#tsurucon

[cryleigh]

New prints are looking good! These will all be available at my table at Tsurucon tomorrow!

[aquastellarum]

I met a super cute Phi cosplayer today! It’s so neat to run into other Zero Escape cosplayers especially at such a tiny con!

[rustpig]

Happy May 🌸

Sexy Waluigi Calendars will be available at Tsurucon Saturday May 6th!

✧commission info |  twitter | instagram | pixiv ✧ 

[pbspiderman]

EVERYONE WAS SO COOL TODAY THANKS FOR A RAD 4 HOURS. Time for work🍸

[meruchan]

Making some new YOI buttons for my next con #artistalley #tsurucon #yoi #largebutton #yuri #yurionice #viktornikiforov #viktor

[lunapri]

#Tsurucon was alot of fun and I saw some really amazing #cosplays in the blistering heat. Tag yourself if your one of these cool peeps!

[station-of-repose]

If I could go back and tell my younger self anything.....

Keep sewing, keep doing things you like to do, keep dreaming about becoming the people you admire.

I was in first grade, they gave us journals as well as wrote a question on the white board that we had to answer every day, the question I remember is "what do you want to be when you grow up" I gave answers like "Sailor moon" or "the pink power ranger" etc. I was told that I couldn't be those things, it crushed me, because I wanted to be the people I looked up to on t.v. but was told "you cant do that"

I was in 8th grade and decided to take home economics, I was having trouble following a pattern to make an apron, I managed to make it but all throughout making it I was constantly told by the teacher "sewing isnt for everyone" I'd get told the same thing over and over again whenever I was working on a sewing project, eventually it got to me, it made me think i would never be any good at sewing, so eventually I stopped.

2014, I want to go to my first convention, so I go and end up meeting a bunch of new people, some of which became my friends, and it makes me want to start sewing again, so I decide to make a Ciel Phantomhice cosplay, I spend weeks working on it and end up wearing it to Tsurucon 2014 where I enter it into a contest, I dont think I'll win but I was proud and wanted to show it off, I ended up placing best in show.

July 1 2017, I decide I want to make a Sailor Moon cosplay, I spend days making it for Otafest and end up meeting my childhood idol Sailor Moon, while I'm dressed as sailor moon.

September 30, 2017, I end up entering the Drumheller Dino Con cosplay contest last minute, with a cosplay I wasnt proud of, and ended up placing 3rd in a category.

The point of this post is. If you enjoy what you're doing then keep doing it, you are good enough and you will only keep getting better. I had to learn that the hard way. I let others tell me what I couldn't do, and I regret it.

[magicromano]

Tsurucon was pretty boring lol. The only panel I wanted to go to I missed. So it wasn't much fun. But I'm still happy with what I got, and that I could see some great cosplayers. Too bad I was too shy to say anything.

[autumnscosplay]

Kataraaaa! I love this costume so much, it's SO COMFY! Definatly want to bring her out again soon! Sorry no new costume progress, I'm still recovering from expo and tsurucon, as well as getting ready for grad! Hoping to get new photos out soon of my new projects! Photo by @billybookcase

[honey-speedway]

ive been going to animethon for several years now and rn its a big  y i k e s....

they just cancelled ATOA, and theyre getting so much backlash they had to lock comments on their ig post.

and do i understand not wanting to stress out the staff too much? yes.

but i have a couple issues with this whole thing.

like for starters, you knew otafest aurora was cancelled this year. you knew you would get more influx bc we dont have an actual winter con. 

second, there have been multiple ppl commenting and saying they were turned away from being staff/volunteering bc “their positions were full”, and youre saying youre cancelling atoa bc its stressing ur staff????

third, you leave albertans with no anime con from mid august to mid may. the two cons are within a few months of each other. we have no winter con and that fucks over cosplayers who cant be busting out the heavy armor in +36 weather. 

tsurucon shut down, nishikaze didnt happen this year and no one went anyways

even if you count edmonton/calgary expo, those happen in september and april. again, no winter con.

they said they want to focus on smaller events in the community, which okay but............ a lot of ppl who go to animethon arent from edmonton. am i traveling there for a picnic in cosplay? movie screening? no. id go if i lived there but the drive from red deer and back is not worth it. 

if otafest and animethon can team up for their anniversaries, why cant they team up and do a small con in the winter? dont wanna rent out the shaw conference center twice a year? do a con somewhere in the middle like red deer. idk maybe use airdrie or something. go back to using macewan if thats possible. do it in calgary. 

like im all for not wanting to stress out the staff too much, but focusing on small events in edmonton is not going to work bc a lot of ppl travel for animethon and atoa. even if one con just moved to the winter, thatd be great. but its too late to do that for 2019. 

and they purposely didnt announce the cancellation at closing ceremonies bc they knew what kind of feedback theyd get.

i do hope they work on animethon more tho with the loss of atoa. better/more guests. better big events.

[game-refraction]

OTAFest 2017 - My Weekend at the Convention

OTAFest came from very modest beginnings. It all started back in 1999 when the passionate Otaku Anime Club from the University of Calgary put together a small one-day film festival. Their purpose was to simply share their adoration of Japanese Animation with everyone. Over the span of nearly twenty years, the sparks of their passion caught fire with like-minded fans and grew to annually welcome nearly 8,000 avid enthusiasts or those simply wanting to learn more of the art or even the Otaku culture itself. The rest is history and brings us to the OTAFest 2017 convention.

