{"id":676535,"date":"2026-05-18T01:20:47","date_gmt":"2026-05-18T01:20:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/676535\/"},"modified":"2026-05-18T01:20:47","modified_gmt":"2026-05-18T01:20:47","slug":"the-universal-language-of-storytelling-anime-festival-gathers-thousands-to-downtown-calgary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/676535\/","title":{"rendered":"‘The universal language of storytelling’ — Anime festival gathers thousands to downtown Calgary"},"content":{"rendered":"

Calgary\u2019s home-grown, all-ages Japanese pop culture and anime festival returned to the Telus Convention Centre this weekend, expected to draw crowds of more than 25,000.<\/p>\n

Otafest, which is in its 28th year, features anime screenings, cosplay contests, exhibitors, concerts and special guests including voice actors, VTubers, cosplayers and performers.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe like to think of the Otafest festival as a gathering of like-minded folks who may not have found their community in mainstream hobbies,\u201d said Stephanie Mok, Otafest\u2019s head of government and press relations.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

By fans, for fans<\/p>\n

The organization is a non-profit and entirely volunteer-run, meaning the event is designed and organized by fans, for fans.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything that we do is really put on by people who truly are participants in that community or hobby, they\u2019re really active in it, they find a lot of joy in it,\u201d Mok said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a lot of gender diversity, we have a lot of neurodiversity in our attendee base. We\u2019re very welcoming to folks who maybe find their niche in the nerdy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tickets for the weekend were completely sold out, she said, and Saturday\u2019s weather didn\u2019t seem to dampen any spirits.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes a bit cooler weather is better for cosplayers, because they\u2019re decked out, and so sometimes the hot sun is not always friendly,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone\u2019s 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"<\/p>\n

The Bloody Queen from the game Identity V walks through Otafest at the Telus Convention Centre in downtown Calgary on Saturday.<\/p>\n

Otafest began in 1999 as a one-day film festival hosted by the University of Calgary\u2019s Otaku Anime Club as a way of sharing their passion for Japanese animation.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Since then, it has grown into an event that spans three days and draws in more than 26,000 people from around the world each year.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have people from Australia, Japan, the U.S., all across Canada,\u201d Mok said. \u201cWe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"<\/p>\n

Visitors take in Otafest at the Telus Convention Centre in downtown Calgary on Saturday.<\/p>\n

Anime has become more mainstream in recent years, she said, particularly with the rise of streaming services.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it just shows the universal language of storytelling,\u201d she said. \u201cAnime is a medium, not a genre, so no matter what you like \u2014 if you like romance stories, if you like horror, if you\u2019re into punk, or you like robots, or you like any kind of storytelling of the human experience \u2014 you\u2019ll probably find that here.\u201d<\/p>\n

As a way of giving back to the community, Otafest partners with a different charity each year. This year\u2019s festival will raise funds for the Canadian Cancer Society.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve selected the Canadian Cancer Society in recognition of one of our long-term organizers, who was named Shawn, who passed away last summer,\u201d Mok said. \u201cIn his honour, we\u2019ve been raising funds for cancer \u2026 We\u2019re really honoured to be able to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"<\/p>\n

Art plays a large role during Otafest.<\/p>\n

Donations are being collected online and throughout the festival, and proceeds from various festival events and vendors are also donated to the cause.<\/p>\n

Past years\u2019 charity partners have included the Calgary Food Bank,\u00a0Mamas for Mamas Calgary, the Skipping Stone Foundation and the MEOW Foundation.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a history of giving back, and our community really embraces that,\u201d Mok said. \u201cWe\u2019re happy to keep the tradition alive.\u201d<\/p>\n

ddekuyper@postmedia.com<\/p>\n

\"<\/p>\n

These visitors to Otafest are dressed as characters from Hollow Knights.<\/p>\n

\"<\/p>\n

Participants are dressed as characters from Star Rail during Otafest at the Telus Convention Centre.<\/p>\n

\"<\/p>\n

Visitors to Otafest chat and learn about each others\u2019 characters.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Calgary\u2019s home-grown, all-ages Japanese pop culture and anime festival returned to the Telus Convention Centre this weekend, expected…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":676536,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194293],"tags":[49,2798,48,213416,248666],"class_list":["post-676535","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-calgary","tag-ca","tag-calgary","tag-canada","tag-downtown-calgary","tag-telus-convention-centre"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/676535","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=676535"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/676535\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/676536"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=676535"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=676535"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=676535"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}