Ai-Kon is an annual three-day anime convention held on a weekend during the month of July in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

, Canada. Ai-Kon was first held at the

University of Manitoba The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a Canadian public research university in the province of Manitoba.RBC Convention Centre The RBC Convention Centre Winnipeg (formerly the Winnipeg Convention Centre) is a major meeting and convention centre located in downtown Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It has five levels including indoor parking for 729 vehicles, and three levels o ...

. The convention's name is a blend of the words ''ai'' (Japanese for ''love'') and ''convention'' and is derived from its slogan "For the love of anime". The word ''ai'' was also chosen to play on the fact that the club had a magazine they called Anime Injection.

Programming

Ai-Kon provides a wide variety of on mandate programming put on by committee staff, members of the community, guests and industry partners. Streaming/showing rooms run 24-hours during the conventions featuring titles in both Japanese and English languages. Alongside anime, the convention also hosts many

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

and

Japanese culture The culture of Japan has changed greatly over the millennia, from the country's prehistoric Jōmon period, to its contemporary modern culture, which absorbs influences from Asia and other regions of the world. Historical overview The ance ...

related activities. Additional convention events include: *Marketplace: Dealer's Room and an Artists Alley *

Cosplay Cosplay, a portmanteau of "costume play", is an activity and performance art in which participants called cosplayers wear costumes and fashion accessories to represent a specific character. Cosplayers often interact to create a subculture, ...

events: Cosplay Contest, Cosplay Skills Faire, workshops *Gamer's Lounge: no entry tournaments, various video games stations, tabletop gaming area, charity event for Extra Life *Music: Saturday Dance, Dance Showcase *Panels and workshops: Guests, staff, cultural workshops, fan based/ members of the community, industry, game shows, fashion shows *Other attractions: Cultural room, Maid Cafe, Gundam Builders World Cup National qualifiers, Tamiya mini 4awd stock car tournament, pop-up partnered experiences, art auction

History

Ai-Kon was first held in July 2001 at the

University of Manitoba The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a Canadian public research university in the province of Manitoba.Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

, and was run by the University of Manitoba Anime Club (UMAnime). The founding members were the club's executive staff, Kristjanna Thorarinson, Riki Lecotey, Kwan Fu Sit, Tong Lin, Cathleen Ma, Tim Groner, Geoff Wright, and Jeff Agapito. At the time the club held one-day events but they had so many things planned that summer, the club decided on making it a two-day event but added a dance on Friday evenings, making it a 3-day convention. In 2002 the event went on hiatus for one year, due to changes within the club, and in July 2003 a second Ai-Kon was held at the university. Today, Ai-Kon is a non-profit organization that is run by a volunteer committee. It continues to be held annually in

each summer. In 2011, as a celebration of the 10 year anniversary, Ai-Kon held a one-day event in January called "The Ai-Kon Winter Festival". This one-day event is now held annually in February under the name "Winterfest".

Event history

Mascot

Aiko is a fictional cheerful, stylish, energetic anime girl with pink hair and blue eyes. Her various incarnations coordinate with the convention's yearly theme. The mascot is selected annually from an open contest. Aiko's many manifestations are used on convention promotional materials, clothing, badges, and other wearables. Doug is Aiko's fictional younger brother and likewise the Winterfest mascot. He is portrayed as younger, mischievous and playful with white hair and blue eyes.

References

Other sources

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External links

Ai-Kon Official Website
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20110706174031/http://www.chrisd.ca/blog/26424/ai-kon-anime-convention-winnipeg-photos/ chrisd.ca 2010 Articlebr>Winnipeg Sun 2015 articleCBC article
{{Anime conventions in North America Anime conventions in Canada Culture of Winnipeg 2001 establishments in Manitoba Recurring events established in 2001