I started this con knowing that I wanted to have a con that my family would enjoy. Not just my wife and kids but my mom, dad, brother, sisters, nieces, and nephews. Other than myself, no one in my family is an anime/manga fan. My parents had begrudgingly taken me to shows while I was growing up but to be honest, they really did not have a whole lot of fun. I bring my kids to shows each year and while I have a blast it is a bit intimidating for my kids who are not used to large crowds. Keep in mind that my kids are from Sweden and live in a town of 1,900 people. I want CampAnime to be welcoming to people, like my own children, who may be overwhelmed by large crowds and at the same time be fun for the die-hard congoer or the parent in tow.

 

   Does this mean that if you have been to larger con that you won't have fun at CampAnime? Not at all. We have tons of events for people of all ages. We even have an archery range, a rock-climbing wall & a lake.

 

   I like audience interactive events and so CampAnime has a bunch of them. I have also incorporated a bunch of "family picnic" events into the con. We have a tug of war, water balloon toss, hula hoop contests, pie eating contests and more. If you're an anime fan you appreciate people dressed as Ash and Light shoving their faces in a pie...if you do not know who they are it's still funny. Boating on the lake, cool. Boating on the lake in cosplay, even cooler.

 

I'm not trying to be the biggest or the best. I'm just trying to run a fun family con. I hope that I succeed more often than I fail and that I learn from my mistakes. I make more than my fair share of them.