Reed Exhibitions to begin new pop culture event in Chicago

Bad economy be damned! After previously announcing PAX Boston, Reed Exhibitions is now expanding their reach even more with a brand new pop culture event, and this one isn't restricted to East or West Coasters. The Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo (C2E2) will be held on April 16 – 18, 2010 at McCormick Place in downtown Chicago, and according to Reed, it will follow in the spirit of the New York and San Diego Comic Cons. NYCC and C2E2 Show Manager Lance Fensterman says, "We are thrilled to bring what we hope will be another massive comic and pop culture event, in the spirit of New York Comic Con, to an eager audience in Chicago and the entire Midwest."

Also of note is that, in an attempt to spread out their events more evenly, Reed has also announced plans to move New York Comic Con 2010 to October 8 – 10, 2010. This significant date change will presumably help pop culture companies and the press to be more able to attend Reed shows. Perhaps most interesting to anime fans is the New York Anime Festival, which has been scheduled for September 25-27 in 2009. Reed will undoubtedly be forced to move the convention for 2010, but it is effectively boxed-into the anime con schedule, as it is now surrounded by both New York Comic Con and Anime Weekend Atlanta.

Moving to a summer date could work, but then NYAF (One of the largest anime cons in the country) will be bumping up next to Otakon and Anime Expo, the top two largest anime conventions in North America. That sort of summer anime con density would result in lower numbers for all three cons – certainly not something NYAF is looking for. It will be interesting to see how the scheduling turns out, and I'll be sure to ask Lance and others at NYCC if I get a chance.