Hi everybody! I have another event post here for you; similar to the Calgary Expo, it’s Otafest! Otafest is essentially the same as the Calgary Expo, but with the focus being on Japanese anime and manga. This year I was blessed with a sacred media pass – one of the many passes that allows you to skip the lines, interview the people, and take lots of photos (with permission!). It was actually my first time attending Otafest, even though I’ve heard a lot about it in past years.
When I first got there, there is this big hill I dub Otafest Hill – full of cosplayers and people attending in regular dress lounging on the hill under the beautiful sun (which then turned into rain. Classic Calgary). I saw a multitude of tails, ears, dresses with really long trails and dresses that looked like they came straight from Game of Thrones (which some of them did). Everybody seemed to be having a good time and I was already ecstatic to join in on the festivities. Listed below I have my first impressions of the multiple things at Otafest, in classic Jessica form because segues are weird.
The lines: the only line I worried about was the vendors line, which was almost three hours of standing in MacEwan Hall sweating in the radiating body heat. The same for the Artist’s Alley line, but with less radiating body heat.
Artist’s Alley: much like the Calgary Expo, Artist’s Alley is where artists draw an homage to their favourite/popular TV show, manga, etc and sell them. They also offered commissions, which is where the artist takes requests and draws them for you (I bought one from local artist Daisy Strange – check out her twitter here!). Oh my lord these drawings blew me away. I saw multiple League of Legends ones, and of course I bought ADC Jinx, my main character. I also bought much fan service (an anime/manga dedicated to making you melt with… ahem… anatomy) and a multitude of posters dedicated to my favourite animes.
Vendor’s Hall: this is where the magic happened. I looked around this place at least six times because the amount of stuff made me cry tears of joy. They had cute plushies, MORE POSTERS, pencils, cosplay items, jewellery replicates, almost anything under the sun! Except for an Iwatobi Swim Club track jacket. I was disappointed they didn’t have that.
The people: almost everybody I talked to were very friendly; I made made multiple friends whose name I didn’t even find out (but we were kindred spirits I swear), and whether or not you cosplayed, it was a great to bond with other people to discuss how they made the costumes, the struggle of getting it on and off, and the cost.
Overall: I loved it, and I most definitely will be going again next year – maybe I’ll see you there too!
