As Ai-Kon strives to be a family-friendly event, the following information is provided in order to give parents and guardians a better idea of what the convention entails. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to e-mail us at info@ai-kon.org.
Japanese animation (anime), and is known for its wide range of styles and genres and has grown exponentially in popularity in North America in the last 10 years, with an ever-increasing list of titles licensed for North American distribution. Popular anime titles include Naruto, One Piece, Fruits Basket, Bleach, Full Metal Alchemist, and Sailor Moon.
Ai-Kon is a three-day convention dedicated to Japanese animation (anime), comics (manga), and culture held annually in Winnipeg, and is run by a volunteer board. "Ai" means "love" in Japanese, hence Ai-Kon's slogan "For the Love of Anime". This summer marks Ai-Kon's seventh year and our fourth at the Winnipeg Convention Centre. Last year approximately 1,500 people attended Ai-Kon.
All ages are welcome at Ai-Kon; however children aged 12 and under must be accompanied by a registered adult (18+) at all times. Children aged eight years and under are admitted free and must also be accompanied by a registered adult at all times. Please see our registration page for full ticket and admission information.
The numerous video rooms are one of the convention's key attractions. These rooms run 24 hours for the duration of the convention, showing Japanese and Asian animation and live-action series and movies. The majority of titles shown at Ai-Kon are appropriate for all ages, with those containing scenes that may considered too violent or inappropriate for younger viewers scheduled for late night showing. Ultimately, viewer discretion is advised.
Other events at Ai-Kon include: A dealers room, where anime-related merchandise (manga, posters, CDs, DVDs, keychains, wallscrolls, etc.) are sold.A games room featuring a wide variety of domestic and imported video games.An artist's faire, which allows artists to show and sell their artwork and other related itemsA Saturday night dance featuring a variety of anime and video game-related musicA cosplay (costume play) contest where participants dress up as an anime/manga/video game character and are judged in a variety of areas. Non-competitive, or hallway cosplay is also a significant part of Ai-Kon, where people dress up solely for the enjoyment of doing so.
If you or your children require assistance while at the convention, the Ai-Kon executives (identifiable by their full-colour name badges) and/or Winnipeg Convention Centre security personnel will be happy to assist you.
Please note that we do NOT have a venue-wide public address system through which to page people.
If you have any questions or comments about Ai-Kon, please feel free to talk with staff members or contact us prior to the convention at info@ai-kon.org.
Winnipeg-related web-sites:
Winnipeg Convention Centre
Winnipeg Transit
City of Winnipeg
Winnipeg Downtown BIZ
Destination Winnipeg
myWinnipeg.com
Anime and convention resources:
The Librarian's Guide to Anime and Manga
Anime News Network
Anime Conventions 101
AnimeCons.com
