Welcome to Rosemead, California’s First Anime Festival! Despite the rains, Rose City Anifest marched forward on August 20th. It featured about 30 different local vendors as well as 10 beloved voice actors and an appearance by Maid Academy with special drinks from Gotcha Tea House. It was an overall wonderful experience for local anime fans!
Vendor Hall
As I entered the Rosemead City Recreation Center, right ahead was the vendors’ hall. With a variety of different vendors and artists, it was a pleasure to stroll through and experience. Many of the vendors were local, sharing their art or selling a variety of anime-themed merchandise.
A cotton candy machine spun colorful sugary treats for those in attendance and a DJ filled the room with the familiar openings of popular anime. There was even a magician, Colin Chung (@trackjacketmagic), in attendance who certainly blew the audience’s minds with his fantastical card tricks.
After purchasing our posters, stickers, and plushies, we made our way to the beloved Maid Cafe.
Maid Cafe (@maidacademycafe)
Rose City Anifest also featured a complimentary maid cafe hosted by Maid Academy Cafe, a non-profit organization, in collaboration with Gotcha Tea House. I had the opportunity to sit down and interact with some of the welcoming maids. Despite the chilly weather outside, it was a warm atmosphere filled with playing Sanrio-themed bingo and chatting about the popular action role-playing game, Genshin Impact.
Gotcha Tea House supplied the Pokémon themed drinks. Brown Sugar Boba Milk Tea was my drink of choice, but they also featured Strawberry Green Tea and Mango Green Tea. Delicious drinks and a wonderful time.
Voice Actors at Rose City Anifest
Rose City Anifest had ten guest voice actors in attendance. Notable names such as Khoi Dao (VA of Albedo from Genshin Impact) and Anne Yatco (VA of Raiden Shogun from Genshin Impact & Nobara Kugisaki from Jujutsu Kaisen) had booths for attendees. They offered photos, conversations, and signed merchandise for their fans as well.
Rose City Anifest Overview
We briefly spoke with the organizers of the event, Luis and Chris, about their experiences regarding the event. Having met about less than a year ago, the pair actually coordinated this event in just a month.
Chris–the author of the light novel series Girls are Scary and How to Pick Up Girls at a Con–stated that they wanted to create a community event for the large array of anime fans within the 626 Area in Los Angeles County. Luis–the owner of California’s only Manga Cafe, LA Manga Cafe–found the experience to be the best part of planning the event.
Though they are on the fence of continuing next year, it was certainly a fun event for the community!
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