parents and Cons....what do they like to do?

[7dancer10]

This was probably already posted....but ah well....I will ask anyways sweatdrop
For the first time,I am taking my parents and my little sister to a con. their knowledge of anime goes as far as knowing I waste what little money I have on it. So basically I want to know if anyone's parents go to cons with them...and If so, what events/panels/just things to do do they like?  

[ll dell Orso ll]

Ehh~ o____o
:: nerve twitch :: Eck...

I know of things that might interest the normal parent... panels on prop making, the business side of anime/manga, cell painting, some dealer's room things such as odd foods and sword booths for the fantasy lover, tea house, I find a lot of parents like the artist alley section to see all the hand made crafts, murder mystery games, maybe the old school anime in screening rooms such as transformers and voltron if available. A friend's parent loved the Ramen Room that one of the conventions set up that year. Free Ramen and Green Tea was served in a little cafe style room with Japanese Tea House decorations and the volunteers wore Kimonos. Lol, there was even a guy that dressed as a Geisha.

More help would be the con's site... which con is it by the way?
If you go to the con's site, they should have main events, panels, and video rooms schedules. Look on there and see if anything interests them.

As for experience in what interested my parent in the past, it involved alcohol during the day and the yaoi screening room at two in the morning (( a 24-hour con )). She did lots of very embarrassing things at that con... never again did I ask her to bring me to another one.  

[tokkitoria]

Are they just coming with you to the con or will they be at the con? You could always find what's around the con center and see if there's something they'd like to do. If they're actually at the con then panels are always a good bet. I know we had a manga library at Anime North, if you have one of those that would be good too.  

[Demon Horse Rider]

My mom comes w/ me and my 'little' brother-who tries to cosplay XD he fails lol. K anyways, my mom will just like follow me around, she finds it as entertainment(seeing all the cosplayers)-yeah she thinks it's all hilarious..but whever.. And she'll come around to the costume contest/shows and she likes the dealers room..other wise that's mostly it.. She's not really embarassing or anything (good thing o.o) hehe  

[Doom27]

My dad used to just go to bars when i was to young to drive to cons. And then tell me about how many hot girls he saw... *eye roll*  

[egoxromantic]

My parents tend to drop me and run. xD
But I have been to conventions with my parents.
Like, for instance, I go to this small free con/meetup thing in Philly, and since I'm only there for a few hours, my dad just hangs around. He usually just creeps, taking video..
but last time we went he was like: I'm taking a walk.

And then he was gone for like 30 mins. O.o

But yea. I dunno. It's all good. If your parents insist on going, then I wish them luck. ._. My parents hate them.  

[methuselah.alchemist]

I've never had to have my mom accompany me to a con (kinda glad, cuz I think it'd be embarrassing), but I'm not sure if she'd even enjoy it anyway. She likes video games, so she might like seeing all the Link cosplayers and stuff, but I think she thinks it's kinda strange that a bunch of people get together and dress up in costumes. And I think she'd like the dealers room, with all the snacks. Cuz she loves pocky. XD I'm not sure about anything else, though.  

[Veretix]

My parents were dropping my friends and me off at Tora-Con and ended up walking the registration and pre-registration lines. They got a kick out of all the cosplayers, though they didn't come into the convention with us.  

[Glacirus]

I bring my parents as a ride. They bring me in, I find my friends, they run off to look at people in costumes. I wander with my friends, they sit in the cafe/food area eating and watching people. MAYBE if I feel like it's suitable that they won't instantly flip a $h!t and say "NO MORE OF THIS FOR JUUUU" will I take them into a screening or panel for something I like and let them see.

I.E. at one convention (and in theaters) I dragged my parents to watch the DN movies. They enjoyed themselves, as did I.  

[Raya Kioma]

My mom is comming with me next year, but thats because shes helping me with my art table. I need someone to help me lug all my stuff around and watch my table.
She doesn't really like anime, but she likes Japanese Culture and she likes costume making.

My friends parents come every year because they love anime.
...sounds great right?
No. Its kinda creepy. gonk  

[KcidekilI]

My parents are coming with me to a con too. Wierdly enough there actually excited to go and see all the people dressed up and when I got my cosplay they thought it would be funny to get their own so now my dad is Sephiroth and my mom is Luka(vocaloid). I think some parents enjoy taking pictures and looking at all the stuff in the dealers room and some panels if there interesting and if there like mine dressing up as characters they know little to nothing about and acting like retards.  

[nadaniasang]

My folks decided that Once I was 16, I could handle my own crap and therefore they needn't ever follow me around at a con, but I have dealt with non-anime fan parents tagging along before, so here are some tips:

Avoid acting as you normally would at a con. Glomping, random hugs, screaming while running in circles and various suggestive poses between characters is something you really should save for when your parent's backs are turned, mostly because there is a high risk it will provoke a bad reaction.

If your parents ask what character someone is, give them a vanilla version. Let's say they see an Alucard, tell them that he's a vampire who defends some people. Nothing more, or, once again, you could provoke a bad reaction.

Encourage them to give you some space by suggesting panels that aren't all about anime while some big anime event is happening at the same time. This might get them to let you go by yourself or with some friends to the event while they hit the panel.

Pick a slow time, like saturday at noon, to take your parents to the dealers room. The hustle and bustle might be a little alarming, so picking a slow time will give you and your family time to peruse the goods and actually take your time doing so, rather than having to take a stick to people so you can look at figurines.

Ask the con staff! Walking up and asking for a rundown of the safety measures, rules, and general feel of the conventions from a con staff member can often get parents to relax. Knowing a convention has their s**t together makes parents feel more secure in letting you frolic with the other crazies, so if you get a moment to breathe, hit up a loitering staff member to give your parents some piece of mind.  

[Pearlescent Priestess]

My mom likes everything. Especially fansubbing panels or animes she's interested in and the dealers... Same with my (soon to be?) step-dad. My dad watches my younger brother because he can't go (yet) plus, he doesn't really like anime all that much.  

[MisaMaiValentine]

My friends dad goes and the only thing he knows is Naruto so he got himself a Juriah cosplay and he walks around annoying the crap out of people. Other peoples parents I know just sit around and one friends mom goes to all of the adult rooms...she scares me...but it's all good fun. smile What ever they want to do I guess. Just don't let them catch you molesting your current fandom...My mom was really concerned...  

[dragonacid16]

My mom is a bit odd so we tend to do a TON together and she's as obsessive (if not more) of conventions as me (her mom also goes with us sometimes).

A lot of friends parents though I have gone with though tend to love martial arts and culture panels along with work shops. Something not really related to anime though it shows up in it and something to do more hands on. "Main Events" tend to be more to general audience liking too (cosplay contests, dances, concerts)