Anime Boston

The spread of the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) is undoubtedly at the top of everyone's mind right now. We at Anime Boston and the New England Anime Society (NEAS) are carefully reviewing all options available to us. The spread of this disease requires serious consideration and comprehensive planning.

We have been working closely with the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority (MCCA) and their contacts within the state and city of Boston. At this time we have no plans to cancel or postpone Anime Boston 2020, scheduled for April 10-12, 2020.

The MCCA has been following guidelines set forth by the EPA and CDC to prevent the transmission of the disease. High traffic areas such as restrooms will be disinfected every 30 minutes during building occupancy. Many of the restroom fixtures like toilets handles, faucets, and towel dispensers are touch-less to operate. Each restroom will have a hand sanitizer station and another 40-50 additional sanitizer stations will be placed throughout the convention center.

We will be regularly disinfecting common items within the Video Game Room, Manga Library, Workshop, Chibi Zone, and others areas. Gloves and/or hand sanitizer will be made available for all of our staff in high-touch and cash handling areas.

Reminders will be posted for attendees to wash and disinfect their hands regularly and to cover their mouths when sneezing or coughing. We encourage our attendees to take care of themselves and use good judgement.

As always, Boston EMS will be on site ready to assist our attendees.

For more information you can review the MCCA Public Safety COVID-19 page here: http://sb.signatureboston.com/mcca-covid-19

The well-being of our attendees, guests, exhibitors, and staff are our top priority. If the situation regarding COVID-19 significantly changes for the Boston and New England area, we will re-evaluate our plans with the MCCA and the city of Boston. Please check our website animeboston.com and follow us on social media for any future updates.

In the meantime, we are working hard to put on an amazing convention that we know you will enjoy. We look forward to seeing you in April!

Can we have thermometer forehead check, those devices that just measures your forehead temperature, during our baggage or badge area please? Anyone with a fever should stay home. It’s for our health safety. Please and thank you.

Thanks for the suggestion. We are coordinating with the MCCA to observe reasonable screening procedures, in accordance with EPA and CDC guidelines. Everyone can do their part, as Chris mentioned, by staying home if they're sick and by remembering to carefully wash hands often.

Will you be able to give any refunds because of this? I have some people in my group are immunocompromised and they could end up in pretty bad danger if they catch this

Im glad that the con is taking strong measures to keep attendees safe, and here's hoping the situation doesnt escalate. (Once again guys, please STAY HOME if you are not well!)

Now assume that push come to shove and Anime Boston even occurring at all is in jeopardy. What does this mean for us the attendees? Never mind trying to get refunds from train or plane travel, but how would the con be even able to postpone? I doubt it's something as simple as moving it a week or so later. And what if the con cancels entirely? Is there a refund policy in place for badges or a rollover for next year?

with gov baker announcing a state of emergency today is the con still on or are you discussing whether or not to cancel it after all?

This is from the Governor of Massachusetts Charlie Baker as he just declared a State of Emergency in Massachusetts.

Health officials announced on Tuesday (today) there are 51 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the state’s total of positive tests to 92. Of those cases, 70 were connected to a Biogen employee conference at the Marriott Long Wharf in Boston at the end of February.

I would like to be refunded my ticket price and I think the event should be canceled.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Lives are more important than anything.

This is still a pretty fluid situation. As such, we will have to waot and see for the final decision to be made.

Hi everyone!

If you have concerns about your membership for 2020 please reach out to our Registration Customer Service team using our contact form and they will be able to help you.

As I am typing this right now, our earlier statement still stands. We are still working toward putting on the best show we can for April!

If in the event that the convention is forced to cancel, we will have updated information for everyone. Please be assured that the convention's leadership team is working hard to plan for all possible scenarios.

I certainly hope the show goes on as planned, but if Governor Baker or the MCCA strolls in next week and says "**** you, shut it down", there isn't really anything the AB staff can do.

If that happens, the staff have my condolences in advance for the lost hours they're not getting back.
If not, party on, see y'all next month.

Party on!

See you next month!

Hey!

