History

In 2015, Sakura-Con had an attendance of over 23,000 individuals. Sakura-Con is the northwest’s oldest and largest anime, manga (comics), gaming, and Asian culture convention. Hosted by the Asia Northwest Cultural Education Association, a 501(c)(3) non profit, Sakura-Con began in 1998 as a small, three-day event . a party for anime fans at the Double Tree Inn, in Tukwila Washington. The convention has grown dramatically over the years in terms of size and mission. Operated by a 100% all-volunteer staff, our main goal is for everyone to have fun and to foster learning more about the cultures that bring us our favorite media.

We started Sakura-Con because we missed the fun, multi-level anime conventions where something was always happening and you were afraid to eat lunch for fear of missing something you really wanted to see. We were tired of the professionally run conventions that herded you into a room to see a speaker for one hour, than herded you into a line for an autograph and closed in time for you to be home for supper! Some of our fondest memories were of gulping down a salad in 10 minutes so we wouldn’t miss a panel we wanted to see or spending hours in the hotel bar with the cast and crew of various shows, comic books, authors, etc. We missed the friendly guests who really liked meeting their fans and having as much fun as we were having.

So we decided to start a convention. We returned to the older-style 24-hour convention with dances, karaoke, panels, anime theater rooms, great guests, and a staff that really knows and cares about the fandom because we are part of it too! You may have a hard time finding time to sleep!