AniMatsuri 2019

On the 28th and 29th of September you will have the chance to see people in interesting costumes roaming around Tartu city center. The reason behind this is the Japanese pop culture festival AniMatsuri, taking place for the 13th time.

The two day event that mainly focuses on young people will be taking place at the Dorpat Convention Centre and the Tasku Centre with the festival program taking over all the rooms at the Convention Centre to offer its visitors something interesting to listen to, exciting to do and something to busy your fingers with. There is the possibility to take part in different competitions, listen to presentations and panels and take part in workshops. You can enjoy some quiet while reading mangas or Japan themed books, check out what the local artists have to offer in the Artist Alley, or try your hand at different board and video games.

A new and interesting thing this year is the Japanese Market that will be taking over the 1st floor of the atrium at the Tasku Centre. This will be open to anyone interested. You can go and check out what different shops related to Japan or Asia are selling, and there will also be a small program. On the 2nd floor you will be able to try your hand at drawing our festival guests in various interesting costumes.

The most awaited event is the cosplay competition where participants transform themselves into various characters from anime, manga, films, and games. Among the many awards for outstanding costumes and performances are the chance to represent Estonia at the European Cosplay Championship in London, and the Nordic Cosplay Championship in Sweden. The competition will be judged by an international jury of expert cosplayers.

There will be the traditional party on Saturday evening, where you can dance, take part in different games and talk with other festival visitors, will be happening on Saturday evening.

And since one weekend is just not enough to share the interesting culture of Japan, the month of October has been dedicated to Japan Month. This series of events will introduce the more traditional side of Japanese culture to people of all ages through presentations, workshops, movie nights, and much more. The movie nights are supported by the Japan Foundation and the Embassy of Japan in Estonia.

AniMatsuri is organized by NPO Japanese Culture Club Asashio (MTÜ Jaapani kultuuriklubi Asashio), with partners like the UniCon festival in Latvia, the Embassy of Japan, Estravel, and its main sponsor is the Tartu City Government.

The cost of the tickets changes the closer the event gets:

• Early bird tickets are 8€ for one day and 12€ for two days (sold until 30.06.2019)
• Regular tickets are 12€ for one day and 18€ for two days (sold between 1.07.-27.09.2019)
• Tickets at the event are 14€ for one day and 20€ for two days.

More information on our website www.animatsuri.eu

Contact information:

Kaia Jallai
Head Organizer of AniMatsuri and Japan Month
+372 5687 5916 - [email protected]

Janar Pääsik
AniMatsuri Program Director
[email protected]

Merilin Kauksi
Japan Month Program Director
+372 523 7143 - [email protected]