My Experience at Niagara Falls Anime Fest

Over the weekend, I did my second anime convention in less than three months, and my first out-of-state convention. I was grateful to do more than just stare at Niagara Falls, no matter which side of the border I’m standing on. I had not been there in three years, and this is my third visit this decade. The first was in 2022, and this was when the world was starting to get back to normal meaning no trips across the border, and the other was in 2023 when I was on my way to the United Kingdom and Ireland to do graphics research, and I spent that visit entirely in Canada.

Like what happened with Pittsburgh, we again drove two hours to Niagara Falls, NY from Erie, PA, stayed the night, and did the Anime Fest the following day. It took place at the Sheraton and not near the falls, which is why I don’t have any photos of the actual falls to share. I originally wanted to leave for the area in the afternoon but we didn’t get out until 8:30PM because my teammates decided to sign up for some crappy trivia event that took place the day before. I didn’t go to sleep until 11:00PM. What was even worse was Daylight Saving Time started on the day of the convention, meaning I lost the usual hour of sleep that I won’t get back until November. In most other years, that hour was lost at home, and this year, it was at the hotel where I slept.

My day began the same as the Pittsburgh Anime Fest – going downstairs, eating breakfast at Starbucks, a place I never usually eat at because the food selection isn’t in my favor, and then walking to the convention. The only difference was no perfume was used to trigger the fire alarms like what happened in Pittsburgh. On the night after that morning’s incident, I asked the organizers for stricter security measures such as metal detector wands and bag checks, but I never saw any of those at the event.

I changed my game by stacking the signs on metal shelves. This meant that I had to change my setup so there would be enough room for players to flip through the binder, make donations, and play the game. It was the same usual crowd, and despite the people playing being different, it was from people who hadn’t even heard of Touhou Project nor played one game! One difference though was there was a guy wearing a shirt with a character who looked a lot like Yumemi Okazaki. It wasn’t the actual character, but the similarities were interesting. Yumemi lookalikes can be achieved with red classic lolita outfits.

Development on Touhou Meishuugeki ~ Cursed Sweeper and Bewildering Parallel has been going smoothly and great so far. I hope to get the third stage done by the end of this week and a playable demo of the game by the end of this month.

On the way home, we stopped by the Angola service area to get some dinner. We often stopped at that service area on our trips between Buffalo and Erie. One of the biggest hallmarks and traditions was placing a smiley face made of actual pavement on the highway! It was a fun sight to look at, but they don’t do this tradition anymore. I don’t even have photos of it because I was about ready to enter kindergarten when I saw it for the first time, and this was in the early-to-mid 2000s. I hadn’t been inside the building in three years, but last year, they completely rebuilt it. Two restaurants that were a staple of that service area were McDonald’s and Denny’s. They have been completely taken off the list when it was reopened last year around this time. It’s like going to Disney World frequently – you go one year and then return a few years later, only to find that attraction you liked gone and replaced.