I’ve been attending Otafest, Calgary’s (Alberta, Canada) anime convention since 2007, on-and-off. Its origins are even older, starting in 1999 as a film showing put on by the University of Calgary’s anime club. If you want to know more about their past, you can visit their about page, and they’ve got a lot of information on social media as well. According to their statistics, when I first attended there were just over 2,700 attendees. For Otafest 2019, from May 17th, to 19th, they managed over 9,000, despite a few hurdles. While I’ve attended much larger conventions, this one is close to my heart, and the smaller scale means that if there’s a particular anime screening, contest, or panel you want to attend, you probably can. Plus, their mascots, Persephone and Aurora, are adorable.
This year there were a few problems for the staff to overcome, and for fans to fight through to enjoy the convention. Due to rain, outdoor elements of the convention risk being cancelled. Yet the rain didn’t stop the Otafest staff from moving a planned ramen experience indoors, and providing outdoor musical shows on a boxed stage. I expect they could have beaten their attendance record if they’d had sunny weather.
There was also an unfortunate printing error in the convention handouts with the maps. As soon as they could, the Otafest staff sent emails and notifications out to every attendee, on every social media platform, pointing to accurate digital maps. They wouldn’t let an accident get in the way of anyone’s ability to navigate the convention if they could help it.
Despite these hiccups, I attended on the Saturday and enjoyed Otafest 2019 a lot. The exhibitor hall was well laid-out, and busy all day. Cosplayers were out in strength. The aforementioned ramen service was moved indoors, and so deliciously aromatic that the smell lingered well after it was packed up. Every time I walked outside there was a new performance on at the small box stage, and whatever crowd was taking the time to watch was always having a good time. Lucky for them, most of Saturday was only drizzle, or even had breaks in the rain, so nobody was getting soaked out there.
Because I couldn’t be everywhere myself, I reached out to Otafest’s staff for this article, asking for pictures, and they were more than happy to help. Thanks to David Ly, and the Otafest photography staff like Elyse Bouvier, who took the above, as well as the title image.
Back to the exhibitor hall. Otafest 2019 had a large number of sponsors, from international Microsoft, to local restaurant Goro+Gun, and was attended by other well known brands. One of those was Fakku, who had a booth selling physical H-manga. Maybe check out one (or more) of our many Fakku reviews, and next time they show up at a convention near you, you can give them some in-person love.
One of the events I wasn’t able to attend was the cosplay competition, a qualifier for C4 (Clara Cow’s Cosplay Cup). Congratulations to the winners, Autumn and Connor.
Cosplay was on full display at the convention, and the contest must have taken it to a whole other level, as lots of fans show up in their costuming best.
Otafest was also attended by composer and DJ James Landino.
As with many conventions, Otafest loves to support gaming, and has done so since I first attended. Video games yes, but the ever-popular tabletop games (including cards) has a room as well, with some organized play, and a lot of time for anyone to go play whatever they want.
An ever-popular event is the maid cafe, which sells out of its premium tickets quickly. It’s so hyped that when six tickets got returned to the convention at one point, they went straight to social media to make sure that anyone who missed out on the cafe would have a chance to pick up those last-second slots.
There were plenty of Anime Music Videos (AMVs) on display at the convention, and of course that means a competition. The winners are listed here. I’m afraid there are no photos here, but you can go look for the winning videos online.
Otafest 2019 was a good showing, full of life, energy, and events. I picked up a set of Eevee Evolution enamel pins, and a few other odds-and-ends that show off the best talents of third-party artists. I got to watch a couple showings of anime I haven’t had the time to watch myself. I dropped by a couple panels. And I got to absorb the convention atmosphere of people getting together to have the best time. Any anime fan within a day’s drive, or visiting Calgary, should always keep Otafest in mind. It’s a great time.
