“A-Kon 27” Anime Convention June 3-5 at Hilton Anatole Hotel, Dallas

Attend the oldest continually running anime-based convention in North America, from June 3rd to 5th at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas. Whether you are a devoted follower of anime or a total stranger to this genre, this could be a fun event to get out and experience.

For the uninitiated, anime (pronounced: an-ih-may, as in animation) is a particular style of Japanese film and TV, usually aimed at adults as well as children. The Merriam-Webster dictionary online adds that it typically uses “colorful images, strong characters, and stories that have a lot of action.” Anime has become increasingly popular in the US over the past twenty years, and A-Kon (Anime Convention) has been running in Dallas since 1990. Attendance at the first ever A-Kon here in Dallas numbered 380 people, while as of 2015 that number had grown to 29,383! Whew!

This year’s A-Kon events will include an art show, a masquerade ball, a steampunk ball, costume competitions, various contests, and presentations by a range of panelists and guest speakers. For full information, visit the event website here. Many portions of the convention should be family-friendly, but some parts may not be; when in doubt, contact the organizers to get your questions answered — and enjoy!

A-Kon 27, June 3rd-5th 2016 at Hilton Anatole Hotel, Dallas, TX.