This past weekend, I attended SacAnime Spring at Cal Expo. While I am no stranger to SacAnime, I had never been to a SacAnime held at this venue. The experience is vastly different from SacAnime’s Winter and Summer conventions, as well as last Spring’s convention.
Overview
Traditionally, SacAnime Spring was held in Roseville, CA, at the Roebbelen Center during Easter weekend. The Roebbelen Center is known for hosting business meetings and sports tournaments, while Cal Expo is best known for hosting the California State Fair. These are two very different venues, as Cal Expo is a much larger venue.
Pros
Cal Expo is significantly closer to Downtown Sacramento than Roseville, making it more convenient for those located in Sacramento. They have a big parking lot, charging $10 a day for parking, which is cheaper and more convenient than finding parking downtown for SacAnime Winter/Summer. I usually find myself spending $15+ a day parking in Downtown Sacramento. The Roebbelen Center charges the same amount for its parking.
The artist alley was smaller than what I had expected, but I found there to be so many new artists I had never seen before. With SacAnime being three times a year, it’s easy to come across many of the same artists, so I was pleasantly surprised by the new vendors.
SacAnime Spring does not have nearly the same number of attendees as Winter or Summer, making it a great option for those who are first-time attendees and don’t want to experience the overwhelming crowds. I never felt cramped during my time at SacAnime Spring. That being said…
Cons
Although there was much more space at Cal Expo, it was too much for the number of attendees. SacAnime Spring is a smaller convention than its Summer or Winter siblings, there is not as much need for the larger space. Typically, at the Roebbelen Center and SAFE Credit Union Convention Center, everything (minus the panels) is under one roof. At Cal Expo, the exhibitors were in a different building from the artist alley and voice actors. It wasn’t a long walk between buildings, but it was enough to feel like a trek walking back and forth.
Cal Expo has a clear bag policy, which didn’t personally bother me, but I can see how it would affect other attendees.
I was only able to attend SacAnime on Saturday, and I usually like to attend at least one anime panel. However, there were no anime panels that day, but they were on Friday and Sunday. There were cartoon and video game panels, but I was surprised that none were on Saturday.
Overall Thoughts
As a casual convention enjoyer, I enjoyed going to SacAnime Spring. I am not a fan of being crowded at conventions, don’t bring huge props, and don’t mind a slower-paced convention. If you are more into the bigger convention, more vendors and artists, and bigger crowds, I would say save the trip for SacAnime Winter/Summer.
SacAnime Summer will be at the SAFE Credit Union Convention Center this September 4-6, 2026. Tickets for the summer convention can be purchased here.
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