Ohayocon is a three-day anime convention typically held during January/February in Dayton, Ohio at the Dayton Convention Center. Ohayocon's name is derived from the similarity between "Ohio", the convention's location, and Ohayou (おはよう), which means "good morning" in Japanese.

Programming

The convention typically offers an anime music contest, an artists' alley, concerts, costume contests, a dealers' room, a formal ball, a masquerade, musical events, panel discussions, a rave, table-top games, tournaments, video gaming, and workshops.

History

In 2007, the Midwest premiere of Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles occurred at the Arena Grand Theatre during Ohayocon. In 2010, crowding was a problem during the rave due to space issues. The convention shared the Columbus Convention Center with other events and only used about one-fourth of the available space. The convention's dance was moved to the convention center ballroom in 2012 to alleviate crowding issues. Ohayocon began using wristbands instead of badges to control unpaid attendance in 2014. During Ohayocon 2015, a transgender teen disappeared during the rave on Saturday night. The teen was attempting to run away and was later found safe in downtown Columbus on Tuesday. The Columbus Convention Center was undergoing construction during Ohayocon 2017, and the convention continued to use wristbands instead of badges. Ohayocon 2021 was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but a virtual event was held in its place. The 2022 convention had an attendance cap of 17,000 and events like the dance were not held. Ohayocon also had COVID-19 policies that included masks and testing or vaccination. The dance and formal ball returned in 2023. Ohayocon continued to have COVID-19 protocols that included masks and testing or vaccination. Significant numbers of the conventions leadership and volunteers did not participate in the 2024 convention. This was due to the firing of the conventions chair and head of marketing over a logo dispute, among other issues including finances. The convention contends at the time they were removed due to organizational changes surrounding the formation of the Cultural Exchange Society Inc. (CESI), which as of 2024, the formation of is still not complete (specifically the non-profit status.) The staff, as part of the Conventions of Ohio Volunteer Event Network (COVEN), attempted to negotiate unsuccessfully with CESI. Ohayocon announced new leadership prior to the 2025 event, along with the convention moving to the Dayton Convention Center.

Event history