Over the holiday season, I went on a comedy bus tour for a friend's birthday celebration. We went on a Friday evening, rated R tour offered by Funny Bus. The comedy tour is a one and a half hour bus ride through various parts of Charlotte, North Carolina. The price for the tour was $30.00 per person. The bus stop is located across 7th Street Public Market and next to First Ward Park. A tour guide and driver hosted 28 passengers. Our bus was fully booked for the 6 p.m. time slot. We were allowed to bring alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages on the bus. Seats on the bus are a first come, first serve basis. On the particular tour I experienced, the bus traveled through NoDa, South End, and other Charlotte neighborhoods. We stopped halfway through the tour for restrooms and beverage purchases at Heist Brewery.

The tour offered a comedic take on the history of Charlotte. While traveling through the city, our guide pointed out historic landmarks and shared interesting information. He also threw out various jokes to engage the audience. The majority of the historical information was new to me. Each member of our group learned something new about Charlotte during the tour. Our guide did a great job entertaining and interacting with everyone. It was clear that our guide was well versed in this specific tour.     

I thought the comedy tour was a great experience for out of town guests and current residents of Charlotte. The tour also accommodates large groups of people. I would recommend taking friends and family on the tour who want a unique experience while visiting Charlotte. The Funny Bus Comedy City Tour is a good option for celebrating your next special occasion or outing in Uptown. 

Happy New Year to you. We are six days away from the start of Ichibancon 2020. The updated schedule is posted on the main website. I will be presenting two panels on Saturday January 11th, 2020. My first panel on Japan Travel will start at 10 a.m. in Events Room 2. This panel is for anyone interested in traveling to Japan for the first time. I go over the financial aspects on planning a trip, tips on using various transportation options, lodging recommendations, sushi etiquette and much more. My second panel is on how to make sushi in your own home at 6 p.m. in Events Room 3. This is a new panel that I will be presenting for the first time. It is something I have been working towards since last summer. If you will be in attendance, please say hello and stop by one or both of my panels. I always enjoy meeting new people and talking about anything Japanese related. 

The Mighty Meeple is a hobby store located across the street from Concord Mills at 8440 Pit Stop Court NW #180. They are open seven days a week with reduced hours on Sunday. Meeple sells board games, trading card games, miniatures, and other related tabletop gaming products. There is ample gaming space inside the store for playing all varieties of tabletop gaming. You can find a schedule of weekly events on their website or by contacting the store directly.  

Meeple is known around the local area as a premier store for the Magic: The Gathering trading card game. They sell packs, singles, deck sleeves, and other related products. I regularly attend their Tuesday evening Standard format event. They also offer Friday Night Magic and special weekend events. I have gotten to know many local players by visiting the store. 

In addition to gaming space for MTG, they offer multiple tables for other tabletop games such as Warhammer 40,000. You can find players using the tables every Saturday. Meeple sells painting supplies and miniatures sets for players to build their armies.   

Meeple is well-staffed by employees with a passion for gaming. They are friendly, knowledgeable, and able to answer questions about many tabletop games. The employees also manage gaming tournaments held weekly. Events typically start and end on time without issue. In addition, I find the store and bathrooms clean each time I visit. This is hard to accomplish on a consistent basis. I would recommend anyone near Concord, North Carolina to make a visit to Meeple.

The Queen City Anime Convention is a three-day event centered around anime, cosplay, video games, and other Japanese related themes. This year, the event was held at the Sheraton Charlotte Hotel in Charlotte, NC. It took place from August 9th, 2019 through August 11th, 2019.  My brother and I attended the convention on Saturday. I was approved to run a Japan travel panel at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday as well. We decided to stay most of the day and attended other panels, special events, the video game room, and the marketplace. ​According to the event staff, over 4,000 people attended the convention this year.

Austin and I began our day in the parking garage next to the hotel. The convention offered a discounted rate of $5 to park all day. We quickly went through registration and obtained our badges for the day. QCAC improved their registration process from the previous year. I used the Fan Guru event application to figure out where my panel room was located. This app was very helpful navigating the halls and keeping track of events I wanted to attend. After a quick check-in at Con Ops, I was ready for my panel at 11:00 a.m.   

My panel was a success with 42 attendees and great questions from the audience. I was able to present and answer questions with five minutes to spare. The only bad part about my panel was the room size. All of the 32 seats were taken. but 10 additional attendees had to stand across the back wall. The room size issue was a reoccurring problem throughout the day.

After my panel ended, we went next door to see if Austin could participate in the speed dating event. Unfortunately, the demand far exceeded the room size and slots for participants. This created confusion and logistics issues for the event. Ultimately, Austin and I left the area to check out the dealer's room. We checked out some of the dealers among a crowd of people. After walking the room one time, Austin, bought a handmade craft for $12.00. I was tempted to buy a t-shirt, but the styles did not interest me enough. 

Later on, we attended the Samurai vs. Ninja panel hosted Samurai Dan. This panel was featured a series of questions to decide if you acted like a samurai or a ninja. Dan did an excellent job entertaining and engaging the audience. I could tell why he was a featured guest host for multiple panels. I recommend attending one of his panels at a future convention. After the panel ended, we tried to get in line for the Cosplay Circus Show. Unfortunately, the line wrapped far around the convention hall. When we realized the main event room was too small to hold all of the people in line, we gave up and went to the gaming room.

I got a chance to play the Initial D Infinite 8 arcade machine. I was able to beat the first rivals race before giving another person a chance to play. Austin and I tried to find a fighting game station available, but they were taken by tournament participants. We ended up walking to the Social Media Breakdown for Cosplayers panel. My hope was that we could learn something even though the panel started 30 minutes prior to our arrival. Much to my surprise, the panel either ended early or did not start at all. With nothing else going on, we went back to the main events room to try and catch part of the Cosplay Circus Show. There was still a line of people waiting to see the show. The room was at maximum capacity forcing volunteers to use a one-in-one-out system. Ultimately, my brother and I decided to take a break until the next scheduled special event. 

We got in line about 4:20 p.m. to see the None Like Joshua Rap Show. Unfortunately, the Cosplay Circus Show ran almost 30 minutes past the scheduled time slot. While we did see the show, it started close to an hour later than scheduled. None Like Joshua put on a great performance and it was the highlight of our day at QCAC. After the show, Austin and I decided to end our day at the convention. We had planned to meet Ashley for dinner at Sea Level. While our day was met with unexpected demand and delays, we did have a fun and enjoyable experience. My brother and I enjoyed interacting with other attendees and found the volunteer staff extremely friendly. It is exciting that QCAC continues to grow rapidly as a summer convention in Charlotte, NC. Hopefully, I can attend and present again at QCAC in 2020.