Photo credit: @otakufoodfestival
The Otaku Food Festival lands in College Station this weekend with a special, two-day lantern festival.
Developed by veteran vendor TanukiGo, the acclaimed Otaku Food Festival arrived in Houston in 2021 to replace the city’s widely attended Asian Night Market. Since then, the festival has emerged as one of, if not the largest free food and anime festivals in the city.
Taking place in and around Houston every couple months or so, the festival offers weekends full of street food, anime activations, and free entertainment for the whole family.
This weekend, the Otaku Food Festival Lantern Festival will take over the Post Oak Mall in College Station on Saturday, September 12th, and Sunday, September 13th. The hours are listed below:
September 12: 11 a.m. – 7:30 p.m.
September 13: 11 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.
Per its custom, the Otaku Food Festival this September will feature over 100 food, drink, anime, and retail vendors. While the specific vendor roster has not been released, visitors can expect a wide range of flavors ranging from Japanese, Thai, Latin, and Vietnamese street foods, including the likes of noodles, egg rolls, noodles, boba tea, and more.
“This is a FREE entry, two-day family food and anime event with 100+ food/drink vendors, anime vendors, Sumo wrestling, Cosplay guests and contests, voice actors, live entertainment, photo ops, entertainment, plenty of parking, and so much more,” the festival writes in an Instagram post.
Furthermore, the festival will feature an artist alley alongside live entertainment including sumo wrestling, cosplay guests and contests, voice actors, exhibitions, and photo-ops galore.
The Otaku Food Festival is completely free to attend, however, if you do succumb to the temptation of the event’s eateries, the festival encourages visitors to bring cash – though many vendors do accept card.
This weekend, the festival takes place at Post Oak Mall at 1500 Harvey Rd. in College Station. If you can’t make this weekend’s festivities, the Otaku Food Festival will host another Lantern Festival at the Pearland Town Center at 11200 Broadway St. on October 3rd and October 4th.