QC Anime-zing coming to the RiverCenter this weekend!
It’s pretty rare to attend a convention that features programs on My Little Pony, how to write erotic fiction about cartoon characters and the etiquette of attending raves, but then again, there are few events as unique as QC Anime-zing!
The seventh annual three-day festival celebrating Japanese anime and all related fandoms, communities, and arts invades the Davenport RiverCenter this weekend, kicking off on Friday with an explosion of costumed characters, sci-fi and fantasy merchandise and imaginative diversions of the mind and body.
Autograph sessions, panels, workshops, concerts, social events, game tournaments, anime screenings, and more will blast through the RiverCenter, attended by hundreds of regional fans with smiles on their faces, money in their hands and more often than not, brilliant costumes on their bodies.
“It’s really like being a big sports fan,” said David Dunwell, 26, of Dent, Minn. “They spend all their money on a ticket to one big game, and dress up in face paint and uniforms, and we dress in costumes and spend all our money on a three-day ticket to awesomeness.”
There will be rooms dedicated entirely to board games and video games, rooms entirely dedicated to meet-and-greets and discussions of various topics of interest to sci-fi and fantasy fans, dance lessons, acting lessons, costuming lessons, and plenty of places to buy really, really cool and flashy stuff related to a variety of Japanese animation characters.
Fans, artists and vendors are equally pleased with the event.
“It’s a very chill atmosphere, it’s very open and welcome,” said artist Ty Smith, 33, of Omaha, Neb.
“It’s great, there was nothing like this when I was younger,” said artist Kevin Keil, 46, of Omaha, Neb. “It always surprises me how nice and polite all the kids are. You always hear about how teenagers are rude and snotty, but none of the kids at the cons are like that. They’re all really cool.”
“I’ve been doing this for years, and it’s really cool,” said Rebecca Rong, 23, of Ames, Ia., running a booth for her shop, Combo Collectibles. “It’s always great to see all the different costumes.”
“When it comes down to it,” said Joshua Taschen, 18, of Davenport, “we’re really just one big, fun, dysfunctional family.”
1 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday
RiverCenter, 136 E. 3rd St., Davenport
www.qcanimezing.com