So my friend goes to Tufts and as we all saw/heard, Tufts and many other schools cancelled classes and he has to go back home by the end of this week and will not be able to attend Anime Boston. Regardless if the event gets cancelled or not, I will not be attending for safety reasons but also because this was going to be my first convention and I wanted to go with my best buddy. Is there any refund policy or is the money just lost? Thanks in advance!

andrewcgz wrote: ↑Wed Mar 11, 2020 1:30 pm Hey!

So my friend goes to Tufts and as we all saw/heard, Tufts and many other schools cancelled classes and he has to go back home by the end of this week and will not be able to attend Anime Boston. Regardless if the event gets cancelled or not, I will not be attending for safety reasons but also because this was going to be my first convention and I wanted to go with my best buddy. Is there any refund policy or is the money just lost? Thanks in advance!

You can reach out to our Registration team using our contact form here for inquiries. I'm sorry you won't be able to make it this year. Hopefully next year will work out!

So with the coronavirus now declared a pandemic by the WHO and the State of Emergency declared by Baker, I'm very curious as to if AB 2020 will still happen or not. Obviously a large amount of people are still planning to go, but at this point the health of too many people may be at risk.

I wonder if ab would happen. They should at least decide something asap before the deadlines having to cancel hotels and etc. we are in an emergency and so many people and families are coming and there should be a set plan.

Hi guys!

Unless the government instructs us otherwise, we will continue on with the convention as planned using the additional sanitation measures we outlined in our announcement.

If you have concerns about your membership for 2020, please reach out to our Registration team via the contact form and they can help get you sorted.

https://animeboston.com/coninfo/contact/

Looks like no refunds will be issued.

If the con is canceled is it gonna be cancelled for the year or is it possible it could be postponed to a later date once things calm down.

thank you guys so much for working hard to keep the con going! i'm really looking forward to this year!

Can’t wait to be there this year!

Hi all staff. Thank you all for working so hard on this event. I know things can change at the drop of a hat and it's still a pretty volatile situation. Some people are suggesting that people are more concerned with dressing up than they are in keeping people safe and I know that's not true. You guys are doing your best to keep us up to date and keeping our health in mind. So thank you for all of your hard work. Keep us up to date and if things need to be postponed or cancelled for the year then so be it. But if the show goes on then I look forward to seeing all of you there.

As someone who was just recently affected by the virus financially (employed at the Aquarium), i can tell you that everyone is currently working on preventing the spread. In my opinion, it is still too early to tell what impact it will have which is why most places have put in place a minimum of 3 weeks. Anime Boston is doing everything they can at this time but only time will tell. Be patient guys...

I just want to know that if something happens and Anime Boston cannot happen at the scheduled time in April, would it be more likely it would be outright cancelled, or would it be more likely there would be a postponing? I figure it is still too early to know, but has this been in talk and if so, how late would AB be willing to push a delay out?

Sayoria wrote: ↑Thu Mar 12, 2020 6:03 pm I just want to know that if something happens and Anime Boston cannot happen at the scheduled time in April, would it be more likely it would be outright cancelled, or would it be more likely there would be a postponing? I figure it is still too early to know, but has this been in talk and if so, how late would AB be willing to push a delay out?

We are exploring all possible scenarios. Unfortunately, reaching out to contacts and hearing back, nevermind followup questions, it takes a lot of time. While we want to give responses ASAP, we also don't want to give out incorrect information and so we are moving relatively "slow" compared to the news. AB is still a month away which thankfully gives us some time to explore those options.

I hope that at least sheds light to everyone on why we are sometimes slow to respond but nevertheless, thank you for understanding!

Nemra wrote: ↑Thu Mar 12, 2020 6:34 pm

Sayoria wrote: ↑Thu Mar 12, 2020 6:03 pm I just want to know that if something happens and Anime Boston cannot happen at the scheduled time in April, would it be more likely it would be outright cancelled, or would it be more likely there would be a postponing? I figure it is still too early to know, but has this been in talk and if so, how late would AB be willing to push a delay out?

We are exploring all possible scenarios. Unfortunately, reaching out to contacts and hearing back, nevermind followup questions, it takes a lot of time. While want to give responses ASAP, we also don't want to give out incorrect information and so we are moving relatively "slow" compared to the news. AB is still a month away which thankfully gives us some time to explore those options.

