Gaia Online to judge the Masquerade at New York Comic Con/Anime Festival

Halloween comes early this year! New York Comic Con’s annual Masquerade — a costume showcase that is part fashion show and part talent show — is happening Saturday, October 9th. Considered one of the top cosplay events of the year, entrants are sure to dazzle guests and judges alike. This will present an excellent opportunity to capture the top costumes and flair on exhibit at this year’s Con.

In a unique twist this year, virtual community Gaia Online will be a featured guest judge in the style of American Idol. For the first time ever at Comic Con the Gaia user base will be polled live via a web cast, and the results will have the weight of one judge on the panel. The entire Masquerade will be webcast live around the world on Gaiaonline.com with the option for members to vote for their favorites. Gaia staff members are also available at the event to explain costumes and characters if you are interested.

Gaia will be hosting a panel at Comic Con where fans will gather to learn about upcoming features, meet their Gaia mentors, dance and play games. The panel will be held Saturday, October 9th, 5:15pm — 6:15 pm in Panel Room 3 (1E13). Gaia Variety Hour will be held on Sunday, October 10th, 2:30pm — 3:30 pm in Panel Room 4 (1E14), where fans will enjoy fun, games, contests and random awesomeness. Please let me know if you’d like to attend Gaia’s panel so we can make sure to save space for you. We can also get you in touch with a Gaia user and costumed fans that would make for a great photo or video opp.

Gaia Online was created to satisfy a growing online anime fan community in 2003 – today it’s one of the most active social gaming communities, with more than 8 million unique visitors every month between the ages of 13 and 24. The site is consistently ranked in the top 5 for most time spent on any social media site (according to Hitwise). Gaia brings together the best of social media in an anime-based online community featuring comics, MMOG, social games and forums. Its users are artistic, often cosplay enthusiasts, and avid contributors to the site’s roleplaying, poetry and manga forums.

The Fan's POV - Castle Point Anime Convention and I-Con 28

"The Fan's POV" and Out-of-Time Productions will be at it again, going to conventions and covering them from a fan's point of view. On March 29th, "The Fan's POV" will be covering the second annual Castle Point Anime Convention from Hoboken, New Jersey. Since the convention is only one day, we will not have any daily updates. However, we will have a post-con wrap-up show hosted by Ernie Layug. The show will be posted on March 30th, 2009.

5 days after final fangirl has left Castle Point Anime Convention, "The Fan's POV" will be venturing in its own backyard as it celebrate the 28th annual I-Con science fiction fandom convention from Brentwood, New York. Host Ernie Layug will be providing daily updates from the convention floor, along with interviews and footage from the convention. On April 6th, we will have a post-con wrap-up show, hosted by Ernie Layug.

There will be a highlights report of both conventions on April 7th, along with the series finale and bloopers of "Whodunit - A Murder Amongst Friends".

The Fan's POV - 2009 Convention Schedule

Out-of-Time Productions' premiere convention report show "The Fan's POV" has set their schedule for 2009. We will premiere our second season in our own backyard of New York City with New York Comic Con in February. Ray Reilly, Mark Szarek, and Ernie Layug will be reporting from the convention. In 2009, "The Fan's POV" will be visiting 6 new conventions throughout the USA, including travelling cross-country to the biggest anime convention in the country, Anime Expo. Our coverage will end at the MangaNEXT in New Jersey.

Feb 6-8 - New York Comic Con 2009 (New York, NY)
Feb 13-15 - Katsucon 15 (Virginia City, VA)
Mar 29 - Castle Point Anime Convention (Hoboken, NJ)
Apr 3-5 - I-Con 28 (Brentwood, NY)
May 8-10 - Anime Central 2009 (Rosemont, IL)
May 22-24 - Anime Boston 2009 (Boston, MA)
Jun 12-14 - AnimeNEXT 2009 (Somerset, NJ)
Jul 2-5 - Anime Expo 2009 (Los Angeles, CA)
Jul 10-12 - Jampcon (Chattanooga, TN)
Jul 13-15 - MLB All-Star Weekend (St. Louis, MO)
Jul 17-19 - Otakon 2009 (Baltimore, MD)
Jul 31-Aug 2 - Connecticon 2009 (Hartford, CT)
Sept 27-29 - New York Anime Festival 2009 (New York, NY)
Oct 30-Nov 1 - MangaNEXT 2008 (Somerset, NJ)

(NOTE: Schedule is subject to change)