Otaku Food & Anime Festival brings art, entertainment and flavor to College Station

BRYAN, Texas (KBTX) – The famous Lunar New Year celebration hosted by ‘Otaku Food and Anime Festival’ brings together a community of anime fans and food lovers. This festival comes twice a year to provide a free event so that both adults and kids can partake in their hobbies.

The event is usually held at locations like Post Oak Mall, where Vincent Tran, the event organizer, emphasized a mutually beneficial partnership. Tran explained how this collaboration increases foot traffic for both the mall and the event.

“So we’re trying to get people to come back to the mall or people who haven’t been in a long time to come back,” Tran explained to KBTX. “And I think that each time we have an event here, the tenants get double or triple their traffic compared to a regular weekend.”

The festival brings not only food and commerce but also some famous characters. Voice actor Blake Shepard has voiced characters in numerous anime series. As a Texas resident, Shepard says he enjoys connecting with the Texas community.

“It’s really nice for me because then I can do Texas events, I live in Houston. So this is an easy way for me to get out in the community in Texas. And you know, it keeps me from having to jump on a plane and go to different conventions around the country, which I also do.” Shepard shared.

While talking to the event organizer, Tran explained that none of this would have been possible without the hard work of everyone involved. Franklin Lim, one of the workers, told KBTX how satisfying it is to see people enjoy an event he worked so hard on.

“So I do a lot of the behind-the-scenes stuff, and it’s really nice seeing how much work I put into it beforehand and just seeing it all come together with the attendants, the vendors, and everything’s working. I just feel better about myself.” Lim said.

The event dates are Saturday, February 15th, from noon to 8 p.m. and Sunday, February 16th, from noon to 5:30 p.m. Another Otaku event is expected to return to the mall sometime in the fall.

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