Bak-Anime

Last updated
Bak-Anime
StatusActive
Genre Anime, Manga, Video Games [1] [2]
VenueKern County Fairgrounds
Location(s) Bakersfield, California
CountryUnited States
Inaugurated2010
Website http://www.bak-anime.com/

Bak-Anime is an annual two-day anime convention held during May/June at the Kern County Fairgrounds in Bakersfield, California by the staff of SacAnime. [3] The convention is the sister conventions to the Bakersfield Comic Con, Sacramento Comic, Toy and Anime Show (Sac-Con), and SacAnime.

Contents

Programming

The convention typically offers an artists’ alley, card game tournaments, cosplay contest, dealer's room, and a swap meet. [4] [5] [6]

History

The convention began due to the requests of fans from the Bakersfield Comic Con. [7] [8] Bak-Anime in winter 2013 moved to the Bakersfield Marriott due to growth and for the fall 2013 event expanded to two days. [1] [7] [8] The expansion in the fall was considered a risk due to the increased costs of events run at that time of the year. [1] The convention returned to one day in June 2014, and re-expanded to two days in January 2015. [9] [10] The 2019 event occupied two of the Kern County Fairgrounds buildings. [6] Bak-Anime 2020 was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [11] [12] Bak-Anime 2021 was also cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [13] [14]

