AnimeIowa

Infobox Convention
name = AnimeIowa


caption = AnimeIowa's mascot, Buu-Chan
status = Active
venue = Coralville Marriott Hotel & Conference Center
location = Coralville, Iowa
country = United States
first = 1997
organizer = The Mindbridge Foundation
attendance = 2468 in 2008cite web | url = http://www.iowacityowl.com/news_items/112-Thousands-Turn-Out-For-Anime | title = Thousands Turn Out For Anime | accessdate = 2008-08-21]
website = http://www.animeiowa.com

AnimeIowa is an anime convention run by the not-for-profit Mindbridge Foundation and is held annually. The convention offers anime screening, videogames, an art auction, guest panels, cosplay, and many of the other events typically found at an anime convention.cite web | url = http://animeiowa.com/events.htm | title = AnimeIowa Events | work = AnimeIowa.com | accessdate = 2007-03-19] . It was held again at the Coralville Marriott, August 15-17, 2008, although at least 45 sleeping rooms had been transferred to the nearby Hampton/Holiday Inn across Interstate 80 due to extended stays from persons associated with the recent floods of 2008.cite web | url = http://www.animeiowa.com | title = AnimeIowa | publisher = AnimeIowa | accessdate = 2008-08-11] cite web | url = http://animeiowa.com/location.htm | title = Location | publisher = AnimeIowa | accessdate = 2007-02-24]

Many AnimeIowa attendees cosplay throughout or during part of the convention, and various events are specifically for cosplay participants.cite web | url = http://www.fansview.com/2003/animeiowa/ainotes.htm | title = AnimeIowa Author's Notes - 2003 | publisher = Fan's View | accessdate = 2007-03-03] cite web | url = http://www.animeiowa.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=Hall_Costume;action=display;num=1164913282;start=0 | title = REVISED AnimeIowa 2006 Cosplay Rules | publisher = AnimeIowa | accessdate = 2007-03-19] cite web | url = http://www.animeiowa.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=Past_Events;action=display;num=1154602308 | title = AnimeIowa 2006 Photos | work = AnimeIowa.com | accessdate = 2007-03-19] AnimeIowa is a three-day event, operating for 72 straight hours during its three-day weekend.

Programming

AnimeIowa lasts three days, which include several events for its visitors, and admission to any event requires the conspicuous display of an "AnimeIowa" badge. A writer for a popular Anime news website ( [http://www.animenewsnetwork.com Anime News Network] ), described how shocked she was to find more than "cows, crop circles, and farmers named Jeb" at AnimeIowa. cite web | url = http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/shelf-life/2005-09-29 | title = Children of the Con | publisher = Anime News Network | accessdate = 2007-02-25]
* Game Room - Includes video games, such as DDR, and a few other games
* Dealer's Room - Outside vendors sell their products, including mostly video game or anime-related goods and Japanese snack food.
* Artist's Alley - Artists have the opportunity to sell or display their artwork
* Guest Visitors - Famous visitors from the Anime world come for autographs and to talk with convention visitors
* Official Dance
* Video Rooms - Video rooms play anime throughout most of the convention, often including Anime that is hard to find in the USA
* Music Video Contest - Visitors can show off their music video creations
* Cosplay Contest - Visitors can compete to see who's costume is the best. cite web | url = http://animeiowa.com/cosplay.htm | title = Cosplay Information | publisher = AnimeIowa | accessdate = 2007-02-24]
* ConSuite - including a small selection of Japanese and American foods (Anime Iowa is lauded by many guests as having a wide array of non junk food items to sustain the con-goers )
* Anime Dojo

History

AnimeIowa began in 1997 as a small convention gathering 150 attendees at the Highlander Inn in Iowa City, IA, featuring only two guests, Steve Bennett and Kuni Kimuracite web | url = http://www.animecons.com/events/info.shtml/481 | title = AnimeIowa 1997 Information | publisher = AnimeCons.com | accessdate = 2008-06-18] . Events were also fairly limited, featuring an Artists' Alley, Video Games, and a Dealers' Room. Attendance doubled for its second year, which also included the addition of Robert DeJesus to the guest listcite web | url = http://www.animecons.com/events/info.shtml/482 | title = AnimeIowa 1998 Information | publisher = AnimeCons.com | accessdate = 2008-06-18] . AnimeIowa has since been held yearly for 10 years, while both the attendance and guest lists have grown each year.

Attendance at AnimeIowa, along with the guest list, has grown every year that has so far been documented, and there were reportedly more cosplayers at AnimeIowa 2003 than the total number of fans who attended the first AnimeIowaFact|date=June 2007. As a result, the convention has occupied several different hotels and convention centers, in an effort to continue expanding to find room for all its attendees.

Event history

Organizational Structure

AnimeIowa is run by The Mindbridge Foundation, a not for profit corporation also responsible for Iowa ICON and Gamiconcite web | url = http://mindbridge.org/projects/ | title = Projects | Mindbridge Foundation | publisher = Mindbridge Foundation | accessdate = 2008-08-11] . The organization was a branching off of the Science Fiction League of Iowa Students, which was founded by award-winning author Joe Haldeman. [http://www.michaelswanwick.com/nonfic/frost.html Michael Swanwick Online: Profile of Gregory Frost ] ] [http://www.dmsfs.org/dmsfslinks.html DMSFS Links ] ] AnimeIowa was first a production of the "SFLIS Wing of Anime and Manga People" (SWAMP), which later merged the convention into Mindbridge.cite web | url = http://www.faqs.org/faqs/anime/conventions/ | title = Anime/Manga Convention Guide | author = Pearl, Steve | accessdate = 2007-03-04]

Mascot

Since 2006 the mascot for AnimeIowa is "buu-chan", an anime pig which is a play off the fact that the convention is held in Iowa and Iowa has a lot of pigs. The original mascot was an original female anime character.

References

External links

* [http://www.animeiowa.com Official website]
* [http://www.mindbridge.org/ Mindbridge website]