Otafest is an annual

anime convention An anime convention is an event or gathering with a primary focus on anime, manga and Japanese culture. Commonly, anime conventions are multi-day events hosted at convention centers, hotels or college campuses. They feature a wide variety of activ ...

held in May (and previously September, mid-June, or early July), at the

Telus Convention Centre Calgary TELUS Convention Centre is a convention centre in Calgary, Alberta, Canada that was completed in 1974, and was expanded in 2000 with the addition of the north building. The facility offers 122,000 square feet of convention space, over 47, ...

, in

Calgary, Alberta Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Canadian Prairies, Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,30 ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. The first Otafest was held 1999 and has expanded each year, including a move in 2009 to include a mini-convention called ''Otafest Lite'', which was replaced in 2012 with ''Otafest Aurora''. At the closing ceremonies in 2015, it was announced that Otafest would be moving to the

from the

University of Calgary The University of Calgary (U of C or UCalgary) is a public research university located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The University of Calgary started in 1944 as the Calgary branch of the University of Alberta, founded in 1908, prior to being ins ...

for Otafest 2016 with a new date, July 1–3, however the event dates returned to May after Otafest 2017. As of May 2015, it is the largest anime convention in Western Canada. Otafest is a fully volunteer-run non-profit, and has raised over $125,000 CAD for charitable initiatives since its inception.

Mandate

Otafest is a Calgary-based nonprofit organization expressing the values of charity, quality, and transparency. The body of their activity pertains to the promotion of Japanese art, culture, and media in the Canadian community, and the organization rests firmly on the spirit of community collaboration and volunteerism.

History

Otafest was scheduled to occur May 15–17, 2020 but was postponed to 2021 due to the

coronavirus pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

Otafest event history

Otafest Lite/Aurora event history

Otafest Lite

Otafest Aurora

References

External links

Otafest website

Dedicated Otaku Anime
{{Anime conventions in North America Anime conventions in Canada Recurring events established in 1999 Festivals in Calgary