Anime subculture gathers all ages for Fannatiku Fest; STGnews photo gallery

Written by Chris Caldwell
March 3, 2013
Many costumed fans, also known as “cosplayers,” attended the seventh annual Fannatiku Fest anime convention at the Lexington Hotel, St. George, Utah, March 2, 2013 | Photo by Chris Caldwell, St. George News

ST. GEORGE – Anime fans united once again to celebrate the Japanese-based subculture, don costumes depicting their favorite characters and meet fellow fans. The two-day convention, known as Fannatiku Fest included vendors, contests, social events and other activities.

“We are here for anyone who loves Japanese animation, American comics, and costuming in general,” Festival Director Natalie Daniel said. “We are here for anyone in that fandom so they can come, feel welcome, and meet other people with the same likes.”

While growing up in the area, Natalie Daniel didn’t have many ways to network with fans of anime and comics, so she eventually began getting people together and aided in what is now the spread of a thriving subculture in St. George. The festival has run for seven years and pulls from a wide demographic.

Many costumed fans, also known as “cosplayers,” attended the seventh annual Fanatiku Fest anime convention at the Lexington Hotel, St. George, Utah, March 2, 2013 | Photo by Chris Caldwell, St. George News
Many costumed fans, also known as “cosplayers,” attended the seventh annual Fanatiku Fest anime convention at the Lexington Hotel, St. George, Utah, March 2, 2013 | Photo by Chris Caldwell, St. George News

Because there are a lot of hard-to-understand elements of such a hobby, Fannatiku fest has aimed its efforts on making it a family-friendly event. Not only do the planners encourage vendors to only display age appropriate merchandise, but they also invite families and parents of fans to learn what the culture is all about.

“There is a whole subculture universe,” said David Roland, the owner of Comics Plus. “Everybody comes together to celebrate by dressing up, sharing stories, play video games, buying goods and are looking to expand their collections.”

Fans who missed out on this year’s Fannatiku Fest can follow along on the fan website to see upcoming events. Additionally, many fans have been networking through Facebook on the Anime Fannatiku page.

People who are interested in the anime subculture and other related hobbies are encouraged to find their local comic stores and ask questions from other more experienced fans. Current fans are welcoming to new-comers, and are an excellent resource.

(Resources and related posts follow the photo gallery.)

Click on photo to enlarge it, then use your left-right arrow keys to cycle through the gallery. 

Resources

Anime Fannatiku St. George convention – Facebook

Fannatiku Fest website

Related posts

Zombies shuffle for Dixie Care & Share

Star Trek actor beams into St. George for Free Comic Book Day

Dixie women debut fantasy novel series, Shardwell

St. George anime convention this weekend; wait, what’s anime?

Sports card collector gets a nice surprise

Free Comic Book Day

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @STGnews

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2013, all rights reserved.

Fannatiku Fest 2013 | Photo by Chris Caldwell, St. George News, March 2, 2013.
Fannatiku Fest 2013 | Photo by Chris Caldwell, St. George News, March 2, 2013.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Chris Caldwell is a recent grad from Dixie State, with a degree in Mass Communication and Visual Technologies. He worked as a photographer and photo editor for the Dixie Sun, and can always be found behind a camera. Chris was born in California, then grew up in the St. George area. When he’s not shooting news, Chris is usually outdoors, longboarding, camping, hiking, or fishing; with a camera, of course.

Free News Delivery by Email

Would you like to have the day's news stories delivered right to your inbox every evening? Enter your email below to start!

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.