World Commerce Center next to the CNN center in downtown Atlanta, instead of in a series of mythical hotels and their labyrinthine halls and basements. It was a brief ten minute walk through air conditioning to get to the convention center, and most of the cosplay on display was in a circular courtyard or at the entrance of the convention center. Everything was extraordinarily easy to find, the lines were well-managed by MomoCon volunteers, and everything was kept on schedule with very little issue.

I appreciated the professionalism of the staff and especially those in charge of the press room. The interview space was cozy and well-lit, and press members were well taken care of with a quiet place to work and provided refreshments. I had the pleasure of interviewing DeeDee Magno Hall of Steven Universe, Patrick Warburton, and Benjamin Byron Davis of Red Dead Redemption.

A majority of the cons I’ve attended have been rowdy and large. There’s a distinctive difference between MomoCon and DragonCon: at DragonCon, the crowds are fifteen deep, the elevators are insufferable, drinking is essential, usually you have to go through Narnia or trek to Mordor in the steaming heat. At Momo, I encountered next to no alcohol except what was in my hotel room or getting dinner, I didn’t have to fight to get anywhere I needed to get to, and the elevators at the Omni hotel were rough but nowhere near DragonCon rough. However, a majority of the convention attendees were very young and appeared to have been left there by their guardians. The demographic was so much younger. Not necessarily a problem, because after all, it’s an all ages convention. I saw such genuine happiness on all faces, young and older.

At MomoCon this year, The Geekiary got a chance to debut and test The Geekiary’s first ever Convention Cosplay Bowl. The winner will receive a spread and interview on The Geekiary website. Speaking of cosplay, I knew going into MomoCon that I don’t watch anime (huge shout out to my friend Lauren for explaining who the anime characters were) but there were tons of cosplays I loved and recognized.

MomoCon also provided something I’d never seen before: a quiet room. A soft white noise generator played in the background and the room was nicely air conditioned. There were counselors on hand in case any of the attendees needed to talk to them about something. The tables were covered in adult coloring books, markers, pens, and colored pencils. I wish other conventions had things like this to help those of us with anxiety.

Other events included a rave (which I did not attend, as it was very popular and VERY crowded), robot wars (which was absolutely exhilarating), video game tournaments, and anime viewings. One of the coolest parts, though, was probably the giant 24-hour After Dark arcade. Street Fighter, Dance Evolution, a myriad of adorable rhythm games, some first person shooter arcade games were among those available and in a smaller roped off section, Pac-Man, Space Invaders, and other older arcade games dominated. In the vendors room, there was a Bakugan pavilion and several simulation games such as Second Life. In the courtyard, people had late night dance battles and beautiful chalk drawings covered the sidewalks.

This year, the con boasted over 39,000 attendees and, in 2020, it will be moved to GWCC Hall B to accommodate the convention’s growth.

Overall, the convention was fun and light, lacked the dramatic flair of DragonCon (which is not, by any means, a bad thing). Depending on the guests and events, I might just be back next year! If you’re looking for a smaller convention with a family friendly environment, I definitely suggest MomoCon!

Tickets for MomoCon 2020 are on sale now on their website. If you have any photos of your cosplays or of the events, we’d love to see them! Be sure to tag The Geekiary on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

Author: Bekah

Bekah has a B.F.A. in Theatre Performance from Anderson University and is the Executive Assistant at Saga Event Planning. She is a frequent convention attendee and cosplayer and co-hosts The Geekiary webcast “The Bitching Dead”.

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