After last year’s huge spectacle of modern pop culture, AcadArena makes its triumphant return to the SMX Convention Center for CONQuest Festival 2023, starting the month of June with a bang. Happening a bit earlier than expected, fans can get look forward to three days of unbridled hype which won’t be limited to the SMX event floor alone.
This time, the CONQuest Festival is going coast to coast–including Conrad Hotel, MOA Atrium, and NU MOA to the already large venue. Everyone will have their agenda of fun cut out for them with simultaneous, exciting events happening all day, for all three days.
Several guests have been announced in the past few weeks, much to everyone’s excitement. Aside from the much-awaited anime and gaming showcases and intense esports tournaments, CONQuest Festival 2023 kicks things up a notch by taking the party all the way into the evening with an impressive lineup of musical artists to cap off each night.
Now, there is a lot to unpack, explore, and experience, so let’s go through a few highlights to look out for through each day.
Day 1 – June 2
Now, once the gates open you need not wander about, in spite of the overload to your senses that CONQuest will likely bring. The day kicks off at the SMX Creator Stage with roomies Valkyrae, Fuslie, Yvonnie. Cookie for a Roomie will definitely be a talk you wouldn’t want to miss. Especially if you’re someone who’s been waiting years to see Valkyrae in person.
As mentioned earlier, you can expect a ton of activities for each day. From a Khoi Dao and Laura Stahl free meet to an Anne Yatco, Ratana, and Cory Yee panel workshop, both happening at Conrad Hotel.
Back at the SMX Convention Center and MOA Atrium, you get awesome cosplay showcases and talk panels from Charess, Kitz Cua, and Kang Dupet. For Hoyoverse mainstays, it’s best not forget the Scamily Genshin Boss Rush.
Towards the evening, you get a chance to meet Pokimane, Michael Reeves, Joey The Anime Man, and Akidearest in the flesh. To cap things off, we get a sweet music set from James Landino and Hyper Potions.
Day 2 – June 3
On day two, we get a whole lot of esports with two intense showmatches. MPL Champs ECHO PH will be taking the stage, while Spicyuuu, Newt, Demenishki, KrisRey, Sykkuno, Een, Jaehyeong, Xavi, JoshSeki, and RazzieBinx will take part in a celebrity Valorant match. Of course, they’ll be giving panel talks after gracing everyone with some intense action.
Voice actors Sean Chiplock, Vanille Velasquez and Adam McArthur will headline day 2’s panel workshop, while Rurusama, Shoto, and Anthony Chenn will have their respective free meets. Of course, we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention LilyPichu and IGumdrop who’ll also be ready and waiting for their fans.
The night brings an insanely good lineup of music artists with Autotelic, Oh Flamingo!, James Reid, and The Rose just to name a few. You’ll definitely have your fill, and you’ll likely not want to go home.
Day 3 – June 4
Day three brings out the big guns with both Roomies and OfflineTV having their respective panels, which is guaranteed to have both excitement and shenanigans. We get more cosplay awesomeness courtesy of Le Josette, Ristelle, and Ashe’s panel while all the voice talents from Day 1 and 2 come together for the ultimate workshop. Definitely not something you’d want to miss.
This will also be your last chance to meet Joey The Anime Man and Akidearest at their free meet, so make sure to keep your schedule in check. Also, while we don’t get any music on the last day, we do get a nice Q&A panel for K-pop sensation The Rose.
The last day sees the culmination of the 2023 VCT Challengers PH tourney, where a victor will be crowned after three days of intense battle. We’ll also see the conclusion of the Alliance Games, where we cap off the day with the awards ceremony.
So, now that you have a very brief rundown of what to expect, it’s up to you to see what else CONQuest Festival has in store for everyone. This is but a preview of what’s happening, and you’ll surely get even more excited once you experience all three days of the aforementioned unbridled hype. Good luck, have fun, and more importantly, make the most out of this awesome event.
For the list of CONQuest Festival 2023′s guests and full schedule for all three days, check out their official website and Facebook page.