Colorado Anime Fest 2022: Day 1 Friday

For day one most of the programming didn't start until 4pm, but we got there early so we could scope things out. We had time to grab a bite at the hotel's restaurant/bar and to get into the dealer's room that opened at 2pm. They had the mech table open for the con as well that had a good spread of items, but they could have made a lot of money off people if they would have been selling plushies of their mascot. 

Opening Ceremonies:

The opening ceremony did start a little late, but they were able to finish on time. The MC for opening was Ciaran Strange. I had not seen her before and she was very funny. During the show she brought out all of the main guests and had some great interactions with them. 

Everyone waiting for opening ceremonies to start.

MC Ciaran Strange.

The huge between Khoi Dao and Chris Hackney that went on way too long. LOL.

 

The Dealer's Room:

Even though it was small and mixed in with the artist alley, they still had a large variety of products. When we first went in there was still empty tables, but on Saturday those would all be full. On day one the product that caught my eye the most was the booth that had light up masks that would light up to the beat of music/sound. Their were also several artists that had beautiful work and unusual products. One of the things that seems to be getting more common in art is the use of resin. Several had used this to turn their art into key chains or standees. Even though the dealer's room was very busy the con had made sure to keep the aisles wide to help with traffic and to be ADA friendly. The only thing that would have impacted some one with mobility equipment would have been just the volume of people.

Panels:

Social Awkwardness: What Is It and How Do You Manage It

Program Description- 

Notes- There is no black and white definition of social awkwardness. The closest is lacking grace or skill in manner or movement or performance. Introverts have a battery where they can either get overloaded or drained by other people. Many times their extrovert friends may not understand. He recommends that you find the friend that can be in sync with you. People with social awkwardness just deal with communication differently. Being asked their opinion can be a horror for some people. It can also be very awkward for them to do physical interactions like hugs. He recommended that you keep practicing social interactions with people and that you never sale yourself short. 

Overall Impressions- I think the panelist had a good message and I think he is doing something important within the community to help those that have social awkwardness. This was actually the first panel I have seen in 33 years of going to cons that directly addressed the issue. As a society we are moving towards a society that can at least acknowledge that not everyone is the same and that some people do interact with the world differently. I've actually noticed how anime cons are actually more accepting of people from all different backgrounds when compared to other types of cons. The only thing I would say could improve this panel is if he gives less examples on what social awkwardness can look like and more ideas on either how to handle your own social awkwardness or how to help others when they have social awkwardness.

ANI-MADLIBS with Khoi Dao and Laura Stahl (18+)

Program Description-

Notes/Overall Impressions- The best way to sum up this panel was that my sides were hurting so bad from laughing that it was hard for me to walk out of the panel. Besides the two guests (Khoi Dao and Emi Lo) that were scheduled to do the panel Ciaran Strange also sat in on it. Near the start of it Emi tossed out candy to the audience. It did not go as far into the gutter as I expected it to do for an 18+ show. They also had members of the audience help out with not only picking the words, but also in reading the result. Overall it was actually really good.

After this we decided to call it a night and not stay for the Learn Japanese Through Hentai panel. I was actually disappointed that we missed that panel. Most of the Japanese I know is random words or phrases and must are not for polite company any way. I can just imagine the words I would have picked up.

Picture 1 From: https://www.eventeny.com/events/coloradoanimefest2022-1816/?fbclid=IwAR2Whj2iVtllb4oHvlXvDYBzDB1nPuWfAYaYPhxWpcKZwaecbgAzJ25Znu0

All other pictures were taken by Geeked Colorado members.