Anime North

Anime North
Anime North
	File:Momiji original.gif
Status	Active
Venue	Toronto Congress Centre Doubletree International Plaza Hotel
Location(s)	Toronto, Ontario
Country	Canada
Attendance	est. 12,500 in 2006
Major events	Masquerade, Dealer's Room, Artist Alley, Guest of Honor presentations, Gaming (Video and RPG), Panel Discussions, Video Presentation, Contests, Dances
Website	http://www.animenorth.com

Anime North is a non-profit, fan-run anime convention, held every year in Toronto, Ontario. Its major events include a Masquerade, Dealer's Room, Artist Alley, Guest of Honor presentations, Gaming (Video and RPG), Panel Discussions, Video Presentation, Contests, and Dances. The convention is hosted at both the Toronto Congress Centre and the adjacent Doubletree International Plaza Hotel, near the Toronto Pearson International Airport. Anime North 2006, which was the 10th Anime North, took place on May 26-28, 2006 and was the largest yet, with an estimated 12,500 attendees.

The 2007 event will be held the weekend of May 25-27, the biggest touted event will likely be the fact that almost the entire main cast of Bleach (minus Kate Higgins) will be guests.

History

Anime North was founded by Toronto anime fan Donald Simmons in 1997 as a one day mini-convention with approximately 600 attendees. The original venue was the Michener Institute in downtown Toronto. In 1998 the convention expanded to two days of programming, and 1999 saw the addition of a third day of programming as well as a move to the Ramada Airport East Hotel, with attendance reaching 1,000. In 2001 the convention was moved to the airport strip near Pearson Airport and was held at the Toronto Airport Marriott (attendance 2,000) and in 2002 moved to the much larger Regal Constellation Hotel (attendance 2,800).

Shortly after the 2003 convention at the Regal (attendance 5,000), the Regal closed and the convention had to find yet another new location. For 2004 the best combination of function and hotel space available was the combination of the Toronto Congress Centre and the nearby Renaissance Hotel for additional programming. These two venues were unfortunately a 10-15 minute walk apart, although a free shuttle bus was provided to help alleviate this problem. Despite this difficulty, attendance reached a record 8,200 that year.

In 2005, the convention added a Thursday evening badge pickup for pre-registered attendees, and changed hotels from the Renaissance to the Doubletree International Plaza Hotel, across Dixon Rd. from the TCC (attendance 9,500). In 2006 actual programming was added for Thursday evenings. Approximately 12,500 people attended in 2006, the first year that attendance has broken 10,000 people. Anime North 2007 will be the 11th year of the convention.

Attendees

Attendees of Anime North come from all over North America, although a majority of attendees live in southern Ontario. People come for cosplay, and others for the dealers room. Still others come to watch anime showings or play games. As characters from anime, manga, movies or video games, some come to broaden their knowledge on this rapid growing industry, and others come to shop for rare or imported goods.

Charity

Anime North has been a long-time donator to the SickKids Foundation, supporting SickKids Hospital in Toronto. In total, over $70,000 dollars have been donated to the charity by Anime North since its inception. 2004 was a record year with over $12,000 alone raised, thanks mostly in part to a very successful Charity Auction with a wide array of guests contributing their help in promoting and auctioning.

Positions

Badges with the name of the positions printed on them and space for names are given to the attendees at the time of entrance and is also a proof of ticket purchase.

Weekend Otaku Regular attendee who bought the weekend pass.

Friday/Saturday/Sunday Otaku Regular attendee who bought a one-day pass.

Volunteer Attendees who want to help out with the convention for the warm feeling, various gifts, sleeping space, and/or refunded ticket. They aren't assigned, rather they need to ask around for position.

Gaming Staff for gaming events who help out a specific game. They are not general staff, but only help one certain game.

Staff People who do the actual work of running events and performing duties at the convention. Various different staff types exist, including gaming, art room, etc.

Con Com The people who organize the convention as a whole, stands for Convention Committee.

Panelist People who sign up to present panels. Usually weekend otakus sharing knowledge about their favorite anime.

Performer People who are there as performers. Generally this includes bands and comedians who are not guests of honor.

Media Representatives from media outlets who are covering the conference.

Corporate People sent from third party companies to promote their goods.

Dealer People registered for running booths in the Dealer's room.

Artists Individuals or small groups who sell original art in the artists alley, or who have contributed art for the art room and/or auction.

Special Operations Convention security and first aid practitioners.

Mascot

Hoppouno Momiji, a fictional redhead with a taste for both anime and anything Canadian, serves as Anime North's dominant mascot. Her various incarnations and the original concept art in which she was conceived can be found here. Her many manifestations are used on all Anime North clothing, badges, and other wearables. She was originally created for the convention by the Japanese artist Hyi-San.

2006 Guests

KOTOKO Singer

Senno Knife & Nekoi Psydoll Artists

Laura Bailey Actor, Director
Cancelled due to personal reasons

Steve Bennett Artist

Keith Burgess Producer

Colleen Clinkenbeard Actor, Director, Writer, Producer

Michael Dobson Actor, Director

Brian Dobson Actor

Ben Dunn Artist, Animator

Quinton Flynn Actor, Writer

Cynthia Martinez Actor

Jeff Nimoy Actor, Voice Director, Writer

Sonny Strait Actor, Artist, Writer, Director

Dave Wittenberg Actor
Cancelled at the last minute due to appendicitis.

Tommy Yune Director

DramaQueen Manga Publishing Company

2007 Guests

Spider's Kiss Band

ZZ Band

Steve Bennett Artist

Johnny Yong Bosch Actor, Singer

Keith Burgess Producer

Ben Dunn Artist

Peter Fernandez Actor

Tiffany Grant Actor, Writer

Matt Greenfield Director, Producer

Wendee Lee Actor, Director

Corinne Orr Actor

Derek Stephen Prince Actor

Scott Ramsoomair Artist

Michelle Ruff Actor

Patrick Seitz Actor, Director, Writer

Stephanie Sheh Actor, Director, Writer

Sonny Strait Actor, Artist, Writer, Director

Events

Anime North in 2006 featured KOTOKO, a J-pop singer, whom performed songs from her newest album. Also in 2006, a ballroom dance, "Moonlight Masquerade Ball" was newly scheduled.

The most popular events at Anime North include the Masquerade and the J-Idol competition. Other events include the AMV contest, guest autograph sessions, the All-Star Charity Auction, the Momiji Award (with brunch), Anime Improv, and Yaoi North. Common staples at Anime North include guest speeches, gaming tournaments, dances, art-related workshops, discussion panels, martial arts displays, model contests, Go tournaments, and similar events.

External links

Official Anime North Website
"Anime North 2007". AnimeCons.com.