February 13, 2023
Otafest started as a small event in the halls of the University of Calgary by a group of dedicated friends, eventually blossoming into a full blown non-profit anime convention run entirely on volunteer power. Now, Otafest is a space to meet others with similar interests, catch up with old friends, enjoy cosplay, programming, foods, exhibitors, guests, and more.
At Otafest 2022, we experienced an incredible outpouring of support from the community resulting in an large attendance turnout and consequently, long lines to enter the venue, the Exhibitor Hall, and other events. Understandably, this had an impact on some folks’ experience at Otafest. We also heard about scalping, and even completely fake tickets being sold over social media.
We’re incredibly humbled by the support we’ve seen in the community, however, we also have to continue abiding by fire and safety regulations, so to hopefully improve everyone’s experience at Otafest we have made some changes to our event and policies:
We’re hoping that the above changes and policies will mitigate the overcrowding we experienced in 2022 and help everyone have a blast at our festival!
Otafest
May 10 – 12, 2024
Calgary Telus Convention Centre
120 9 Ave SE
Calgary, AB T2G 0P3
Otafest acknowledges that the land we gather on is the traditional territory of the people of the Treaty 7 region in Southern Alberta, which includes the Blackfoot Confederacy (comprising the Siksika, Piikani and Kainai First Nations), as well as the Tsuut’ina First Nation, and the Stoney Nakoda (including the Chiniki, Bearspaw, and Wesley First Nations). The City of Calgary is also the home of the Métis Nation of Alberta, Region III.