I hope that at least sheds light to everyone on why we are sometimes slow to respond but nevertheless, thank you for understanding!

Yeah, I am sure vendors, guests, and others involved need to be on top of making this work too. I know NYC just put out something about no gatherings of over 500 people in one area. Makes me wonder if Boston will follow suit.

Either way, thanks for the update. I know you guys will do what you can. Delays are fine and I know if a cancellation happens, it is for a good reason. I just hope it doesn't have to come to that!

I've been following what's going on with SFWA and their Nebula conference, and based on what Mary Robinette Kowal said here: https://twitter.com/MaryRobinette/statu ... 2031271936 -- I'm guessing Anime Boston is running into a lot of the same issues, where if insurance doesn't kick in (which will only happen if someone else cancels them -- probably Boston or Massachusetts or even the US), they'll be out so much money it may even destroy them as an organization. Which I'm sure none of us want to see happen!

I got an email from the customer support saying that I would get my registration cancelled and moved over to next year's but I don't see it on my account yet and I've yet to receive the confirmation email as well. This was 2 days ago. Not sure what's up but if you can fix it I'd be grateful.

dreiko wrote: ↑Fri Mar 13, 2020 4:31 am I got an email from the customer support saying that I would get my registration cancelled and moved over to next year's but I don't see it on my account yet and I've yet to receive the confirmation email as well. This was 2 days ago. Not sure what's up but if you can fix it I'd be grateful.

Please be patient, there is a lot going on and the registration team is very busy. Give them some more time, if you don't get anything by the end of the month, then please contact them again. Thanks

SO the state posted if any event hold more then 250. Then would ab be canceled? That wouldnt seem fair to still hold it at this rate.

Piggybacking on the above post, here’s a link to the news story. The governor states that conventions are part of the ban. There was no mentioned date so it appears to be until further notice, but since they cancelled the marathon, which was slated for after the con, it looks like it includes our weekend...

https://boston.cbslocal.com/2020/03/13/ ... bited/amp/

This was just posted to the official twitter.

CompressedBread wrote: ↑Fri Mar 13, 2020 1:34 pm This was just posted to the official twitter.

Thanks! I knew I forgot to post somewhere >_>

For those who can't see the image:

We hope you understand that we will not have immediate answers on a situation that just happened. When we have any updates regarding COVID-19, we will make an announcement. While a situation may change immediately like now, on the back end, things move at a slower pace while we review scenarios, confirm with contacts, and making sure we are fulfilling our legal and financial obligations. We are also a 100% volunteer run organization which means that AB as a whole operates a little slower than your standard business as we juggle our volunteer duties with our paying jobs. I know that this is very non-answer but that's all we really have at the moment. It's uncharted territory for all of us <3

This should be posted on the main site one would assume.

More so given the governor banning gatherings of 250 or more people. That clearly impacts Anime Boston one would assume.

Nemra wrote: ↑Fri Mar 13, 2020 2:01 pm

CompressedBread wrote: ↑Fri Mar 13, 2020 1:34 pm This was just posted to the official twitter.

Thanks! I knew I forgot to post somewhere >_>

For those who can't see the image:

We hope you understand that we will not have immediate answers on a situation that just happened. When we have any updates regarding COVID-19, we will make an announcement. While a situation may change immediately like now, on the back end, things move at a slower pace while we review scenarios, confirm with contacts, and making sure we are fulfilling our legal and financial obligations. We are also a 100% volunteer run organization which means that AB as a whole operates a little slower than your standard business as we juggle our volunteer duties with our paying jobs. I know that this is very non-answer but that's all we really have at the moment. It's uncharted territory for all of us <3

good luck getting everything sorted out. we all know that you guys are committed to making the convention happen, and that it will be happening unless the state steps in and explicitly says it can't (as this executive order with no announced end date would do).

hopefully they are giving you guys answers about when they expect the order to end even if they aren't giving the general public that info.

and boom goes the dynamite

JosephW wrote: ↑Fri Mar 13, 2020 6:22 pm and boom goes the dynamite

?

Laguna Beast wrote: ↑Fri Mar 13, 2020 6:37 pm

JosephW wrote: ↑Fri Mar 13, 2020 6:22 pm and boom goes the dynamite

?

