This year, A-Kon moved from its location at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas, TX to the Fort Worth Convention Center in Fort Worth, TX. This new venue presented new opportunities and challenges for both convention attendees and staff. As Luna was working guest relations, she had a room in the Omni hotel, directly across the street from the convention center. So travel to and from the convention center was always a short walk away. However there were 4 other hotels within walking distance of the convention center as well as several others in the area requiring a bit more walking, or an Uber or car. While not a direct challenge for Luna, parking was rumored to run anywhere from$12-$40 every 12 hours, meaning a convention goer could easily be spending over $300 on parking for the convention alone. The only ways to get from the airports in TX were either by Uber (Costing upwards of $80 per way) or by public transit. Luna isn’t a fan of public transit and the train to and from Dallas to Fort Worth runs once per hour. This made travel there a bit difficult especially hauling a bunch of stuff. However, the convention center was HUGE. Everything was spread out, and very spacious. While that helps with crowd control it also makes walking a bit of a pain! Panel rooms were huge, providing plenty of seating for all convention goers. The main events ballroom was HUGE!! Rooms could be divided into several smaller rooms. The venue also featured the outdoor Water Gardens providing beautiful scenery for photo shoots.  Texas is typically a very hot state, especially in the beginning of June.  The convention center and panel rooms were kept very cool (almost cold) in some cases to help combat the heat. There were plenty of onsite food options and area restaurants ranged from cheap to expensive.

Venue Score: 2 out of 5 ​