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Press kit

If you're covering Otafest, we have everything you need for your story, from logos and photos to key facts and our interview/media contacts.

Who we are

Otafest is a non-profit arts organization, powered by the passion and service of volunteers to create meaningful and vibrant fan experiences.

The festival is held over 3 days in downtown Calgary and is open to all ages. Otafest 2027 will take place on May 21 - 23, 2027. Tickets are available on our home page.

Otafest was born in 1999 when the University of Calgary’s Dedicated Otaku Anime Club decided to hold a one-day film festival showcasing Japanese Animation (anime), which was scarce in North America at the time.

Our full story, our history since 1999, our mission and our charity work are on our About page.

A packed hall of hundreds of attendees, many in cosplay, cheering and making peace signs and hearts toward the camera from the stage

Years running29 Volunteers400+ In attendance32,000+ For charity$340K

Programming

Some of what we present each year:

  • Anime screenings
  • AMV productions
  • The Arcade (video game hall and tournaments)
  • Artist Alley and the Exhibitor Hall
  • Card and board gaming rooms
  • Cosplay activities and competitions
  • Concerts
  • An evening car show
  • LGBTQ+ content (All-Ages Drag Show)
  • Maid & Butler Café
  • Manga Library and quiet space
  • Model kit co-working space
  • Panels facilitated by community members
  • Sketch Drive (caricatures for charity)
  • Singing competitions
  • Taiko drumming
  • Voice actors (local and international)
A smiling cosplayer in a blonde wig, a feathered navy hat and a navy and gold corset, tipping the hatA maid in a black and white uniform dancing under a flower arch at the Maid & Butler Café, other maids and butlers dancing behind as seated guests watchA cosplayer with an orange flower clip in their hair, seated at a table with a pen and a muffin, smiling and holding up a peace sign

Writing about first-timers?

Every year, Otafest attracts a large number of first-time attendees. Our tips page is the guide we give newcomers to help them get the most out of the event and sets out the conduct we expect at the festival.

Our logo features a fun and friendly font containing our primary brand colors and a few small decorations. The preferred approach is to use the wordmark. Where space is limited, please use the icon form of the logo instead.

The Otafest wordmark
Wordmark
The Otafest icon: a winged O
Icon

You may

  • Resize the logo if needed, keeping its aspect ratio.
  • Switch from the coloured version to the black or white version for the most contrast and readability.
  • Add a white outline to the logo to increase its contrast on a clashing background colour.

Please don’t

  • Rotate the logo.
  • Distort the logo.
  • Change the logo's colour.
  • Reproduce the logo in a different font.
  • Add a gradient to the logo.
  • Mask images inside the logo.
  • Place the logo where it would have low contrast with the background and be hard to read.
Download the logos

Photos

You are welcome to use our photos, and any photo on otafest.com, in your publications. Please credit Otafest.

Four friends hugging and posing for the camera on the convention floor, one wearing an event staff lanyardA fox cosplayer with orange body paint, ears, a tail and a black face mask, leaning on a stair railing outdoors downtownTwo cosplayers standing back to back against a stone wall: one with long silver hair, a black leather coat and a long katana, the other with black hair, a shoulder guard and arms crossed
Download photos Otafest’s Flickr Albums