Animarket: From Zero To One Hundred

Animarket 2015

How does one stuff so much into one weekend? Oh and I’m being a bit self-absorbed for a bit today.

This last weekend has been a big mix match of so much things in just 2 short days, I’m not counting Friday, because reasons. So what does any of what I have written so far have to do with Animarket? In some ways, not  much, while in others everything, what dictates which is relevant is prospective. It is this prospective that I think best defined this event when compared to others.

In one hand I had a very personal experience, and then I had my completely professional outlook… Oh and for you younger readers I highly recommend you read this entire article to completion.

 

Personal

Similarly to most other Cons that I’ve attended in Trinidad & Tobago I happened to know quite a lot of people at Animarket. Some were Coordinating the event, others were hanging out on the show floor, while some were just there to give a bro a charge (THANKS BTW TO ANYONE THAT BROUGHT A CHARGER TO HELP ME CHARGE MY PHONE).

Ok so remember my previous statement about it being a mix match? Well this is what I mean. Though all my friends may be different they all turned out for a fun day, and it seems they all got just that. What was also wonderful was that no matter who I was hanging out with at any particular moment, we were able be ourselves. I didn’t feel any pressure to be anything but me and it seemed the same for them. Even my friends that were not be the biggest anime fans found their place in the beautiful mix match of Animarket, so much so that they are actually now more interested in attending other Conventions. Cons like these are a good example of how I think people should engage with each other in “Regular” society. At a Con you can walk up to a random stranger and talk about Doctor Who, Dance in the middle of a court yard and completely do what would be considered embarrassing in public. This sense of freedom is what we lack in society. Oh and don’t get me wrong. I strongly subscribe to the belief that there is a time and a place for everything. What I am saying is that it would be wonderful if there was not so much biased judgement in society.

Doctor Q 2

WE DON’T HAVE THAT AT CONS.

 

Professional

I got to this event while it was in the swing of things, but I don’t consider it late, because I’d like to factor in the unavoidable occurrences that could happen, Oh btw that’s just my nice way of making an excuse for getting my hair cut before the Con. 😉

When I arrived I was greeted by some friends at the UWI entrance (UWI or University of the west indies is one of the Universities in Trinidad and the venue for Animarket 2015). We then proceeded to the building where all the main proceedings were taking place where I immediately split ways from my companions to go around greeting all the many individuals that I knew, or at least the ones that I could find. With all the greetings out of the way I was able to relax a bit more and take my time looking at as much of the booths as I could, I even ended up playing some of the games at some of them, something that I don’t usually get a chance to do at Cons, but on Saturday I made it my mission to experience as much of what Animarket had to offer, and I did. The convention had so much to keep any nerd/geek culture fan entertained. There were Video games on display, tournaments in full swing by Chrono Fantasy Entertainment, A Carnival type game booth with a Nerf shooting range by Access Power, great music, tons of food, Comic Art by local comic artist sensation Shaun Riaz, so much merch …. and then some. I could go on and on about it all but you get the picture. There was a lot and we were fortunate because of it all.

Animarket was a successful convention from my point of view as an attendee. Entrance to the venue was completely FREE for all which I believe was a big plus as it got those that may not have been willing to spend any money to attend a convention like this to experience one, and by doing so they may build a greater interest in Cons and be willing to attend more in the future.

Thank You to all those responsible for organizing, coordinating and making Animarket a wonderful experience for me. I hope to meet you all at more Conventions.


 

if you’d like to hear more of my thoughts on this topic, then I suggest you listen to the Buttonsmashers podcast.

Qudduws Campbell

That messy hair bloke: Romantic, Food lover, Gamer, Sports Fan, Manga Reader, Tech Head, Podcaster... Pretty much do a bit of everything.