Anime Weekend Atlanta 2023: All You Need to Know

Anime Weekend Atlanta (AWA) is a four-day festival of Japanese culture, anime (animation), and manga (comics), with a sprinkle of global pop culture, held at the Cobb Galleria and the Renaissance Waverly Hotel in Atlanta, Georgia. The Anime Weekend Atlanta 2023 edition will be held in person this year on October 26-29, 2023. It is the Southeast’s largest anime conference, with over 32,000 unique guests in 2022. Want to know more about this year’s edition and what to expect? Then keep reading through!

There are many activities that will take place during this amazing convention going from cosplay contests to video rooms. There is everything for every to enjoy plus you get to meet popular anime voice actors, cosplayers, artists and actors like Voia, Brittany Lauda or Sebastian Masuda

Activities schedule

As said earlier prepare yourself to have fun with the following activities

Cosplay

Saturday night is the AWA Costume Contest in Main Events. A panel of three judges pre-judges contestants on workmanship prior to the show. Anime Weekend Atlanta 2023 costume contest is for attendees who have manufactured at least 75% of their own costumes. They will not be accepting exhibition-only candidates this year.

All contestants must wear a mask and adhere to all AWA safety regulations at all times, including registration, judging, and lineup.

Stop at the cosplay alley and observe some best awarding winning cosplay all across the US!

Exhibitor Hall

Expect to see an exhibitor hall featuring vendors, artists, interactive exhibits, Itashas and get autographs from your favourite creators.

AWA 2023 Fashion

Every year, Anime Weekend Atlanta is thrilled to feature great fashion guest designers from all around the world. Previous performances have included Moi-même-Moitié, Baby, the Stars Shine Bright, ALICE and the PIRATES, Manifesteange Metamorphose temps de Fille, Putumayo, Galaxxxy, GOUK, LISTEN FLAVOR, and others.

Some of this Anime Weekend Atlanta 2023 feature designs you should expect are:

• Sebastian Masuda
• 6%DOKIDOKI
• Takeru
• Million Dollar OrchestrA

Itashi Display

Anime Weekend Atlanta’s Itasha Display attracts die-hard fans from all over the country.

While Anime Weekend Atlanta 2023 would like to accommodate everyone who wants to display their automobile, They do not have unlimited room at the convention. Applications will be reviewed by a jury to determine which vehicles are most fit for AWA and will have the best reception at the convention. They strongly advise taking the time to gather the best images of your vehicle for your application submission because this application is not first come, first served.

Criteria

If your automobile, motorcycle, or other vehicle is accepted, you will receive a free four-day AWA membership. AWA is looking for cars that fit the following general criteria:

• Quality wrap: Your wrap should look good in photos, with no visible tears or scratches
• Quality car: Your wrap should look good in photos, with no visible tears or scratches
• Dedication to the wrap: Did you go all in, or just add a handful of decals here and there? The harder you go, the more likely it is for you to impress the judges
• Vehicle type: Is your car an uncommon brand/model to have wrapped? Do you have an unusual vehicle that is wrapped? We accept all types of vehicles (space and accessibility permitting), and we do like a little strange.
• Theme: Does your car have a theme? Whether it’s a character or franchise, your vehicle’s look should be cohesive and not just an assortment of random things.
• Uniqueness: We try to get a variety of cars and featured properties into the gallery. If there are a lot of submissions, a car with a more niche theme may be chosen rather than the 2nd or 3rd car from the same popular anime.

However, AWA says that these are not hard and fast rules, so you should submit your itasha even if you aren’t sure it meets all of the items listed above!

Kuma Kuma

The Kuma Kuma Maid Cafe caters to Anime Weekend Atlanta fans by offering 90-minute sessions of desserts, games, and moe entertainment while being treated in a calm ambience by friendly maids and butlers. Anime Weekend Atlanta 2023 goal is to give a wonderful convention experience where clients may rest and mingle with others, play games with our adorable maids and butlers, and recharge before touring the convention again!

Delicious desserts and refreshments like cheesecake, brownies, parfaits, and more will be available at Anime Weekend Atlanta maid cafe! Their menu changes on a yearly basis, and we love surprising our guests with fresh and intriguing options.

Don’t go alone, come along with some friends or relatives at their gorgeous Cafe, so make sure to reserve your place as soon as it becomes available! Their maids and butlers strive all year to perfect the incredibly fun art of kawaii entertainment so that your time with Anime Weekend Atlanta is unforgettable!

Manga Library

Anime Weekend Atlanta is honored to have Georgia’s most extensive manga library! Take a break from the convention craziness and grab your favorite manga (or try something new!) Come unwind for a while with them!

