HasCon 2017
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 And then there is even more wailing, and stronger gnashing of teeth from the fans. | |||||||
| Date | September 8, 2017 | ||||||
| City | Providence, Rhode Island. | ||||||
| Venue | Rhode Island Convention Center and Dunkin' Donuts Center | ||||||
HasCon 2017, the first HasCon convention, was held in Providence, Rhode Island from September 8 through 10, 2017. As an expo/celebration of all brands that Hasbro owns or licenses across all age groups, Transformers had a significant presence.
Venue
The convention was held at the Rhode Island Convention Center for the main show floor, gaming rooms and smaller panels, with the adjacent Dunkin' Donuts Center arena used for the larger presentations and concerts.
Guests
- Action Movie Kid
- Danny Amendola
- Ogie Banks
- Mary Jane Begin
- Susan Blu
- Lorenzo di Bonaventura[1]
- Mark Boudreaux
- Jackie Bradley Jr.
- Stan Bush
- Len Cabral
- Vic Cook
- Jamie Costa
- Peter Cullen
- Daya
- Derryl DePriest
- Jessica DiCicco
- "Dude Perfect"
- "Eh Bee Family"
- James Gunn
- Summer Hayes
- Zach King
- Walter Koenig
- Stan Lee
- Andrea Libman
- Marcelo Matere
- Meghan McCarthy
- Scott Menville
- Isabela Moner
- David Ortiz
- Candace Payne ("Chewbacca Mom")
- Flo Rida
- Mark Rosewater
- Chris Ryall
- Charisma Star
- Mark Wahlberg
- John Warden
- Frank Welker
- Cathy Weseluck
- James White
- Chris "Doc" Wyatt
- Hideaki Yoke
- Maddie Ziegler
Semi-technically, Hasbro's whole staff were guests, as they were brought in to cover their brands' booths and answer questions, just as they did during BotCons. Many also attended panels for their brands and fields of work, including several TakaraTomy employees.
Events
- TBA
Merchandise
Exclusive items from multiple brands were available at the show, but we'll focus on the Transformers-related stuff...
Purchase-at-show items included:
- Optimus Prime Power Bank
- Titans Return Arcee w/ Leinad & Ultra Magnus Titan Masters
- Magic: The Gathering promo card set w/ "Grimlock, Dinobot Leader" reversible card
- San Diego Comic-Con Primitive Skateboarding Optimus Prime w/ Shreddicus Maximus Titan Master
The Hasbro "Boutique" sold regular-retail Hasbro toys at wholesale cost. Several of these items were either not yet available at retail or had only just started hitting... and largely sold out by end of show:
- Titans Return wave 1 & 2 Deluxes
- The Last Knight wave 1 & 2 Deluxes
- The Last Knight wave 1 & 2 1-Step Changers
- The Last Knight Remote Control Sqweeks
- Robots in Disguise wave 1 & 2 Combiner box sets
- Robots in Disguise wave 1 & 2 Crash Combiners
- Rescue Bots wave 1 Flip-Racer 3-packs
The Boutique eventually added the exclusives to their available stock over the weekend. Free shipping was offered by having the orders be fulfilled by Hasbro Toy Shop online ordering at checkout.
Throughout the weekend, numerous posters and art cards were given away free:
Run-up
- HasCon was announced in a Hasbro press release on October 18, 2016.
- On April 10, 2017, a video featuring Optimus Prime was released to promote the event. Hasbro also revealed that the convention would include exclusive products, autograph and panel sessions.
- At 12:01am on May 23, 2017, fan media were allowed to announce that the HasCon site was live and tickets were on sale. The official site and subsequent press release revealed that producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura and voice-actors Peter Cullen and Frank Welker would be in attendance for Transformers media, as well as Product Design Manager John Warden.
- On August 8 2017, Susan Blu and Stan Bush were announced as Guests for Autographs.[2]
- The following day, Isabela Moner was confirmed for attendance.[3] While a week later, co-star Mark Wahlberg was later joining in as well.
