Ahoy, I'm Peter Tatara. In brief, I'm left-handed, a vegetarian, and my blood type is A. I work for the New York Comic Con and New York Anime Festival and have a cute girlfriend and a Space: Above & Beyond boxset. I'm generally a happy guy.

HAPPYFUNSMILE SQUARED

Local band -- and friend of show -- HAPPYFUNSMILE plays an amalgam of Japanese street music, festival beats, and folk songs that's uniquely NYC -- and you've got two chances to see them this week.

HAPPYFUNSMILE will be performing a free show on October 30 at Forbidden City (just a few blocks from Forbidden Planet) in NYC. Taking place at 9 PM at 212 Avenue A (between 13th and 14th Streets), this is the band's annual Halloween gig. In other words, cosplay is encouraged! For more, visit…

http://www.mediumatlarge.net/2009/10/happyfunsmile-at-forbidden-city.html

Then, just a few nights later, the first J-Summit New York Halloween Party is taking place. On Sunday, November 1 at Webster Hall, it'll feature Uzuhi, Lilac, Gurigula, Kossan, Fuse, Ebina Kenichi, 10tecomai, DJ Frost, DJ AKi, DJ Yoshiki, and HAPPYFUNSMILE. Alone Together NYC will present a NY Meets Japan Fashion Show and Costume Contest, and there'll be a trip to Japan given away as part of the night. Doors open at 3 PM, and it's $25 at the door. Webster Hall is at 125 East 11th St. For more, visit…

http://www.mediumatlarge.net/2009/10/j-summit-new-york-halloween-party.html

NYAF isn't organizing either of the above activities, but they're events we want you -- as a New York Anime Fan -- to know about.

NYC Dumpling Festival – Oct 24

I love New York. I love the people, the places, and events, the opportunities, and the food. And I love when it all intersects. Like this weekend at the first ever NYC Dumpling Festival -- taking place October 24 in Sara D. Roosevelt Park off East Houston Street in Manhattan.

From 12 PM to 5 PM in Chinatown, the event will feature cookbook signings with Chefs Wai Hon Chu (co-author of The Dumpling: A Seasonal Guide) and Jaden Hair (author of The Steamy Kitchen Cookbook: 101 Asian Recipes Simple Enough for Tonight's Dinner), an East Village dumpling tour, dumpling making classes, family games, and a dumpling eating contest. Guests and attendees will also be able to taste and experience dumplings from around the world with offerings such as gnocchi (Italy), tamale (Mexico), palitaw (Philippines), kuih koci (Malaysia), idli (India), bao (China), and pierogi (Poland).

All proceeds from the NYC Dumpling Festival will benefit the Food Bank For New York City. (And a big thanks for C.B. Cebulski for the tip!)

Osamu Tezuka Day is Sunday at Kinokuniya!

Don't forget that Sunday, October 18 is Osamu Tezuka Day at Kinokuniya Bookstore in NYC! The full schedule is nyanimefest.com. Swing on by 1073 Ave of the Americas starting at noon to meet up with NYAF, Vertical, Abrams, and Samurai Beat Radio as we all celebrate Osamu Tezuka and our favorite Tezuka characters.

And, yes, there will be giveaways. Rumor has it, there'll be boxes of manga and DVDs from this year's New York Anime Festival.

Anime USA is a Yume Cosplay Prize Preliminary!

NYAF has the joy of announcing that Anime USA in Arlington, Virginia will serve as a preliminary for the 2010 New York Anime Festival's Yume Cosplay Prize. The winners of this year’s Anime USA Masquerade will take home a trip to New York City and a guaranteed spot in the 2010 NYAF's Yume Cosplay Prize Finals -- with the winners of the Finals winning a week-long trip to Japan.

Anime USA takes place November 20-22 this year at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City in Arlington, Virginia. Guests include Steve Blum, Michael Sinterniklaas, Leah Clark, and J. Michael Tatum. This year's New York Anime Festival took place September 25-27 at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City. Guests included Yoshiyuki Tomino, Yui Makino, Kyle Hebert, and Monica Rial. At this year's NYAF, cosplayers Yaya Han and Anna Raper won the first ever Yume Cosplay Prize at NYAF's Masquerade. Ms. Han and Ms. Raper will be traveling to Tokyo, Japan next Spring and attending the Tokyo International Anime Fair, their trip provided by the New York Anime Festival.

The winners of this year's Anime USA Masquerade will compete in next year's New York Anime Festival Yume Cosplay Prize Masquerade for a chance at winning a trip to Tokyo, Japan in 2011. To compete in the Anime USA Yume Cosplay Prize Preliminaries, cosplayers:

1) Must be available to attend Anime USA in 2009 and the New York Anime Festival in 2010

2) Must be 18 years of age

3) Must be citizens or legal residents of the USA

4) Must be available to participate in Anime USA promotional activities

5) Must enter in teams of two, or if entering in a team of more than two, select two members to head on to NYC

Winners of the Anime USA Yume Cosplay Prize Preliminaries receive:

1) Free roundtrip transportation for two from Virginia to New York City

2) Free accommodations for two at a NYAF official convention hotel in New York City

3) Free passes for two to the 2010 New York Anime Festival

4) A guaranteed place in the 2010 Yume Cosplay Masquerade Finals

For more information on the Anime USA Masquerade, please visit animeusa.org. For more information on the Yume Cosplay Masquerade, visit newyorkanimefestival.com. Additional conventions interested in hosting Regional Preliminaries for the 2010 Yume Cosplay Prize should contact New York Anime Festival Programming Director Peter Tatara (ptatara@reedexpo.com).

J-Summit Halloween Party

The first J-Summit New York Halloween Party is taking place Sunday, November 1 at Webster Hall. NYAF isn't organzing the event, but we're happy to spread the word.

Uzuhi, Lilac, Gurigula, HappyFunSmile, Kossan, Fuse, Ebina Kenichi, 10tecomai, DJ Frost, DJ AKi, and DJ Yoshiki will be performing. Alone Together NYC will present a NY Meets Japan Fashion Show and Halloween Contest.

Doors open at 3 PM. $25 at the door.

Webster Hall is at 125 East 11th St.