Anime Iowa
StatusActive
VenueHyatt Regency Coralville Hotel & Conference Center
LocationCoralville, Iowa
CountryUnited States
First1997
OrganizerMindbridge Foundation[1][2]
Attendance3,000[3]
Websitehttp://www.animeiowa.com

AnimeIowa is an annual three-day anime convention held during July at the Hyatt Regency Coralville Hotel & Conference Center in Coralville, Iowa. The staff are all volunteers and the convention is run by the non-profit Mindbridge Foundation.[1][4]

Programming

The convention typically offers artist alley, cosplay contests, dealers room, idol festival, Maid Café, masquerade, tabletop gaming, video gaming, and video rooms.[5][6][7][8] In 2011, the Maid Café benefited We Heart Japan, a charity supporting 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami victims.[9] AnimeIowa held a fundraiser to benefit Swisher's Miracles in Motion in 2014.[6] The 2025 charity auction benefited Tanager Place and raised $3,842.[8]

History

AnimeIowa's first convention in 1997 was organized by the SFLIS Wing of Anime and Manga People (SWAMP).[10] Technical issues occurred during the 2008 masquerade and some attendees rooms were relocated to a different hotel due to the Iowa flood of 2008.[7] The 2011 convention occurred during the RAGBRAI bicycle ride.[9] Cassandra Hodges was scheduled to attend the 2011 convention, but died on June 27, 2011.[11] Iowa River Landing was used by both the RAGBRAI bicycle ride and AnimeIowa in 2015.[12][13] AnimeIowa 2020 was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[14][15] The convention later held a virtual event in August.[16]

Event history

DatesLocationAtten.Guests

References

  1. ^ Crews, Alesha L. (July 29, 2013). "Fanboys, girls swarm to AnimeIowa". Iowa City Press-Citizen. Retrieved 7 June 2015.[dead link]
  2. ^ "Mindbridge Foundation Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2018-07-04.
  3. ^ "AnimeIowa 2013 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2013-08-24.
  4. ^ McCollough, Katelynn & Davis, Ashley (July 27, 2014). "Cosplayers Pack Coralville Marriott For AnimeIowa 2014". The Gazette & KCRG-TV9. Retrieved 7 June 2015.[dead link]
  5. ^ Herman, Isaac (July 24, 2014). "Japan comes to Coralville". The Daily Iowan. Retrieved 7 June 2015.[dead link]
  6. ^ Schmidt, Mitchell (July 27, 2014). "Anime Iowa sees growing numbers". Iowa City Press-Citizen. Retrieved 7 June 2015.
  7. ^ Lawrence, Briana (August 24, 2008). "Pigs, Corn, and… Anime? Anime Iowa 2008". Mania.com. Archived August 2, 2009 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 7 June 2015.
  8. ^ Dickerson, Dan (July 29, 2025). "Photos: 28th annual Anime Iowa Convention". The Daily Iowan. Retrieved 6 August 2025.
  9. ^ Heine, Katie (July 28, 2011). "15th annual AnimeIowa kicks off this weekend". The Daily Iowan. Archived from the original on 27 June 2015. Retrieved 7 June 2015.
  10. ^ Walz, Edward (September 21, 1997). "Midwest greets the East - Devotees bring Japanese animation and comics to Iowa City convention". The Gazette (Cedar Rapids-Iowa City)
  11. ^ "Memorial Fund, Service for Voice Actress Cassandra Hodges". Anime News Network. Retrieved 2012-08-12.
  12. ^ Cooney, Bill (July 27, 2015). "Anime invades Iowa". The Daily Iowan. Archived from the original on 29 July 2015. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  13. ^ Davis, Andy (July 24, 2015). "AnimeIowa, RAGBRAI come together at IRL". Iowa City Press-Citizen. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  14. ^ "ANIMEIOWA IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT". AnimeIowa. Archived from the original on 19 May 2020. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  15. ^ "AnimeIowa 2020 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2020-05-26.
  16. ^ "AnimeIowa 2020 "The shirt without a Convention" Goes Virtual!". AnimeIowa. Archived from the original on 17 July 2020. Retrieved 16 July 2020.