Sakura-Con 2011 expecting record attendance!

Seattle, WA 4-13-2011

ANCEA (Asia Northwest Cultural Education Association) is proud to present the fourteenth annual Sakura-Con April 22-24 at the Washington State Convention Center in Downtown Seattle, Washington.

Since 1998 Sakura-Con has grown by staggering numbers. Sakura-Con started with 313 attendees in its inaugural year. Consistent growth has ranked Sakura-Con among the top five largest anime conventions in the nation. Sakura-Con is now projecting 19,000+ unique members and is expected to reach capacity for the Washington State Convention Center. Most, as has been established from previous years, attend all three days of the event, making for a potential total turnstile attendance of over 50,000. Sakura-Con is a significant event for the region, bringing over 13.5 million in revenue to local businesses.

Sakura-Con features guests from the Japanese anime, manga, gaming and music industry and includes over 1100 hours of programing. Highlights include three concerts, four 24 hour theaters, 3 dances, the largest free gaming arcade on the West coast, art show, exhibits hall with third party vendors, Japanese cultural arts and presentations, industry panels, fan panels and much more! Sakura-Con runs 24 hours a day, from Friday morning to Sunday afternoon.

Highlights for Sakura-Con 2011 include: Japanese musical guests BerryzKobo and exist†trace, Japanese fashion designers Sixh and 6%DOKIDOKI, over 30 guests of honor, and The voice of Sailor Moon Ms. Kotono Mitsuishi. We are proud to be part of www. SeattleJapanRelief.org and will be hosting several donation drives over the course of our event for Peace Winds America. Please see our website for full details www.sakuracon.org.

ANCEA is a state and federal nonprofit corporation (501c3). ANCEA is committed to providing people of all ages an opportunity to learn more about anime, manga, gaming, and Japanese culture-both traditional and contemporary.

ANCEA bylaws state that no one, even the board of directors, can be paid, so Sakura-Con is truly “for the fans, by the fans.” 100% of resources raised support the ANCEA mission.