You can send your favorite manga to manga@awa-con.com if you which it to feature in the library

Starlight Idol Festival

Idols have become a popular hobby among anime, K-pop, and Japanese culture aficionados all around the world in recent years. Anime Weekend Atlanta presents an extraordinary event that will feature many amazing idols and dancers from Atlanta and beyond! Let us appreciate idols and continue to inspire and improve as dancers, singers, and Japanese culture fans in this and future galaxies!

Super Happy Fun Sell

The Super Happy Fun Sell (SHFS) is a yard sale-flea market-garage sale event held on Thursday nights at AWA in Grand Panel beside the Garden Court on the second level of the Renaissance Waverly. The SHFS allows AWA participants to clear out their closets and pass on previously loved anime and manga products to new enthusiasts.

The SHFS only accepts post-consumer, previously owned anime/manga items. Manga, video games, toys, DVDs, model kits, books, cels, comic books, VHS tapes, record albums, professional cosplay materials & props, and other used anime and manga artefacts fall into this category. Adult material (doujinshi, for example) is permitted, but it must be sealed and the purchaser must be over the age of 18.

SHFS only sells secondhand things. New stuff, food items (candy, snacks, drinks, etc.), and handcrafted crafts are prohibited.

Tabletop Gaming

The Tabletop Gaming Department provides participants with a welcoming environment in which to learn new games, meet new people, and recharge between exploring all that Anime Weekend Atlanta has to offer. Visit their Gaming Library, where they have a wide range of games to suit your interests, play styles, and time limitations during the event. You can also win prizes by taking part in many of the exciting events and tournaments that they run throughout the weekend.

Visit Anime Weekend Atlanta’s new Play to Win room for a chance to win a brand new board game, or visit our TCG Arena to meet The Final Dungeon’s fantastic team and attend one of their card gaming tournaments. All of their volunteers are there to assist you by answering any questions you may have and even to play and teach you new games!

The Tabletop Gaming Department is located on the convention’s Cobb Galleria Centre side (that’s what the CGC stands for!). Anime Weekend Atlanta has a variety of themed rooms, so you’ll never have to look too hard for what you’re looking for.

• CGC 109 Play to Win
• CGC 110 Gaming Library
• CGC 111 Social Gaming 1
• CGC 112 Social Gaming 2
• CGC 113&114 Trading Card Game Arena
• CGC 115&116 Board Gaming 1
• CGC 117&118 Board Gaming 2
• CGC 119 D&D Showcase
• CGC 120 Role Playing Games

Video Art Track

The Video Art Track is more than simply a place for anime music videos; it is the single largest event for fans and editors of amateur music videos, fan parodies, and spectacular and astounding original video art. By promoting the development and exhibition of fan works of art in video media, the Video Art track has long fostered remix culture and interactive fandom.

Video Games

Anime Weekend Atlanta is also pleased to present some of the greatest in video gaming. Their Free Play area includes everything from competitive titles to cutting-edge VR experiences, while our Super AWA Arcade includes rhythm, racing, and everything in between.

Video Rooms

They have been putting the ANIME in Anime Weekend Atlanta for over 20 years. Anime Weekend Atlanta attempts to showcase every genre of Anime for your viewing pleasure, from classic to current, gigantic robots to school children. The Video Rooms are also where you can catch the most recent and popular anime from the industry’s top stars, such as

• Hidive
• Sentai Filmworks
• Aniplex
• Funimation
• Viz
• Crunchyroll

Related: Anime Matsuri Convention

Guest Artist

There will be plenty of guests at the Anime Weekend Atlanta 2023. Among them, we have:

Bryson Baugus

BURNOUT SYNDROMES

Demondice

Diana Garnet

Pixy

Website: https://www.allartenter.com/

Takeru

TeddyLoid

VGR

Voia

BPM15Q

Brandon Winckler

Brianna Knickerbocker

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/briannaknickerbocker

Brittany Lauda

Roger Clark

Chris Hackney

Sebastian Masuda

Cat Thomas

Jackie Lastra

Kyle McCarley

Lizzie Freeman

Maile Flanagan

Michelle Marie

Nika Futterman

Shannon Reed

Stephen Fu

Related: Cosplay America Convention

What else

Submit a panel!

Hosting a panel at Anime Weekend Atlanta is a great way to get involved with the convention, put those thousands of hours of anime viewing to good use, meet new people, and even obtain a discounted or free membership to Anime Weekend Atlanta 2023! Panel Submissions for 2023 are open from January 15th – July 31st.

Useful links

• Panel Submission form
• Idol Festival
• Submit Video Art Track

Source: https://awa-con.com/