Volunteer for Otafest
Interested in helping out with Otafest?
We are having an open call to anyone interested in volunteering for Otafest
2008. If you are interested please contact our volunteer coordinators Nathan
and Ayla, at volunteer@otafest.com.
Otafest_Convention_Policies_08.pdf
News and Updates
May 11, 2008
Registration: To ease the registration process on the days of the festival, we are posting the registration form online. You may print out the and bring the completed form to the registration desk, along with your admission, photo ID with date of birth, food donation.
May 10, 2008
Less than a week to go until we kick off Otafest 2008.
We now have the completed 2008 schedule up
here.
Hope to see you all out there.
April 21, 2008
Update to the Anime Chess game information and sign up.
A/V volunteers: preliminary schedule is now up here. Please contact av@otafest.com to sign up for room selections.
April 13, 2008
Vendors registration is now closed. Thank you for your support.
April 9, 2008
Otafest convention policies are now finalized and available here.
April 4, 2008
Otafest Idol pre-reg is now full! Read the rules for more details.
More guests and special events have been confirmed. Click here for more details.
Auction Rules and submission guidelines have been updated.
March 18, 2008
If you are a vendor and want to come to Otafest, please contact our vendor coordinator at tsangw@otafest.com for more information.
Vendors registration is now closed. Thank you all for your support.
March 4, 2008
Otafest Idol rules now up in the Special Events section. Click here to access them.
March 2, 2008
Admission updates to the left have been re-posted.
Some small additions to Special Guests and Special Events sections.
February 24, 2008
Artist Alley info and updates can be found on the Otafest Forum under Artist Alley.
Special Events Section updated.
Special Guests confirmed, with more to come. See Special Guests section for more information.
More Information about otafest, venues and accommodations near the event can now be found in the info section.
February 10, 2008
Friday May 16, 2008 update
Time: 6:00PM - 10:00PM*
Free anime screenings, "Special events..."
*Time is subject to change.
February 2, 2008
We are now accepting entries for the 2008 AMV contest. For full contest rules and how to enter please click here.
January 16, 2008
This year marks Otafest's 10th year exploring Japanese culture. In celebration of this we are adding a third day of festivities.
What is Otafest
In the Japanese
education system, there exists a phenomenon known as the “cultural festival”
or “bunkasai”. In most junior high, senior high and post secondary schools,
once a year, student groups are given the chance to create and manage
individual displays and performances showcasing that group’s talents to
other students, parents, and members of the community.
Dances, concerts and plays are performed by various school clubs.
Classrooms are turned into impromptu cafes, run by students. Food and
game stalls are setup around campus, again all student managed. So what’s
all this got to do with Otafest?
As someone involved with Otafest every year since
inception, beginning as a volunteer in 1999, and now finally appointed as
Chairman for Otafest 2007, it strikes me how every year, Otafest becomes
more and more like a bunkasai.
Otafest started off as a one day Japanese animation film festival, allowing
the DOA club of the University of Calgary to show various anime to the
public. Through the years, the event has grown and expanded to the point
where showing anime is only a part of what it is we do.
We have become an annual conference for anime
enthusiasts. Otafest is a
creative outlet for fans, an event where they can show their passion and
appreciation of the hobby. We are an event where fans can show off the
costumes they have made, the music videos they have created, and the art
they have painted and drawn. Otafest is a forum for discussion and
education. We host educational panels introducing others to the basics of
the Japanese language, and tips on how to use computer programs to enhance
music videos and CG art. In the past, we have hosted guests explaining the
process of donning a kimono, and demonstrate the intricacies of tea
ceremonies, and Iaido (the art of drawing a sword from a scabbard). We have
invited individuals involved in the voice acting and animation industries to
speak of their experiences.
Otafest is a marketplace. We gather dozens of vendors together from all over
Western Canada, to facilitate the best bargain hunting in town.
And, of course, we haven’t forgotten our roots. Otafest is an anime
festival.
We bring the latest shows and videos, as well as the
fondest classics, and provide an opportunity for fans
to see anime on the big screen, as
well as a chance for the curious to see what it’s all about.
Rather like a cultural festival, we are a chance for fans to get
together and celebrate their hobby, and to share their passions with you.
We hope to see you this year!
Justin Lo
Chairman, Otafest 2007