I doubt AB will be given permission to continue when any gathering over 250 is banned.

JosephW wrote: ↑Fri Mar 13, 2020 6:44 pm

Laguna Beast wrote: ↑Fri Mar 13, 2020 6:37 pm

JosephW wrote: ↑Fri Mar 13, 2020 6:22 pm and boom goes the dynamite

?

I doubt AB will be given permission to continue when any gathering over 250 is banned.

Methuen announced a two week shut down of public buildings (city hall, libraries, schools, malls and the theater). I think what baker isnt telling the public but IS telling officials in each town/city is that the ban is only going to be in place for 2 weeks and at that time they'll see if they need to extend the deadline/ timeframe of it being in effect.

Besides, AB is boston's second highest money maker for businesses after pax east. They'll prob drop the ban before con time just for that

Whether or not these bans get lifted ultimately depend on whether we can keep the number of cases down enough to spread it out rather than overwhelm the healthcare system. If these two weeks achieve that it is plausible some events might go on as scheduled in April.

If such is unsuccessful I’d say postponement or cancellation will occur. I’d imagine a decision would come by the end of next week.

For seating in rooms, space the chair with a gap of 2 chairs to practice social distancing.

Have all staff carry hand sanitizers and room monitors make all attendees who enter exit, use it

It’s going to be a while before we hear official word, but because the governor prohibits any gatherings above 250 people for non-essential events (Baker literally mentioned “conventions”), there is no way at all AB is happening on the scheduled weekend.

The likely reason why it’s taking staff to officially announce it is because of the insurance. When a con cancels on their own, they have to pay refunds, fees, etc out of pocket. When the government steps in and forces it to cancel, the insurance kicks in. If anyone has ever filed an insurance claim, you know it takes a while. So we need to be patient because if any from staff even hints at the con being cancelled before the insurance company gets its appropriate info and evidence, that could nullify the claim as the con itself cancelling.

The issue is whether to postpone for later in the year or cancel all together. There are a lot of things to consider that many people (esp Twitter folk, my gosh) fail to realize.

• There are more conventions and meetings that take place in the Hynnes and Sheraton other than AB. Shocking, I know. But just like our con, these organizations and companies book months or years in advance. So AB can’t just pick another date easily, as it will most likely already be filled by someone else.

• The Sheraton offers an extreme discount to AB when it does because they can offer a block of rooms due to lesser demands. Wonder why it’s 99% on an Easter weekend? This might be why. The Sheraton can’t just choose another weekend to offer the same hotel discounts easily, and trust me, this is Boston, you don’t want to pay the non-discount rate.

There are other factors, but these are the two largest. For these two reasons alone, I would vote to cancel instead of reschedule. I’ve been going to AB since 2006, so I don’t say it lightly, but I’d rather go a year without than pay higher fees, pay hundreds more for the hotel stay, and all the other hassels that would bring.

https://www.wgbh.org/news/local-news/20 ... -statewide

Boston Marathon has been pushed off, schools are going to be closed until 4/27. Yeah, I don’t think this is happening.

Kimtana wrote: ↑Sat Mar 14, 2020 9:19 am • The Sheraton offers an extreme discount to AB when it does because they can offer a block of rooms due to lesser demands. Wonder why it’s 99% on an Easter weekend? This might be why. The Sheraton can’t just choose another weekend to offer the same hotel discounts easily, and trust me, this is Boston, you don’t want to pay the non-discount rate.

pax hotel rates aren't that different from AB rates, and pax is never on a holiday weekend. hell, the sheraton on a random non-ab weekend isn't that different from AB weekend. the sheraton isn't giving us bargain basement pricing for AB.

I would like to be refunded my ticket price and I think the event should be canceled.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Lives are more important than anything.
Top

Ava111- wrote: ↑Wed Aug 19, 2020 7:35 am I would like to be refunded my ticket price and I think the event should be canceled.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Lives are more important than anything.
Top

Hello! Thank you for your concern. As of March 14th, we have cancelled Anime Boston 2020 which was due to occur from April 10-12 2020. Your registration has been automatically applied to membership for Anime Boston 2021. Any refund requests were to be submitted by April 12. More information can be found in our article here from our web page. Thank you.