Article and photos by Colleen Bement
Colorado Anime Fest (COAF) delights with three days of joy of cosplay, activities, friends, and smiles.
This year’s Colorado Anime Fest truly brought it all together. The charm of this annual convention can be summed up with a single word: Joy. There is just something special about Anime fans and their passion. They share a genuine love and appreciation not only for their favorite Anime TV and films but also to fellow attendees. They share this joy with a love and a beautiful respect for each other. The meticulous attention to detail they went through when creating their cosplay showed the absolute joy these fans feel for their art.
Hosted by the Denver Marriott Tech Center, the event took place Mar. 10-12, 2023. Many attendees stayed in hotel rooms in which they could totally escape the outside world and soak up everything the three days had to offer. The exhibitor’s hall was packed with plushies, jewelry, swords, kimonos, and everything in between. This event stretches out to other forms of celebration besides Anime. For fans of Japanese culture, the Colorado Dragon Boat Festival hosted fascinating panels about the real pop culture of Japan, as well as its history. AND, of course, one of the best parts of the weekend was the anime celebs like Kyle McCarley, Erica Mendez, and Griffin Burns, and cosplayers like Teca Cosplay, creative plushy genius Riss Zanfei, and so many more!
Cosplay Passion
The cosplayers at COAF celebrated their love and enthusiasm for the art of cosplay and Japanese culture. The creativity and detail that it takes to put together a costume from an animated film or tv show is impressive. And these fans are extraordinary at it! The sewing, gluing and molding that it takes to create not only the clothing, but the props, catches the eye of fellow fans and judges at the costume contest. Throughout the weekend there were informative panels offered, and everyone was willing to share their secrets of creation.
The video gaming room offered plenty of standards as well as new games to try out. Each day they even had tournaments to participate in. Cosplay café, cosplay chess, cosplay repair, cosplay contest, they had everything from kid’s programming to a rave that went on until 2 am, manga library, panels, photo shoot team-ups, video gaming, tabletop gaming, and what a nice idea for a quiet room if it all just gets to be a bit too overwhelming! There was just so much joy to take in. 
Although the event was attended by all ages, it was mainly a young crowd of teens and 20-something fans that exemplified what pure joy should be about. The energy was exciting and the creativity was shared by all. Let the countdown begin for COAF 2024!
Stay tuned for our interviews with actor Kyle McCarley, creator Riss Zanfei, and cosplayer Teca.
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