Ai-Kon

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Ai-Kon
Location	Winnipeg Convention Center Winnipeg, Canada
Years in existence	2001 to present (with the exception of 2002)
Attendance	est. 1,000 in 2004
Official Website

Ai-Kon is an anime convention that is generally held yearly in Winnipeg, Manitoba, in Canada. The convention runs 24 hours a day and spans 3 days. The annual event features anime, cosplay, video games, and many other contests and activities.

1 History
2 List of Convention Dates, Locations, and estimated attendance
3 Origin of the name
4 Events
5 External links

[edit] History

Ai-Kon was first held in July 2001 at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, MB. Originally run and held by the University of Manitoba Anime Club (UMAnime), the convention is now held by an independent volunteer board. After its first year, the staff of Ai-Kon went on hiatus for one year, and in July 2003, a second Ai-Kon was held at the University. The event continued yearly after this point.

[edit] List of Convention Dates, Locations, and estimated attendance

July 20-22, 2001 - University of Manitoba - between 300-700
2002 - Organizational Hiatus. No event held.
July 25-27, 2003 - University of Manitoba - around 700
July 30 - August 1, 2004 - Sheraton Hotel - around 900
August 12-14, 2005 - Winnipeg Convention Centre - around 1000
July 21-23 2006 - Winnipeg Convention Centre - around 1,200
July 27-29, 2007 - Winnipeg Convention Centre[1]

[edit] Origin of the name

“Ai” means “love” in Japanese, hence Ai-Kon’s slogan “For the love of anime”. Note that it is pronounced "I" or "eye", not "eh" or "ay".

[edit] Events

Masquerade - Also referred to as the Cosplay Contest.

Game Tournaments/ Games Room - In recent years, the UMGA has held a game room at Ai-Kon, and has held tournaments in games such as Soul Calibur II, Super Smash Bros. Melee, and Dance Dance Revolution.

Dealers room - Tons of items to purchase from dealers coming in from Canada and the United States

Art Room - Buy a table and sell your art

Multiple showing rooms - Anime shown in 5 rooms for 24 hours straight through the whole Ai-Kon weekend

Panels - Many different panels have been held at previous events, including Chaji (Japanese Tea Ceremony) performed by the MJCCC (Manitoba Japanese Canadian Cultural Center), Go!, Cosplay, Anime Game Shows, Dollfies, and Computer Graphics.