CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WVIR) – Four University of Virginia students came together to create Daigakon, an anime and gaming convention on the Grounds of UVA.
Anime and video game lovers from around the Charlottesville area came together for the first convention of its kind at UVA. Its origins began in 2021, but because of things like the COVID-19 pandemic, it kept getting pushed back and delayed. Eventually, in 2025 it was brought back up to one of Daigakon’s co-organizers Joe Liang.
“They were like, maybe you guys can do it next year. I’m like, no way, we’re not doing this. It’s like too much work,” Liang said.
The convention’s four organizers; Liang, Link Fu, Charlene Huynh and Cathy Le got to work in late 2025. It took two full semesters, with a majority of the preparation taking place in the month leading up to the convention.
“A lot of planning, a lot of all-nighters. I think it was a lot of coordination across a lot of parties. I think we did a tally, and in terms of headcount, we have over 150 people involved,” Fu said.
The four had to plan performances, find a venue, think of arts and crafts and a find vendors for a vendor hall.
They received around 80 vendor applications, but only 55 fit in the space. That was a lot for Charlene Huynh, who was the convention’s vendor lead.
“The process took about two months,” she said. “A very short time span, especially for a convention, because usually it would take a year or at most a year and a half to prepare in advance. So, as one person, that is a lot compared to the scale of the vendor hall we have.”
Another co-organizer Cathy Le went to a student-run convention like this one at the University of Maryland last November. That experience is what inspired her to create this one.
“The whole energy and vibe is something that I really wanted to recreate at UVA,” Le said. “Since I felt like sometimes I didn’t really get that support, and I want other people to get that support as well.”
Joe Liang added that the convention provided an opportunity for fans to connect in Charlottesville.
“Bringing everyone together and having people share their interests and really express it in such a venue in a place like Charlottesville where there’s a lot of people who like pop culture but maybe don’t have a venue to express it. It’s a precious opportunity that we should capitalize on,” he said.
Despite the rain outside, the fact it was Easter Sunday and the first-convention nerves, the four were able to host the convention and see a significant turnout.
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