It appears that another convention has fallen.
Izumicon was scheduled for the weekend of August 31st through September 2nd in Midwest City, Oklahoma. I guess you could technically say it hasn’t been cancelled, but rumors have been circulating for a few days and it shows all the signs of a cancelled convention.
As of August 5th, the website still had active links, and even showed deadlines for hotel reservations and volunteer applications.
As of August 13th, the Contact Us link was showing all positions vacant, and it still does today.
The Eventbrite page has also been modified to stop selling tickets and guests have posted their regrets.
Due to some recent issues that are unfortunately out of my control, I am so sorry to say that I have to cancel my appearance at @Izumicon this year. ? This is a major bummer. Hopefully I’ll be able to come back to Oklahoma soon, I’m really sorry I’ll be missing everyone. ❤️? pic.twitter.com/yKLrmYaSiW
— Daman Mills (@DamanMills) August 14, 2018
Very sorry to say that because of some recent issues I won’t be able to attend @Izumicon this year – I’m so sad to miss y’all – but I hope to be able to come back to Oklahoma another time. ❤️❤️❤️ Please stay tuned for a convention schedule update soon! ? pic.twitter.com/6wJmnw9dfT
— Jad Saxton (@jadbsaxton) August 13, 2018
However, as of today the last tweet from Justin Nimmo was:
Fun fact: I was born in Midwest City Okla 9/5/74 so this convention at izumicon we can celebrate my #bday https://t.co/8P9VCgQx7G
— Justin Nimmo (@justin_nimmo) August 10, 2018
and as of August 7 Austin Tindle was still coming to Izumicon
Sit down… are you holding coffee? Prepare yourself!….Because…I …am going to be appearing at Izumicon 2018 Labor Day weekend! For tickets and information go to Izumicon.con #VA-Character #Izumicon
— Austin Tindle (@austintindle) August 7, 2018
Izumicon sold their name to Ladder Entertainment, LLC in 2018. Ladder Entertainment, LLC shows up in Google Searches as ‘permanently closed.’ However, the website links directs you their Facebook page, which hasn’t seen any action since October 2017
The official Izumicon Facebook group page photo was also changed to be the generic Facebook Group photo.
No official word has been spoken, but there are these posts going around. Please note: none of them are official.
Based off of what is available, many people have started cancelling hotels, flights, and requesting refunds. The last post to their Twitter feed was August 7th.
Updated August 15, 2018
We saw it coming, long before they announced it, but they finally did:
Izumicon Ticket Holders, Sponsors, Invited Guests, Vendors, and fellow Anime Fans,
Despite diligent efforts IZUMICON 2018 has been officially cancelled due to logistical difficulties,
talent scheduling, and other factors beyond our control.
We understand that many of you made plans to be here and wanted to give you as much notice
as possible so that you may make alternative plans for your holiday weekend. Our team worked
to the last possible moments to find a solution, but with two weeks until opening we now realize
it will be impossible to deliver the show we promised you.
Ticket Holders, Please know it is our desire and intent to make full refund or issue credit
voucher for future events. Please contact us at Izumiconcancellation@gmail.com to inquire
about refunds for tickets and deposits.
There are a lot of true points in this statement, but there are also several points of contention in the statement.
One of the biggest argument points is how they have tried to place part of the blame on “talent scheduling.” As far as I can tell, there were no scheduling issues with the talent. They were contracted awhile ago, and those that chose to cancel wouldn’t cause undue problems. The talent that was coming was a big enough draw for this convention.
Daman Mills, himself, chose to weigh-in after reading the “official” cancellation notice.
Other talent and their agents also chose to weigh in.
It has also been pointed out that no one has received official cancellation notices yet, either.
The other big point of contention for people is the statement. “Please know it is our desire and intent to make full refund or issue credit voucher for future events. ” At this point, a voucher for future events isn’t even worth the paper it would be written on, as no one is going to trust another event run by Destiny Gonzalez or any company she creates. She took a convention that had been running for 10 years and drove into the ground in just one.
Rumors are currently circulating that the email address provided in the official statement is a dud, however I can verify that as of 8/16/18 at 8:15 the address was functioning and sending an auto reply:
Thank for your interest in this production and we apologize again for your inconvenience.
As you can imagine we are getting a large volume of requests for information on refunds. The mechanism for making refunds is not yet in place. You will receive a follow up email with steps to verify your account when it is.
We appreciate your understanding and we empathize with your impatience as we have funds tied up in deposits and prepaid expenses as well.
Regards,
Team Izumicon
As far as I can tell, “Team Izumicon” currently consists of Ms. Gonzalez and her lawyer.
As for Ms. Gonzalez and her company, “Ladder Entertainment” that was running Izumicon, Ladder Entertainment is officially a defunct company as they are behind on their filing with the state. IF my understanding of corporate law is correct that means that Ms. Gonzalez can’t even hide behind her company for any lawsuits or bankruptcy filings, as the company was defunct before anything was officially declared.
If you are an artist that has paid for a table, or an attendee who has paid for a ticket, you can wait and see if you get any form of notice from the lawyer. Other things you can try:
- If you bought your ticket through Eventbrite, request a refund
- File a claim with your credit card company, if you paid with one
- File a claim with Paypal, if you paid through them
- If you paid with a check, you may be out of luck, but talk to your bank and see if they have a suggestion.
