| Arkansas Anime Festival | |
|---|---|
| Status | Active |
| Genre | Anime[1][2] |
| Venue | Four Points by Sheraton Bentonville |
| Location(s) | Bentonville, Arkansas |
| Country | United States |
| Inaugurated | 2007[1] |
| Attendance | 1,208 in March 2012[3] |
| Website | http://arkansasanimefestival.com/ |
Arkansas Anime Festival (AF2) is an annual three-day anime convention held in June/July at the Four Points by Sheraton Bentonville in Bentonville, Arkansas. It is the largest anime convention in the state of Arkansas and is family friendly.[4][5][6]
The convention typically offers an artists alley, a dance, live action role-playing game, masquerade, panels, tabletop gaming, a vendor room, video games.[5][6]
For several years the convention happened two times per year.[4][6] The March 2010 event had a free party before the convention.[5] Arkansas Anime Festival 2020 was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[7][8]
| Dates | Location | Atten. | Guests |
|---|---|---|---|
| November 17, 2007 | Cosmopolitan Hotel Fayetteville, Arkansas | Samantha Inoue-Harte[9] | |
| May 24, 2008 | Holiday Inn Northwest Arkansas Springdale, Arkansas | 1,121 | Tiffany Grant, Samantha Inoue-Harte, and Dominic Vitucci.[10] |
| November 8–9, 2008 | Holiday Inn Springdale, Arkansas | 1,056 | Johnny Yong Bosch, Samantha Inoue-Harte, and Dominic Vitucci.[11] |
| April 25, 2009 | Cosmopolitan Hotel Fayetteville, Arkansas | Kyle Hebert, Samantha Inoue-Harte, and Dominic Vitucci.[12] | |
| November 20–22, 2009 | Cosmopolitan Hotel Fayetteville, Arkansas | Juli Erickson, Samantha Inoue-Harte, and Grant James.[13] | |
| March 6–7, 2010 | Clarion Hotel & Conference Center Bentonville, Arkansas | Christopher Ayres, Todd Haberkorn, Vic Mignogna, Wendy Powell, and Maria Vu.[14] | |
| November 20–21, 2010 | Clarion Hotel & Conference Center Bentonville, Arkansas | 900[6] | Robert Axelrod, Richard Epcar, Samantha Inoue-Harte, and Dominic Vitucci.[15] |
| March 5–6, 2011 | Clarion Hotel & Conference Center Bentonville, Arkansas | DJ Azrael, Eric Benton, Eric Burton, Spike Spencer, and John Swasey.[16] | |
| December 2–4, 2011 | Holiday Inn Springdale / Fayetteville Area Springdale, Arkansas | Jillian Coglan, Samurai Dan Coglan, and Mike McFarland.[17] | |
| March 16–18, 2012 | Holiday Inn Springdale / Fayetteville Area Springdale, Arkansas | 1,208 | DJ Azrael, Eric Benton, Eric Burton, and Sonny Strait.[3] |
| November 16–18, 2012 | Holiday Inn Springdale / Fayetteville Area Springdale, Arkansas | Jillian Coglan, Samurai Dan Coglan, Samantha Inoue-Harte, Greg Wicker, and Tom Wyner.[18] | |
| April 5–7, 2013[19] | Holiday Inn Springdale / Fayetteville Area Springdale, Arkansas | ||
| March 14–16, 2014 | Holiday Inn Springdale / Fayetteville Area Springdale, Arkansas | Chris Bevins, Samantha Inoue-Harte, Rachel Robinson, and J. Michael Tatum.[20] | |
| December 12–14, 2014 | Holiday Inn Springdale / Fayetteville Area Springdale, Arkansas | Leah Clark, Samantha Inoue-Harte, Kazha, Jad Saxton,[21] and Jessica Calvello.[22] | |
| May 29–31, 2015 | Holiday Inn Springdale / Fayetteville Area Springdale, Arkansas | Darrel Guilbeau, David Vincent, and Lisle Wilkerson.[23] | |
| May 27–29, 2016 | Holiday Inn Springdale / Fayetteville Area Springdale, Arkansas | Rachael Messer and Austin Tindle.[24] | |
| November 18–20, 2016 | Holiday Inn Springdale / Fayetteville Area Springdale, Arkansas | Samantha Inoue-Hart, Guy Michel, Phil Parsons, and Chris Patton.[25] | |
| May 26–28, 2017 | Fort Smith Convention Center Fort Smith, Arkansas | Leah Clark and Kazha.[26] | |
| November 10–12, 2017 | DoubleTree Suites by Hilton Hotel Bentonville Four Points by Sheraton Bentonville Bentonville, Arkansas | Samantha Inoue-Hart[27] | |
| June 29 - July 1, 2018 | DoubleTree Suites by Hilton Hotel Bentonville Four Points by Sheraton Bentonville Bentonville, Arkansas | DJ Azrael, Fighting Dreamers Productions, Jeremy Inman, and Kazha.[28] | |
| June 21-23, 2019 | DoubleTree Suites by Hilton Hotel Bentonville Four Points by Sheraton Bentonville Bentonville, Arkansas | Aaron Roberts[29] | |
| June 17-19, 2022 | Four Points by Sheraton Bentonville Bentonville, Arkansas | Kyle Jones, John Swasey, and Barry Yandell.[30] | |
| July 14-16, 2023 | Four Points by Sheraton Bentonville Bentonville, Arkansas | Josh Martin, Phil Parsons, and Chris Rager.[31] | |
| June 7-9, 2024 | Four Points by Sheraton Bentonville Bentonville, Arkansas | Tiffany Grant, Krystal LaPorte, Patrick Pedraza, and Aaron Roberts.[32] |
|
List of anime conventions in North America
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36°20′10″N 94°12′29″W / 36.33611°N 94.20806°W / 36.33611; -94.20806
