Anime Detour

From CosplayWiki

Anime Detour is an anime convention held at Bloomington, Minnesota in the United States. Anime Detour takes place near the end of March, and draws its name from a midwest joke (There are two seasons in Minnesota, winter and road construction season). The actual name was thought up by a young lady at a planning meeting back in 2003.

1 History
2 Events
3 External links

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History

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Attendance

2004 2005 2006 2007

~1219 ~1550 ~2450 ~3000 (sold out)

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Founding

Anime Detour was founded by Travis Hildebrand and Jon Hughes, who held parties and discussion panels at Anime Central and AnimeIowa in 2002 and 2003. The first organizational meetings were held at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design in early 2003, and planning began for the first Anime Detour, which was held in March 2004 at the Airport Marriott in Bloomington, MN. Despite the inevitable problems stemming from insufficient staff (there were only 17 people on staff the first year, not including Hughes, who had resigned as chairman in the fall of 2003) the convention drew over 1200 members and was considered a success by the guests and members alike. Guests included voice actresses Monica Rial, Carrie Savage, voice actor Kyle Hebert, physics professor and anime fan Dr. Marc Hairston, and founder of AnimeMusicVideos.org Kris McCormic.

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Venue

For 2005 Anime Detour moved to the second week in March and across the street to the Ramada Inn Mall of America, better known to locals as The Fabulous Thunderbird. "Of course we had to hold it there," the Chief Wombat remarked. "It's the only hotel in the Twin Cities with stuffed animals!" Attendance increased to over 1600 in spite of the staff's decision to avoid advertising, and despite problems in some departments, again the fans and guests were well pleased. All of 2004's guests returned for a second year and were joined by voice actors Greg Ayres and Travis Willingham.

In 2006, pre-registration surged to 1600 and the Thunderbird was sold out by early February, despite the loss of its iconic Indian statues and most of the stuffed animals. Steps were taken to avoid the crowding in the halls that had been a problem in 2005, and more programming was added, featuring author Joan Vinge, local poetess Rebecca Marjesdatter, ADV founder Matt Greenfield, New Generation Pictures producer Jonathan Klein, voice actress Tiffany Grant and artists Robert and Emily DeJesus, in addition to returning guests Monica Rial, Carrie Savage, Kyle Hebert, Kris McCormic, and Greg Ayres.

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Events

An anime music video (AMV) contest is held, in which attendees submit their video to be judged. The WTF, "Whiskey Tentacle Foxtrot", Contest (which awards prizes based on how bad an AMV is) is a related event.

There are 5 video rooms which run various anime, old and new, 24 hours a day during the convention.

Guests including voice actors, producers, writers, artists and directors are in attendance and hold panels on anime, manga, Japanese culture and related topics.

A cosplay contest, in which attendees are judged on the presentation and (optionally) workmanship of their costumes.

An art show and auction, plus an extensive Artists' Alley.

Annual Charity auction and blood drive.

Consuite offering soda, coffee, tea, fruit, rice, and other snacks.

A Pump it Up/Bemani room featuring Pump It Up, Dance Dance Revolution, Pop/n Music, Guitar Hero, Para Para Paradise, and other Bemani-style games.

A console gaming room featuring various consoles, and usually containing games such as Super Smash Brothers Melee, Naruto, other fighting games and First Person Shooters.