March 16, 2009
News for Ai-Kon 2009:
Ai-Kon confirms guests of honour and ticket rates
Convention tickets go on sale April 6 through Ticketmaster.Winnipeg, MB - March 16, 2009 — Ai-Kon has confirmed its guests for 2009, with Stephanie Sheh headlining the event, as well as fellow North American voice actor Caitlin Glass, and industry producer Jan Scott-Frazier.
Sheh, Glass, and Scott-Frazier will host and participate in a variety of events — including panels and autograph sessions during the three days of the convention, scheduled for July 24, 25 and 26 at the Winnipeg Convention Centre.
Stephanie Sheh
Stephanie Sheh currently serves as the lead character as Jen in Three Delivery on Nicktoons. Sheh's other notable voice acting roles include Hinata in Naruto, Orihime in Bleach, Kinon in Gurren Lagan, Akira in Lucky Star, Eureka in Eureka 7, and Mamimi in FLCL.
Sheh has also voiced over in games for companies including Sony, SEGA, Capcom and SQUARE-ENIX.
Caitlin Glass
Caitlin Glass currently serves as the voice of Haruhi Fujioka in Ouran High School Host Club. Glass's other notable voice acting roles include Winry Rockbell in Fullmetal Alchemist, Takane in Burst Angel, Lala in D. Gray Man, Triela in Gunslinger Girl, and Wendy in Trinity Blood.
Glass has also voiced over in games, including Cammy in Street Fighter IV, Aya in Infinite Undiscovery, and Winry Rockbell in Fullmetal Alchemist: The Curse of the Crimson Elixir and Fullmetal Alchemist: Dual Sympathy.
More information is available on her website www.caitlinglass.com
Jan Scott-Frazier
Jan has worked in the animation (anime) industry in Japan for almost 14 years. She attended animation school and later went on to work at a number of studios including Artland, Production IG and Atelier BWCA on shows including RikiOh 2, Locke the Superman (OVA), Shurato (OVA), Bubblegum Crash (OVA) and Tottoi (feature). She's become an expert in many different aspects of animation production, such as cel painting, animating, backgrounds, camera and directing. In 1991 she founded an animation studio - TAO Corp. Ltd. in Bangkok, Thailand. Also in 1994, Jan co-founded GENESIS Digital Publishing Company with Izumi Matsumoto (Kimagure Orange Road) where they created the best-selling Comic ON, a CD-ROM manga compendium in which Jan debuted as a manga artist. In 1999 Jan directed episodes of Susie-chan & Marvy (TV) and spent most of the year working on the development of original TV series projects.
More information is available on her website www.janscottfrazier.com
ABOUT AI-KON: Ai-Kon is Manitoba's largest anime convention. An all-ages event, the goal of Ai-Kon is the promotion of Japanese/Asian animation and culture to the public. Started by the University of Manitoba Japanese Animation Club (UMAnime) in 2001, Ai-Kon took a reorganizational hiatus in 2002, returning in 2003. Ai-Kon has since become an autonomous event, run by an independent volunteer board. "Ai" means "love" in Japanese, hence Ai-Kon's slogan "For the Love of Anime".
In 2008 approximately 1,900 people attended Ai-Kon, and organizers anticipate attendance numbers over 2,000 for this year's convention. Ai-Kon was moved to a larger facility in 2005 increasing the comfort and enjoyment of those attending.
Available through Ticketmaster beginning April 6 at 10 a.m., Ai-Kon weekend passes are $34 plus taxes and agency fees until June 30, and $39 plus taxes and agency fees on July 1 to Convention day and available through Ticketmaster. Individual day passes are available only on their respective days. Children under 8 are free and must be accompanied by a paying adult. Full details will soon be available on the Ai-Kon website, www.ai-kon.org.
ABOUT ANIME: Anime is Japanese animation, and is known for its wide range of styles and genres. Anime has grown exponentially in popularity in North America in the last 10 years, with an ever-increasing list of titles licensed for North American distribution. Popular anime titles include Naruto, Bleach, Death Note, Neon Genesis Evangelion, One Piece, and Sailor Moon.
