Organizers Expecting Thousands For 2016 Tekko Convention

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Thousands of people from all over the country will be dressed to impress when they arrive in Downtown Pittsburgh for the 2016 Tekko convention.

Crews at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center are hard at work, setting up for Tekko, which is a convention all about Japanese pop culture.

This year, organizers are expecting between 7,000 and 8,000 people to take part.

It's the region's largest Japanese pop culture convention. There will be dozens of vendors selling merchandise related to anime, gaming and music. Plus, there will be plenty of interactive opportunities.

"In our gaming hall, you can do anything from board games, table top gaming, role playing, LARPing, which is live action dress up and you've got foam swords and all that kind of stuff," said Justin Quaranta, of the Pittsburgh Japanese Culture Society.

Something new this year is a focus on Japanese fashion.

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This is the 14th year for Tekko. The four-day event typically attracts thousands of people from states all over country. And there is record-breaking pre-registration this year.

"We have more people pre-registered at this moment than the total that attended our show four years ago," said Quaranta.

The convention means big business for the city as a whole. Last year, visitors spent nearly $4 million on hotels, restaurants, and shopping.

"Bringing people into downtown that are going to stay here and spend their money here, and a lot of it over the course of four days, the businesses rely on that," said Quaranta.

For more information on the convention, visit: http://www.teamtekko.us/

Tekko kicks off this evening and runs through Sunday.