Zenkaikon is an annual celebration of anime, comics, games, science fiction, and fandom in Lancaster, PA. The three day event includes panels, workshops, anime & live action screenings, concerts, cosplay, video gaming, tabletop gaming, LARP, AMVs, dances, vendors, artists, and more!
Update on Zenkaikon 2021
To all our amazing Zenkaikon fans:
We have an important announcement to make, but probably not an unexpected one.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and restrictions on indoor events, Zenkaikon 2021 will be unable to hold an in-person event this year. Instead, Zenkaikon 2021 will be held online from March 19-21, 2021. This online event will be free to attend.
Memberships to Zenkaikon 2021, including those rolled over to Zenkaikon 2021 from Zenkaikon 2020, will be automatically rolled over to Zenkaikon 2022 (to be held March 25-27, 2022), including any t-shirts purchased. No additional action is needed. If you cannot attend in 2022 or need to request a refund for other reasons, we are making an exception to our standard no-refunds policy for this year. Please fill out the Refund Request form on our website by January 31st.
The Lancaster Marriott (convention hotel) will be automatically cancelling hotel reservations. If you booked at another hotel, you will need to contact them directly.
Dealers and Artists will have the option to transfer their registrations to next year or request a refund.
Panelists and presenters will be contacted shortly about the option to participate in our online event.
In a normal year, memberships would cover the costs of running the convention. Although a virtual convention is less expensive than a live one, there are still costs to be covered. In addition, we know there are many in the Lancaster community that are struggling during these difficult times. Therefore, instead of a membership fee, we will be asking our friends for an optional donation. Fifty percent of donations will go to support our online event, and fifty percent will go to a local Lancaster charity to be announced shortly.
We will be posting additional information soon. Please send your questions to info@zenkaikon.org.
Why did we make this decision?
You may be aware that, due to the pandemic, indoor gatherings in Pennsylvania are severely limited right now. On October 6, the state released guidelines restricting indoor events to 15% capacity.
Due to a continuing surge in COVID-19 cases, updated guidelines restricting indoor gatherings to no more than 10 people were imposed from Saturday, December 12 until at least Monday, January 4, 2021. However, the underlying October 6th order remains in effect until further notice.
Financially, we just can't have our event with these limitations. But even more importantly, the safety and health of our staff, fans, dealers, artists, guests, and convention center/hotel staff is our top priority. We want everyone to be well and hopefully be able to join us in person for Zenkaikon 2022 on March 25-27, 2022.
We’re heartbroken. We went through this process so fast last year, that it felt like we didn’t have time to mourn. To need to do this a second year hurts terribly. We miss our home so much, and we miss seeing all of our Zenkaikon family in-person.
Thank you for sticking with us in these trying times, and we hope to offer an amazing online lineup. We will post again soon with more details.
