Hi hi! I've been wanting to host an ita-bag gathering/meet-up at Fanime for a while and figured 2025 was the time to start! I'm not sure if this is eligible for being a part of the gathering schedule, but I figured that the forum was a good place to start.
Name of the gathering: Ita-Bag Meetup!
Do you have a character you can't stop talking about? Do you have a bag full of your favorite blorbo that you want the world to see? Come to the ita-bag meetup! I'll be there with several of my own ita-bags! Meet like-minded collectors and spread the love of fandom! Also, get your hard work photographed with other ita-bag lovers!
Day: TBD
Time: TBD
Meeting: TBD
Location (L): TBD
Legal Statement - Fanime will be taking group pictures during the Gathering/Event this year. If you do not want to be included in those pictures please step aside for those photos. By remaining with the group when the pictures are being taken you give your consent to be photographed.
"What is an ita-bag?" (from Wikipedia)
Ita-bags serve to publicly express how much their owners love a particular fictional character or media franchise. In that respect, they are the equivalent of itasha, "painmobiles", which are cars covered with fandom-themed stickers and decals. In both cases, the "pain" is in reference to the item being "painfully embarrassing" or "painful to look at" due to finding the display gaudy or cringeworthy.Some consider the "pain" in the name to also be in reference to the "pain to the owner's wallet" due to the amount of money spent, the imagined pain to the item itself, or the pain caused by the weight of carrying so many items.