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Hey everyone!  Fresno is having an anime con on August 19th and 20th....  Looks like they are getting cool guests.  I'll think I'll check it out!

http://www.myspace.com/anijam
http://www.ani-jam.com/

kndy

but hey, if they got Staw Wars plushies.... I'm There!!!

ahahaahahaa :lol:

Sure, a plethora of Plushies and many women cosplaying in slave Leia outfits.

kndy

Well, I know planning against SDCC has been a no-no.  Fanime was on the same date of PMX in 2004 and that was quite interesting having to pick one over the other.  But although the event is apples and oranges, I wouldn't be surprised if cosplayers had to choose (knowing that certain major cosplay groups have done Star Wars and LOTR cosplay as well).  I know a few friends who are curious of the SW Celebration event because it's an anniversary event and it's the first time it's been in Cali.

But I guess we'll see... Fanime has always survived no matter what con lies on their same date.  But otherwise, I guess we have the opportunity to pick and choose two events on Memorial Day 2007.

kndy

Hi everyone,

Some of you probably heard that the mega Star Wars event "Celebration" will be hosted in California for the first time on Memorial Day May 2007.  I'm curious if Fanime will be on the same weekend.

http://www.starwars.com/community/event/celebration/news20060526.html

kndy

I still have a hard time understanding for the past four years now, what is it about the music fest that the attendees of Fanime are not supporting it. There so many people attend and you would assume a large part of the attendees would support the concerts.

Do you think that possibly the Fanime con goers only want visual kei JROCK groups?  It seems like the trend has been when a visual kei band performs the majority of the people come and afterwards they leave and not stay for the other bands.

So, I 'm curious if the trend that people want to see instead of diverse bands...just visual kei JROCK bands or female pop bands.  I'm curious if Fanime was able to get Orange Range or Asian Kung Fu Generation (both bands with popular anime tie-in songs), would it matter?   Would people attend or would they only want to go to the visual kei JROCK concerts instead.    

If you didn't go to the music fes...why was that?  (too many better things that your interested in was competing for your time against the bands performing, no interest in certain bands, etc.)

kndy

[BEYOND]

It's far BEYOND just 3 people. Some are not even Fanime related people.

Yes, you are correct.  The other two are part of another con.

It's called the Cherry Blossum Festival. It's always sponsored by major companies such as Bandai, Viz, AD Vision, etc....and they've always had a cosplay parade.

The Cherry Blossom Festival is not an all-anime/cosplay event but yes, it does have the cosplay parade which is sponsored by major companies and FYI, it's an event that Ray is involved with.

I'm all for more events and I can't wait for cities like Sacramento, more in the Central Cali. area and other areas to have events.  These events are not going to hurt AX or Fanime, these events are just providing anime-related entertainment and enjoyment for their locals.  

As for JTAF, the fact is people wanted an event in their local area and they proved that.  And from someone not living in the Bay Area, I think an anime related event in San Francisco especially in Japantown is just awesome.

kndy

funny, i've heard numerous stories about ray n. from quite a variety of people....every year, he bitches and complains about how much he hates fanime and the staffers....yet, he shows up every year at fanime! what a fricken hypocrite.

Well, I can vouch for Ray and many, many, many other people can as well that the guy is cool.  

As for complaining, every person who goes to a con will complain about something.  The only difference is that there are some jealous people out there who tend to take those complaints and over exaggerate and blow things out of proportion.

It's always the same 3 people who have a problem with him that in the past few years, they have to go against him and it was no surprise that even when JTAF was announced, they started bashing the event right away that the Bay Area doesn't need another event and other ridiculous theories.

People have wanted to see an anime/cosplay event in Japantown and he and the staff made it happen.  

- kndy

rll that was sometimes holding a moogle ^^;; How was it? Layout wise..was there like a dealers hall thing? I only saw i think an entrance to a video room(?) cause i went to the mall through the miyako hotel.

Layout wise, I know a few who weren't sure that there were events held in another hotel.  A few people I ran into were looking for the video game section in the Radisson Miyako but I told them it was at the Best Western Miyako.

There was a swap meet but in terms of dealers hall, there is none.  I believe the point with JTAF, to promote shopping in the Japantown area and working with the vendors throughout Japantown.  From what I heard from vendors, they were extremely happy because it brought business to them.  It's a cool event for me because it gives reason for me to travel to SF, go to Japantown and where else can I access a restaurant that serves okonomiyaki, get Japanese mags and CD's,  get takoyaki and of course access to anime and sing karaoke late at night and to get crazy with friends and travel a few miles to visit Joe's Crab House, Hard Rock Cafe or Hooters.  It's all good! :D

But for those who were wondering if another event in the Bay Area would be too much, I don't think so.  With close to 900 people show up on Saturday and most of them were local, I think that's a good indication that this event was definitely needed in the SF area.   So, I think this will help give an idea of what to plan for next year.

