From October 17th through October 19th, locals in Colorado had the chance to attend the Amazing Art Expo at the Sheraton hotel in the Denver Tech Center. Amazing Art Expo was a three-day pop-up convention/expo with popular guests such as Bryce Papenbrook , Keith Silverstein , Cristina Vee , and Mark Whitten. The art at the festival ranged from anime such as Demon Slayer and Attack on Titan to Friday the 13th and even cartoons like Batman, with participants cosplaying these shows and others.
On the 18th at 11:30 a.m., there was a line outside the hotel by south side parking lot, with registration on the north side. This specific line was VIP access for Bryce Papenbrook. Walking by the east side of the building was extremely cold due to weather conditions. Weather apps said it was to be sunny and mid 60’s, however wind would make it feel close to high 40’s or low 50’s.
Upon getting to where lines for registration were, the general admission was extremely long, almost triple the size of whatever VIP line still had to get checked in. Following the line for general admission until the end, it was by the dining room until the hotel staff had moved the line outside. Another staff member, this time from the expo had mentioned that VIP would help get people in the door a little faster, a $20 upgrade was the only difference. At a normal convention or expo VIP tickets can range from $50 – $300 depending on the event.
Only one person manned the entire registration line. In comparison to other events that happen annually, there will usually be 2 to 4 people working on registration so that attendees don’t have to wait long to get their tickets. Any wristbands and emails for general admission were good for the entire weekend.
They had numerous tables with prints against the walls, leaving not much room to pass or get by. The prints ranged from Avatar: The Last Airbender to video games such as Resident Evil 4 and beyond. To get one of these prints, two options were available: pay the $20 for VIP or buy the print itself for the same amount of money.
On the 18th, the access for VIP autographs from Bryce was outside and along the south side, and the general admission access was along the east side of the building. Observing the lines from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m., numerous people were leaving, some due to the waiting time and others due to the weather at the time.
The next day seemed to be more promising for a lot of people. “We got out of the house at 9:50 a.m. and got to the venue at 10:20 a.m., which is exactly what we wanted.” Scott Jones said while waiting with his son for the expo to open. While waiting for the expo to open, Bryce had happened to walk out of the elevator, causing the entire line of VIP attendees to erupt in applause. When the expo opened, a handful of attendees made a rush to get to autographs for Bryce Papenbrook. Inside the main room where the voice actors and art pieces were, Bryce could be heard as he interacted with his fans, quoting famous lines from shows where he used his acting skills.
Once getting to the table for Bryce, one could see his own prints and a stand of prices for autographs and other items such as personal photos and videos with this specific voice actor. Prices ranged from $40 for prints and apparel to $100 for photos and videos with him. “It was $60 for my son to get his Inosuke POP figure signed, but it was worth it for the memories he would have later,” an attendee stated holding up a signed figure for her child “my son was asking all types of questions: how do you do the voice, how did you start voice acting, is there anyone you look up to, etc. Bryce was extremely sweet to him and even gave him a balloon sword he had received from Casa Bonita. I was not fully paying attention when they were talking about it until I got looks from my son, Bryce, and his handler.”
For some, it may not have started great at the Amazing Art Expo, but in the end, it was alright. Other attendees mentioned that this was their first time attending an event like this and thought it was a fun outing for family members.
This is definitely something to be on the lookout for next year if you are a big art fan.