I remember hearing about the event nearly a decade ago and my interest was piqued. Since I was a kid, and my first brushes with the beautiful and haunting tale of Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind by the legendary Hayao Miyazaki, I have had a great love for the genre. However, I was never able to attend the event. It was either too close to the Calgary Entertainment Expo, or I had to work, or I could never find anyone to go with. This year, I was offered a chance to attend OTAFest with my fellow Game-Refraction members and naturally, I couldn’t pass it up.

We began our first day early, the car fueled with gas and us fueled with excitement and coffee. The first highlight of the day was discovering that parking at the venue, the Telus Convention Centre, was free for Canada Day. Anyone that has attended any multiple day conventions will know how much of a blessing even a one day reprieve from the expense can be. After grabbing our passes and wristbands, we made our way upstairs to the main floor of the event.

The lobby itself was lined with various information tables. Some were for local anime conventions, including Tsurucon from Red Deer Alberta. There was a table for getting your portrait done in anime/manga style and there were even a couple of tables devoted to travel as well as job exchange programs in Japan. Needless to say, I snagged a few maps and brochures and spent a good ten minutes chatting with the friendly volunteers about how to look into jobs that essentially pay you to be a tourist for anywhere up to a year.

I made my way through the opened doors and was greeted by a much-welcomed sight. Happy chatting crowds, rows upon rows of different booths selling everything from Japanese sweets to games and clothing. Of course, no “Con” would be complete without an Artist’s Alley. After weaving from one end of the hall to the other, resisting the urge to buy every cat-related item I saw, I noticed a strange feeling mingling with the electric excitement energy. It wasn’t until I met back up with my friends and we chatted a little about what our impressions were, that I knew what the feeling was and it seemed as though the feeling was mutual. It was minor, but it was there. Disappointment, at least initially.

I also discovered the perfect description of OTAFest after my first day there. Take the Calgary Entertainment Expo, take just about everything Anime, manga and Otaku culture related and make a Con with just that content. That leaves merch, Artist’s Alley, a few interesting panels, a few rooms showing episodes of different anime and only really three media guests. One could conceivably take in the entirety of the OTAFest experience in a single day, which isn’t much in comparison with an Entertainment Expo that you would be hard pressed to take all of it in over its four-day duration. Was the disappointment warranted? Yes. Considering the $55 ticket for the entire weekend, or $35 for just a single day, and that isn’t even counting food, gas, the time that is taken off of work and the amount someone would spend on merch at all of the booths.

The next question I had to ask myself, was the initial reaction and comparison fair? Not entirely. After that, I found that it was much easier to have fun. The disappointment gradually receded to where I could objectively view OTAFest for what it really was and clearly experience what it had to offer. This was a focused event, whereas a larger Expo sampled everything.

What the events share is my favorite part of going. The atmosphere and the people. Everyone attending was welcoming and super friendly. Stranger or not, people were there to have a great time and share their passions, whether it was their elaborate costumes, artists displaying unique handcrafted wares or just admiration for a good anime or manga series. The merch employees and volunteers were some of the most helpful people I have ever come across and would sometimes just indulge in a great conversation or share a funny joke or two.

All in all, it was a great weekend filled with fun experiences from one of my favorite genres of entertainment. If you ever are considering attending, I recommend not comparing it with the larger and all encompassing Entertainment Expos and focus on what it shares with you and not what it lacks. The staff and volunteers are helpful and friendly and the crowds are happy and welcoming. You will have an amazing time and I would gladly attend OTAFest 2018!

OTAFest 2017 – My Weekend at the Convention was originally published on Game-Refraction

[nishikazeca]

Happy Saturday to everybody! We hope you are all having fun at Tsurucon today, and are petting those kitties! As Lethbridge experiences some thunder-filled weather, we want to lighten the atmosphere by showing off the first of our Nishikaze 2017 merchandise! These are our Nishikaze 2017 mascot designs in VINYL! You can put your love for Ayako and Hoseki on your Phone, your notebooks, your mirrors, and even your CAR! Lolita Ayako and Hoseki will be found at our merch table with the rest of our pins, and Maid Hoseki will exclusively be found in the Maid Cafe, so be sure to get your tickets before we sell out! These little vinyls will be only 2$ each, and an easy addition to your accessory collection! We only ask that you dont put these on your drywall, as vinyl doesnt react well with the surface. Both Lolita Ayako and Hoseki were designed by Amy Zhang, and Maid Hoseki is designed in house by Stefie Simms. Vinyls provided by Allyson Cikor.

from Nishikaze http://ift.tt/1PRhmtW via IFTTT

[tamashii-no-otaku]

Tsurucon 2017 - Red Deer, AB, Canada, May 6, 2017 Visit / Visite: http://kaginipponhe.com/index.php?act=ST&f=18&t=7733

[akamaple]

Over the treetops and mountains

Over the blackened ravines

Then softly it falls by a house near a stream

And over the garden wall

To thee

So...we are big fans of Carton Network's Over the garden wall. It is silly, and quirky and amazing! And we were so happy to meet this awesome Wirt, cosplayed by syoish! The cape is sewed together really neatly and syoish is perfect at portraying Wirt at his best and worst ;) 

[autumnscosplay]

HEY ALL HAHAHA SORRY I DIDN'T POST ANYTHING YESTERDAY. HAHAHA I'M STILL ALIVE ^^;! Tsurucon was amazing! I was so lucky to have been invited to judge with some amazing people, and be able to hang out with some amazing friends! Sorry I'll be posting more things from expo soon!

[pbspiderman]

Very rad cosplays at Tsurucon!