Calgary's home-grown, all-ages Japanese pop culture and anime festival, Otafest, returned to the Telus Convention Centre this weekend, drawing crowds of more than 25,000 attendees. The event, now in its 28th year, features anime screenings, cosplay contests, exhibitors, concerts, and special guests including voice actors, VTubers, cosplayers, and performers.
Community and Inclusivity
Stephanie Mok, Otafest's head of government and press relations, emphasized the festival's role as a gathering for like-minded individuals. "We like to think of the Otafest festival as a gathering of like-minded folks who may not have found their community in mainstream hobbies," she said. "It's a place where people can come together to celebrate and enjoy shared interests and hobby in a space where we are very welcoming and inclusive."
The organization is a non-profit and entirely volunteer-run, meaning the event is designed and organized by fans, for fans. "Everything that we do is really put on by people who truly are participants in that community or hobby, they're really active in it, they find a lot of joy in it," Mok added. "We have a lot of gender diversity, we have a lot of neurodiversity in our attendee base. We're very welcoming to folks who maybe find their niche in the nerdy."
Sold-Out Event and Weather
Tickets for the weekend were completely sold out, and Saturday's cooler weather didn't dampen spirits. "Sometimes a bit cooler weather is better for cosplayers, because they're decked out, and so sometimes the hot sun is not always friendly," Mok noted. "Everyone's in pretty good spirits, and sometimes poor weather also is really great for our exhibitors hall, our show floor, our artists, because more people come in through to stay inside."
Origins and Growth
Otafest began in 1999 as a one-day film festival hosted by the University of Calgary's Otaku Anime Club, sharing their passion for Japanese animation. Since then, it has grown into a three-day event drawing over 26,000 people from around the world annually. "We have people from Australia, Japan, the U.S., all across Canada," Mok said. "We have people who would come to those early conventions, who met at Otafest, are married, have kids, and now their kids are coming to Otafest with them."
The Universal Language of Storytelling
Anime has become more mainstream in recent years, particularly with the rise of streaming services. "I think it just shows the universal language of storytelling," Mok said. "Anime is a medium, not a genre, so no matter what you like — if you like romance stories, if you like horror, if you're into punk, or you like robots, or you like any kind of storytelling of the human experience — you'll probably find that here."