Event history

DatesLocationAtten.Guests
May 2, 2010Doubletree Hotel Bakersfield
Bakersfield, California
Katie Bair and Liam O'Brien. [3]
January 23, 2011Doubletree Hotel Bakersfield
Bakersfield, California
Stephanie Lesniak, Billy Martinez, and Vic Mignogna. [15]
April 22, 2012Doubletree Hotel Bakersfield
Bakersfield, California
1,100 [7] Laura Bailey, Billy Martinez, and Travis Willingham. [16]
January 20, 2013Bakersfield Marriott at the Convention Center
Bakersfield, California
1,400
(est) [17]
Ivy Doomkitty, Billy Martinez, Roger Craig Smith, and Nate Watson. [18]
November 2–3, 2013Bakersfield Marriott at the Convention Center
Bakersfield, California
Akai SKY, Jennifer Hale, Liam O'Brien, and Sam Riegel. [19]
June 22, 2014Bakersfield Marriott at the Convention Center
Bakersfield, California
Trina Nishimura and Brina Palencia. [20]
January 24–25, 2015Bakersfield Marriott at the Convention Center
Bakersfield, California
around 1,400
(est) [21]
Christine Marie Cabanos, Kyle Hebert, and Cristina Vee. [22] [23]
February 6–7, 2016Bakersfield Marriott at the Convention Center
Bakersfield, California
Johnny Yong Bosch, Eyeshine, Tony Fleecs, Ali Hillis, [24] and Kyle Hebert, Roger Jackson. [21]
February 25–26, 2017Kern County Fairgrounds
Bakersfield, California
around 3,500
(est) [25] [26]
Karan Ashley, Walter E. Jones, Cherami Leigh Danielle McRae, Vic Mignogna, and David Yost. [26]
February 3–4, 2018Kern County Fairgrounds
Bakersfield, California
Feodor Chin, Liam O'Brien, Josh Petersdorf, and David Yost. [27]
February 2–3, 2019Kern County Fairgrounds
Bakersfield, California
Kellen Goff, Kenny James, Neil Kaplan, Vic Mignogna, and Tara Sands. [28]
May 21-22, 2022Kern County Fairgrounds
Bakersfield, California
Mela Lee, Vic Mignogna, Sarah Natochenny, Alicyn Packard, Nate Watson, Ezra Weisz, Joe Zieja, [29] and James Mathis III. [30]
May 20-21, 2023Kern County Fairgrounds
Bakersfield, California
Laila Berzins, Brook Chalmers, Ian James Corlett, Tony Fleecs, Josey McCoy, Patrick Pedraza, and Dina Sherman. [31]
June 1-2, 2024Kern County Fairgrounds
Bakersfield, California
A.J. Beckles, Griffin Burns, Sean Chiplock, Doug Erholtz, Chris Hackney, Anairis Quiñones, Christopher Corey Smith, Karen Strassman, and Dan Woren. [32]
May 31 - June 1, 2025Kern County Fairgrounds
Bakersfield, California
JB Blanc, Catero Colbert, Dorothy Fahn, Tom Fahn, Mara Junot, Anjali Kunapaneni, Erica Luttrell, Kayleigh McKee, Jonah Scott, Nate Watson, [33] Natasha Craig, and Scott Joseph. [34]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Dias, Stefani (October 30, 2013). "Anime-azing weekend ahead for serious fans". The Bakersfield Californian. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
  2. Wheat, Graham C (November 6, 2013). "Hale, Riegel and O'Brien take center stage at Bak-Anime". The Renegade Rip. Retrieved 18 July 2014.
  3. 1 2 "Bak-Anime 2010 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2012-06-01.
  4. Luiz, Joseph (February 3, 2018). "Getting animated: County fairgrounds hosts Bak-Anime convention". The Bakersfield Californian. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
  5. "Get animated for return of Bak-Anime this weekend". The Bakersfield Californian. January 31, 2018. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
  6. 1 2 Chandy, Asha (January 26, 2019). "Bak-Anime a two-day event chock-full of Japanese pop culture". The Bakersfield Californian. Retrieved 12 April 2019.
  7. 1 2 3 Dias, Stefani (January 18, 2013). "Mad for manga? Head to Bak-Anime". The Bakersfield Californian. Retrieved 21 January 2013.
  8. 1 2 "Bak-Anime, Bakersfield anime convention held at Marriott". ABC 23 - Scripps TV Station Group. January 20, 2013. Archived from the original on January 26, 2013. Retrieved 21 January 2013.
  9. Dias, Stefani (June 18, 2014). "Bronies, actors and cosplay, oh my!". The Bakersfield Californian. Retrieved 19 July 2014.
  10. Houghtaling, Lexie (January 26, 2015). "Fans head out to Bakersfield Anime Convention". Bakersfield Now. Archived from the original on 9 March 2016. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
  11. "Thank You! See You Next Year". Facebook. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
  12. "Bak-Anime 2020 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2020-04-22.
  13. "Bak-Anime Postponing to 2022 - Bak-Anime". Bak-Anime. April 21, 2021. Archived from the original on 7 May 2021. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
  14. "Bak-Anime 2021 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2021-05-07.
  15. "Bak-Anime 2011 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2012-06-01.
  16. "Bak-Anime 2012 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2012-06-01.
  17. Shin, Robin (January 30, 2013). "Cosplayers gather at Bak-Anime". The Renegade Rip. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
  18. "Bak-Anime 2013 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2013-01-21.
  19. "Bak-Anime 2013 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2013-10-30.
  20. "Bak-Anime 2014 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2014-06-13.
  21. 1 2 Dias, Stefani (February 3, 2016). "Bak-Anime illustrates commitment to community". The Bakersfield Californian. Retrieved 22 February 2016.
  22. "Bak-Anime 2015 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2014-12-08.
  23. Ardis, Kelly (January 21, 2015). "Who was that masked man? Find out at Bak-Anime". The Bakersfield Californian. Retrieved January 10, 2017.
  24. "Bak-Anime 2016 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2016-02-02.
  25. Dias, Stefani (February 27, 2017). "New theater takes a bow". Bakersfield Now. Retrieved 16 March 2017.
  26. 1 2 "Bak-Anime 2017 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2017-06-11.
  27. "Bak-Anime 2018 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2018-02-06.
  28. "Bak-Anime 2019 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2019-04-12.
  29. "Bak-Anime 2022 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2022-05-31.
  30. Torrez, Marco (22 May 2022). "Bak-Anime returns to Bakersfield with thousands of fans flooding the Kern County Fairgrounds". KGET. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
  31. "Bak-Anime 2023 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2023-06-13.
  32. "Bak-Anime 2024 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2024-06-11.
  33. "Bak-Anime 2025 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2025-06-09.
  34. Dias, Stefani (27 May 2025). "Bak-Anime back for more fun at fairgrounds". The Bakersfield Californian. Retrieved 9 June 2025.

35°20′35″N119°0′27″W / 35.34306°N 119.00750°W / 35.34306; -119.00750