There was quite the crowd at the
Metro Toronto Convention Centre (MTCC) going into the
Hobbystar Toronto AnimeCON which is still on tomorrow (Sunday March 20, 2011) from 11 am to 5 pm. The cost was a very reasonable $15 which was good for attendance during the entire weekend. The show was on level 100 which has a great hall just made for Cosplay displays. The bright wigs, costumes and contact lenses made for exciting pictures.
I met with James Armstrong (pictured below) of Hobbystar Marketing - home of FanExpo Canada, who said that they started these shows about 7 years ago during March break so that people who didn't go away on vacation could have something fun to do in town.
The event drew a large contingent of people dressed in various anime, manga and comic characters lounging in the hall after doing the rounds within the hall. I love that everyone wears bold and colourful costumes and that they were happy to have their pictures taken. So many of the visitors were in costume and were also taking pictures of other people's costumes as well as checking out all the vendors selling plush characters, comics, books and many other items in the retailer room #105. There was a Game Show Theatre in room #104D with a number of anime games and a Q&A Theatre in room #104C. A J-Pop Dance ran from 5 to 8 pm on the Saturday.
James also mentioned the upcoming
Toronto ComicCON Fan Appreciation event on April 9 and 10 at the MTCC which has free admission all weekend. The show will have over 150 tables in the 25,000+ square feet hall with a large artist alley and celebrity guests like Richard Hatch of Battlestar Galactica, Alan Ruck of Ferris Bueller's Day Off and Dominic Keating of Star Trek Enterprise as well as Trina Nishimura and Jamie Marchi.
In summer we can look forward to "Canada's Biggest & Best Comic Book Event"
FanExpo Canada from August 25th to the 28th, 2011.
See a lot more pictures after the jump.
