Anime convention
name	Anime North
image
caption	Anime North's mascot, Hoppouno Momiji.
status	Active
venue	Toronto Congress Centre Doubletree International Plaza Hotel Renaissance Toronto Airport Hotel
location	Toronto, Ontario
country	Canada
first	1997
attendance	est. 12,500 in 2006
events	Masquerade, Dealer's Room, Artist Alley, Guest of Honor presentations, Gaming (Video and RPG), Panel Discussions, Video Presentation, Contests, Dances, Autograph Sessions, Concerts
website	http://www.animenorth.com

Anime North is a non-profit, fan-run anime convention, held every year in Toronto, Ontario. Its major events include a Masquerade, Dealer's Room, Artist Alley, Guest of Honor presentations, Gaming (Video and RPG), Panel Discussions, Video Presentation, Contests, and Dances. The convention is hosted at both the Toronto Congress Centre and the adjacent Doubletree International Plaza Hotel, near the Toronto Pearson International Airport. Anime North 2006, which was the 10th Anime North, took place on May 26-28, 2006 and was the largest yet, with an estimated 12,500 attendees.

The 2007 event will be held the weekend of May 25-27, the biggest touted event will likely be the fact that almost the entire main cast of Bleach (minus Kate Higgins) will be guests.

History

Anime North was founded by Toronto anime fan Donald Simmons in 1997 as a one day mini-convention with approximately 600 attendees. The original venue was the Michener Institute in downtown Toronto. In 1998 the convention expanded to two days of programming, and 1999 saw the addition of a third day of programming as well as a move to the Ramada Airport East Hotel, with attendance reaching 1,000. In 2001 the convention was moved to the airport strip near Pearson Airport and was held at the Toronto Airport Marriott (attendance 2,000) and in 2002 moved to the much larger Regal Constellation Hotel (attendance 2,800).

Shortly after the 2003 convention at the Regal (attendance 5,000), the Regal closed and the convention had to find yet another new location. For 2004 the best combination of function and hotel space available was the combination of the Toronto Congress Centre and the nearby Renaissance Hotel for additional programming. These two venues were unfortunately a 10-15 minute walk apart, although a free shuttle bus was provided to help alleviate this problem. Despite this difficulty, attendance reached a record 8,200 that year.

In 2005, the convention added a Thursday evening badge pickup for pre-registered attendees, and changed hotels from the Renaissance to the Doubletree International Plaza Hotel, across Dixon Rd. from the TCC (attendance 9,500). In 2006 actual programming was added for Thursday evenings. Approximately 12,500 people attended in 2006, the first year that attendance has broken 10,000 people. Anime North 2007 will be the 11th year of the convention.

Attendees

Attendees of Anime North come from all over North America, although a majority of attendees live in southern Ontario. People come for cosplay, and others for the dealers room. Still others come to watch anime showings or play games. As characters from anime, manga, movies or video games, some come to broaden their knowledge on this rapid growing industry, and others come to shop for rare or imported goods.

Charity

Anime North has been a long-time donator to the SickKids Foundation , supporting SickKids Hospital in Toronto. In total, over $80,000 dollars have been donated to the charity by Anime North since its inception. 2004 was a record year with over $12,000 alone raised, thanks mostly in part to a very successful Charity Auction with a wide array of guests contributing their help in promoting and auctioning.

Positions

Badges with the name of the positions printed on them and space for names are given to the attendees at the time of entrance and is also a proof of ticket purchase.

Weekend Otaku
Regular attendee who bought the weekend pass.

Friday/Saturday/Sunday Otaku
Regular attendee who bought a one-day pass.

Volunteer
Attendees who want to help out with the convention for the warm feeling, various gifts, sleeping space, and/or refunded ticket.
They aren't assigned, rather they need to ask around for position.

Gaming
Staff for gaming events who help out a specific game. They are not general staff, but only help one certain game.

Staff
People who do the actual work of running events and performing duties at the convention. Various different staff types exist, including gaming, art room, etc.

Con Com
The people who organize the convention as a whole, stands for Convention Committee.

Panelist
People who sign up to present panels. Usually weekend otakus sharing knowledge about their favorite anime.

Performer
People who are there as performers. Generally this includes bands and comedians who are not guests of honor.

Media
Representatives from media outlets who are covering the conference.

Corporate
People sent from third party companies to promote their goods.

Dealer
People registered for running booths in the Dealer's room.

Artists
Individuals or small groups who sell original art in the artists alley, or who have contributed art for the art room and/or auction.

Special Operations
Convention security and first aid practitioners.

Mascot

Hoppouno Momiji, a fictional redhead with a taste for both anime and anything Canadian, serves as Anime North's dominant mascot. Her various incarnations and the original concept art in which she was conceived can be found here . Her many manifestations are used on all Anime North clothing, badges, and other wearables. She was originally created for the convention by the Japanese artist Hyi-San.

2006 Guests

KOTOKO
Singer

Senno Knife & Nekoi Psydoll
Artists

Laura Bailey
Actor, Director
Cancelled due to personal reasons

Steve Bennett
Artist

Keith Burgess
Producer

Colleen Clinkenbeard
Actor, Director, Writer, Producer

Michael Dobson
Actor, Director

Brian Dobson
Actor

Ben Dunn
Artist, Animator

Quinton Flynn
Actor, Writer

Cynthia Martinez
Actor

Jeff Nimoy
Actor, Voice Director, Writer

Sonny Strait
Actor, Artist, Writer, Director

Dave Wittenberg
Actor
Cancelled at the last minute due to appendicitis.

Tommy Yune
Director

DramaQueen
Manga Publishing Company

Jason Agnew and Matt Chin
The Conventioneers

2007 Guests

Spider's Kiss
Band

ZZ
Band

Steve Bennett
Artist

Johnny Yong Bosch
Actor, Singer

Keith Burgess
Producer

Ben Dunn
Artist

Peter Fernandez
Actor

Tiffany Grant
Actor, Writer

Matt Greenfield
Director, Producer

Wendee Lee
Actor, Director

Corinne Orr
Actor

Derek Stephen Prince
Actor

Scott Ramsoomair
Artist

Michelle Ruff
Actor

Patrick Seitz
Actor, Director, Writer

Stephanie Sheh
Actor, Director, Writer

Sonny Strait
Actor, Artist, Writer, Director

Events

Anime North in 2006 featured KOTOKO, a J-pop singer, whom performed songs from her newest album. Also in 2006, a ballroom dance, "Moonlight Masquerade Ball" was newly scheduled.

The most popular events at Anime North include the Masquerade and the J-Idol competition. Other events include the AMV contest, guest autograph sessions, the All-Star Charity Auction, the Momiji Award (with brunch), Anime Improv, and Yaoi North. Common staples at Anime North include guest speeches, gaming tournaments, dances, art-related workshops, discussion panels, martial arts displays, model contests, Go tournaments, and similar events.