We tend to cover a lot of major events all over the world and I know that most of the time, these are metropolitan-based events. But I have been asked if I would cover smaller events and would I cover an anime or sci-fi convention. Well, because these major conventions take a lot of our time, we rarely have the time in our schedule to cover anything else.
But I decided that I needed to give these smaller events a try. Our staff members have covered smaller comic-book conventions, Bot-con to other entertainment events… But there was one event happening near where I grew up. Where I went to college and where a lot of my friends live. The event is ANI-JAM in Fresno, California.
I went to this event thinking, maybe I’ll stop by for an hour, meet a few people and take off (that is if the event was not happening). But I was captivated by the people I met…there is a lot of kindess at Ani-Jam. They were welcoming and the coolest people I’ve met at an event and while I was take pictures of people in costume (cosplayers), people were coming up to me and asking for photos (which is the opposite at major events). And people were kindly waiting and being very respectful.
How awesome is that? So, I had to contemplate how I was going to write about this event. I was planning to do a blog post but I thought how unfortunate that these smaller events, they never really get covered. Maybe by local media, but that’s it.
So, I decided that I wanted to do something different this time around. Do a special feature and pictorial for Ani-Jam. Give a smaller event a chance to be in the spotlight and possibly continue this and check out other events around the country or the world and give them the spotlight. Yes, I know it’s difficult with so many major events happening but for this small event in Fresno, California… I had a lot of fun. It may not be a perfect con or have the clout of its medium and larger sized counterparts, but it was a fun event.
So, this special feature is Japanese animation and cosplay related. It’s a bit different from what we are used to covering on J!-ENT but if you are fan, I hope you enjoy this special feature. It features YouTube star Hannah Minx, DJ Jinnai, cosplayers Sheik Chan, Elliet and Garrett Jost and also other anime related topics.
I hope you enjoy this special feature. Click here to download our coverage of ANI-JAM 2011.