- kndy

Congratulations to Ray and JTAF crew for reaching nearly 900 attendees in their first day of Japantown Anime Faire!  

There were challenges but I'm happy to see you guys overcome them!

kndy

Hey kndy,

Is J!-ENT going to be involved with the JTAF event?  Just wondering if you were working on bringing any JPOP artists to this event?

(t)

Hey Takashi,

No, J!-ENT will not be involved in terms of panels or bringing performances for JTAF. Pretty much my company and website's involvement is helping Ray and staff out with certain duties and promotion. In terms of another contemporary artist coming to an upcoming con since TMR's performance at Otakon a few weeks ago, look towards Texas for AnimeFest (www.animefest.org) who are bringing the group, move to their anime con.

As for top notch97's question, I think it's because the final day is on Sunday and to have registration go past 1 PM with the event winding down probably isn't a good idea but that's my opinion, I really don't know.

kndy

SAN FRANCISCO’S JAPAN TOWN TO HOST FIRST ANIME FAIRE

SAN FRANCISCO, CA (August 28, 2003) â€" San Francisco-based productions company, Project 760 Productions and the Japantown Merchants Association are pleased to announce the first Japan Town Anime Faire (JTAF) (www.jtaf.com).

Japan Town Anime Faire is a two-day Japanese animation convention held on September 13-14, 2003 at the historic Japan Town location in San Francisco, California.   The event will be held at three locations in Japan Town: The Best Western Miyako Inn, the Radisson Miyako Hotel and the Peace Plaza at Japan Center.

Ray Nagar, JTAF chief organizer said, “There are major anime events in Southern California and the South Bay area but for years, anime fans have asked why the Japan Town area hasn’t had its own anime event.  Through the help of the merchants in Japan Town, that idea has become a reality.”  

Japan Town Anime Faire’s diverse programming schedule includes Japanese animation screening rooms, a masquerade/cosplay contest, a dance (sponsored by Paramount's ParaCon), an Anime Faire swap meet, information tables, guest panels, video gaming room, contests and more!  Panel programming consists of fan panels as well as panels hosted by our guests of honor.

Hotel reservations can be made by calling the Radisson Miyako Hotel direct reservations line (1-800-333-3333) or the Best Western Miyako Inn direct reservations line (1-800-780-7234).

A full weekend pass for the Japan Town Anime Faire is $12.00. A single day pass is $8.00. Public registration hours are 9 AM to 5 PM on Saturday and 9 AM to 1 PM on Sunday.  

If you would like to reserve media passes for Japan Town Anime Faire, please contact us at [email protected].

Additional information on Japan Town Anime Faire, including event details, registration and hotel information can be found on the JTAF website.  Please visit www.jtaf.com <http://www.jtaf.com/>  for the latest updates or contact Project 760 Productions at [email protected] or telephone 415.505.9878.


###

About Project 760 Productions
Project 760 Productions is a San Francisco-based independent television production company, which produces television programs for community access stations. Created in 1997, its purposes are to inform, educate and entertain audiences on a variety of topics, catering to various age groups.

Project 760 Productions produces “World of Anime”, a Japanese animation (anime) fandom television magazine that focuses on news and reviews related to the anime industry. World of Anime was cablecast through California public access stations in Antioch, Pittsburg, Bay Point, Mountain View, San Mateo County, San Francisco as well as parts of Arkansas and Ohio.  


About Japan Town Merchant’s Association
The Japan Town Merchants Association's specific and primary purpose is to provide a united and organized effort by all member merchants to advertise, promote and publicize Japan Town for the mutual benefit of all members and for Japan Town as a whole.


Event Contact Information
Project 760 Productions:

-  Ray Nagar, 415.505.9878, [email protected]
-  Mike Garcia, [email protected]

Press Contact Information
nt2099 media and entertainment:

-  Dennis A. Amith, [email protected]

Three more weeks until JTAF and it looks like things are getting bigger and better!  What I think is so cool about the whole thing is the fact we get to hang out at Japan Town and also after hours there are a lot of restaurants and sushi shops to hang out!  

kndy

I think this event in San Francisco is going to be AWESOME!  Gives those of us who live in Central or Southern Cali. a reason why to hang out at Japan Town instead of just for the Cherry Blossom fes.

Also, was really hoping to go to a event in SF and now the chance has come.  

Definitely a lot of anime events popping up in the Bay Area but since this is a World of Anime event, it's definitely going to be AWESOME!

kndy