With both Animethon and Anime Evolution fast approaching and on consecutive weekends, I thought it would be handy to whip up another con-comparison chart and take a look at Western Canada’s big three anime cons.
| Animethon | Anime Evolution | Otafest | |
| Date: | August 6-8, 2010 | August 13-15, 2010 | May 21 – 23, 2010 |
| Location: | MacEwan University Edmonton, Alberta |
University of British Colombia Vancouver, British Colombia |
University of Calgary Calgary, Alberta |
| Website | www.animethon.org | www.animeevolution.com | www.otafest.com |
| Who runs this event? | -The Alberta Society for Asian Popular Arts.
- A non-profit society dedicated to promoting Asian art forms in Alberta. - Profits from Animethon usually go back into the event and supporting ASAPA activities. |
- The AE Convention Corporation
- A corporation operated by a group of shareholders, but is currently run like a non-profit. |
- The Otafest Society
- A non-profit society dedicated to running Otafest. - Profits from Otafest tend to go back into Otafest. |
| Pre Reg Price: | 3 Day Pass – $30.00 Note: All Animethon passes include a free guidebook. |
3 Day Pass – $35.00 Friday – $25.00 Saturday – $30.00 Sunday – $20.00 Note: Anime Evolution offers several different prices for pre-reg depending on how close the event is. The prices listed here are the lowest possible pre-reg prices. |
- As Otafest has passed, an accurate list of their pre-reg prices are no longer available. |
| At the Door Price: | 3 Day Pass - $40.00 Friday – $15.00 Saturday – $30.00 Sunday – $20.00 Note : All Animethon passes include a free guidebook. |
3 Day Pass -$55.00 Friday – $40.00 Saturday – $45.00 Sunday – $35.00 |
Age 6-12
3 Day Pass – $10.00 Age 13+ 3 Day Pass – $30.00 |
| Special Pass: | X-Pass
Pre Reg – $150.00 Includes: - Admission for all 3 days |
Gold Pass
Pre Reg Only: $175.00 Includes: - Admission for all 3 days |
10 Charity VIP Passes
Rate: $50.00 Includes: - Reserved seating in main events room. |
| Guests: |
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| Events: |
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| Artist Alley / Artist Villa | - Limited space, offered on a first come, first serve basis.
- All artists that apply gain admission to the event for free and are not charged a fee for their table. - However Animethon utilizes a unique ticket system where all art in the Artist Alley is paid for with tickets. Each ticket costs patrons $1.25. Of each ticket, $1.00 goes to the artist and $0.25 goes to Animethon. |
- Limited space, offered on a first come, first serve basis.
- Artists purchase tables at a price of $50.00 each. |
- Limited space, offered on a first come, first serve basis.
- Artists purchase tables at a price of about $50.00 each. |
| Weapon Policy | - Weapon sales are now banned from the event.
- Animethon maintains a fairly restrictive weapons policy, banning several types of weapons and prop weapons. However, certain kinds of prop weapons are allowed at the event. - You can find a complete list of Animethon’s Policies here. |
- Weapons are restricted, however they are far less regulated then most conventions.
- Prop Weapons are allowed so long as they are not used as a weapon and are not made out of certain materials (Metal, Glass, Ceramics) - You can find the complete Anime Evolution Weapons Policy here. |
- Apparently at some point, Otafest managed to reach a comprimise with the UofC and information about that could be found here. - Otafest’s Weapon’s Policy can be found here. |
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Victor Vargas is the manager and editor of Anime-Alberta. He's the former chair of Animethon 16 & Animethon 15 as well as a former president of BAKA (The Banzai Anime Klub of Alberta) 