| Ani-Jam | |
|---|---|
| Status | Defunct |
| Genre | Anime, Manga, Japanese culture[1][2] |
| Venue | Fresno Convention Center |
| Location(s) | Fresno, California |
| Country | United States |
| Inaugurated | 2003 |
| Most recent | 2014 |
| Attendance | 1,600+[3] |
| Organized by | Ani-Jam LLC[2] |
| Website | http://www.ani-jam.com/ |
Ani-Jam was an annual two-day anime convention held during August at the Fresno Convention Center in Fresno, California.
The convention offered anime screenings, a cosplay masquerade, live music, table top games, vendors, video game tournaments, and workshops.[1][4][5]
The first event in 2003 was produced by Japanese entertainment website, Neo-Tokyo 2099 and cosplay website, Cosplay Underground as a mini con/test event held on March 28, 2003 at the Ramada Inn in Fresno, California to find out if an anime convention was plausible in Central Valley of California.
The mini convention lasted for six hours and what was estimated to bring in 150-250 attendees, the event attracted over 500 attendees.[6]
The event would then return as a multi-day convention in 2006 under new ownership and was held at the Fresno Fairgrounds, followed by the Radisson Hotel in 2007 and the convention would later relocate to the Fresno Convention Center in 2012.[1]
Ani-Jam celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2013.[6] The convention held a day zero (Friday) event before the start of the 2014 convention where pre-registered attendees could attend a formal ball.[7]
| Dates | Location | Attend. | Guests |
|---|---|---|---|
| March 28, 2003 | Ramada Fresno North Fresno, California | 500+[6] | Edward Luena.[8], CAT, Garland Gee (Anime Expo), Agent 760, cosplayer SIREN and more. |
| August 19–20, 2006 | Fresno Fairgrounds Fresno, California | Agent 760, Akai SKY, Johnny Yong Bosch, Eyeshine, Trish Ledoux, Fred Perry, Quarter-Circle Jab, Random Ninjas, Kristine Sa, Stephanie Yanez, and Toshifumi Yoshida.[9] | |
| August 18–19, 2007 | Radisson Hotel & Conference Center Fresno, California | Adella, Johnny Yong Bosch, Eyeshine, Melissa Hudson, Lord Katsuhiko Jinnai, Trish Ledoux, Kenyth Mogan, Fred Perry, Quarter-Circle Jab, Kristine Sa, Amanda Tomasch, and Toshifumi Yoshida.[10] | |
| August 2–3, 2008 | Radisson Hotel & Conference Center Fresno, California | Akai SKY, Robert Axelrod, Leah Clark, Justin Cook, Che Gilson, Lord Katsuhiko Jinnai, LYV, Makenai, Vic Mignogna, Fred Perry, Quarter-Circle Jab, Kristine Sa, and Stephanie Yanez.[11] | |
| August 20–21, 2011 | Radisson Hotel & Conference Center Fresno, California | Akai SKY, Greg Ayres, Lord Katsuhiko Jinnai, La Carmina, Robert McCollum, Vic Mignogna, Hannah Minx, Sebastiano Serafini, and Team LoveHate.[12] | |
| August 18–19, 2012 | Fresno Convention Center Fresno, California | Greg Ayres, Eric Caldero, Lord Katsuhiko Jinnai, Kairu, Brittney Karbowski, Kazha, Mari Watanabe, and Stephanie Yanez.[13] | |
| August 17–18, 2013 "10th anniversary"[6] | Fresno Convention Center Fresno, California | 1,600+[3] | Greg Ayres, Richie Branson, Lord Katsuhiko Jinnai, Cynthia Martinez, Chris Patton, Aimee Major Steinberger, Mari Watanabe,[14] Robert Axelrod, Brittney Karbowski, and Valkyrie Kiss.[3] |
| August 16–17, 2014 | Fresno Convention Center Fresno, California | Akai SKY, Greg Ayres, Jessica Calvello, Chris Cason, Samantha Inoue-Harte, Raj Ramayya, Chii Sakurabi, Jad B. Saxton, Steam Powered Giraffe, and David Vincent.[15] |
Ani-Vent was a one-day convention held in 2010 with the goal of expanding into different events.[16]
| Dates | Location | Atten. | Guests |
|---|---|---|---|
| July 17, 2010[16] | Fresno Fairgrounds, Chance Avenue Entrance Fresno, California |