Anime North

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Anime North
Status	Active
Venue	Toronto Congress Centre Doubletree International Plaza Hotel Renaissance Toronto Airport Hotel
Location	Toronto, Ontario
Country	Canada
First held	1997
Attendance	13,500 in 2007
Official website

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.

Contents 1 Programming 2 History 2.1 Event history 3 Mascot 4 References 5 External links

[edit] Programming

Anime North in 2006 featured KOTOKO, a J-pop singer, who performed songs from her newest album. Also in 2006, a ballroom dance, "Moonlight Masquerade Ball" was newly scheduled. (See [1]) 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.

[edit] 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 2008 will be the 12th year of the convention.

[edit] Event history

Dates	Location	Atten.	Guests
August 9, 1997	The Michener Institute Toronto, Ontario	800[1]
August 22–23, 1998	The Michener Institute Toronto, Ontario	747	Matt K. Miller.[2]
June 18–20, 1999	Ramada Airport East Hotel Toronto, Ontario	850[3]
June 16–18, 2000	Ramada Airport East Hotel Toronto, Ontario	1,001[4]
May 25–27, 2001	Toronto Airport Marriott Rexdale, Ontario	1,841	John Martin.[5]
May 24–26, 2002	Regal Constellation Hotel Toronto, Ontario	3,000	Anshin School of Karate, Steve Bennett, Keith Burgess, Julie Davis, Ben Dunn, The Jem Project, David Kaye, Diana Kou, Fred Ladd, Jason Lee, John Martin, Scott McNeil, Sailor JAM-Boree, Mark Simmons, Doug Smith, and Amanda Winn Lee.[6]
May 16–18, 2003	Regal Constellation Hotel Toronto, Ontario	4,875	Anshin School of Karate, Steve Bennett, Brian Drummond, Ben Dunn, Saffron Henderson, Midorikawa Hikaru, Mark Hildreth, The Jem Project, David Kaye, John Martin, Miyako Matsuda, Scott McNeil, Hikaru Midorikawa, Frank Miller, Kirby Morrow, Claude J. Pelletier, Stan Sakai, Doug Smith, Brad Swaile, and Kathryn Williams.[7]
May 21–23, 2004	Toronto Congress Centre Renaissance Toronto Airport Hotel[8] Toronto, Ontario	8,500	Steve Bennett, Richard Ian Cox, Michael Dobson, Brian Drummond, Ben Dunn, Atsuko Enomoto, David Kaye, Les Major, Nobuyuki Ohnishi, Moneca Stori, and Studio Udon.[9]
May 27–29, 2005	Toronto Congress Center Doubletree International Hotel Toronto, Ontario	9,500	Susan Aceron, Rob Bakewell, Trevor Devall, Brian Dobson, Michael Dobson, Paul Dobson, Brian Drummond, Ben Dunn, Hilary Haag, Matt Hill, Lamia, Carl Macek, Les Major, Scott McNeil, Vic Mignogna, Kevin Mowrer, Stan Sakai, Asami Sanada, Rob Travalino, Sam Vincent, and Cathy Weseluck.[10]
May 26–28, 2006	Toronto Congress Center Doubletree International Hotel Toronto, Ontario	12,500	Steve Bennett, Keith Burgess, Colleen Clinkenbeard, Brian Dobson, Michael Dobson, Ben Dunn, Quinton Flynn, Donald Kinney, Sen'no Knife, Kotoko, Lamia, Les Major, Cynthia Martinez, Jeff Nimoy, Tim Park, Scott Ramsoomair, Nekoi Ruto, Sonny Strait, Kathryn Williams, and Tommy Yune.[11]
May 25–27, 2007	Doubletree International Plaza Hotel Toronto Congress Center Renaissance Toronto Airport Hotel Toronto, Ontario	13,500	Steve Bennett, Johnny Yong Bosch, Keith Burgess, Svetlana Chmakova, Ben Dunn, Peter Fernandez, Tiffany Grant, Matt Greenfield, Donald Kinney, Wendee Lee, Les Major, Sara E. Mayhew, Alex Milne, Nan Yan, Ryan North, Corinne Orr, Derek Stephen Prince, Scott Ramsoomair, Michelle Ruff, Patrick Seitz, Stephanie Sheh, Spider's Kiss, Sonny Strait, Wire, ZZ.[12]
May 23–25, 2008	Doubletree International Plaza Hotel Toronto Congress Center Renaissance Toronto Airport Hotel Toronto, Ontario	13,300 paid[13], approx. 500 staff	Yamila Abraham, Steve Bennett, Mark Dillon, Trevor Devall, Brian Dobson, Ben Dunn, Quinton Flynn, Liana Kerzner, Sara E. Mayhew, Halko Momoi, Jeff Nimoy, Claude J. Pelletier, Ed the Sock, Spike Spencer, Sonny Strait, Studio Udon, Brad Swaile, and Tara Tallen.[14]

[edit] 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.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Official Anime North Website

v • d • e Anime Conventions in Canada Anime Evolution (Vancouver) • Animethon (Edmonton) • Otafest (Calgary) • Ai-Kon (Winnipeg) • Anime North (Toronto) • AC-cubed (Ottawa)• Otakuthon (Montreal) • Animaritime (Sackville)