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.
- Created By ptatara
New People Grand Opening! August 15!
New People is a Japanese popular culture store, theater, and art space in San Francisco that opens for the first time this Saturday, and you're invited to attend! The New People opening celebration takes place in the heart of San Francisco’s Japantown and is a day-long festival beginning at 11:00 AM with a ribbon cutting ceremony and a traditional Kagami-wari (breaking of a sake barrel) at the building’s entrance at 1746 Post Street.
A variety of Japanese pop-inspired events including fashion shows, film premieres, live art performances, and mini-concerts by some of Japan’s hottest punk and alternative bands are scheduled throughout the day, and innovative companies from the Bay area and Japan will exhibit an array of products for sale in open air displays on both sides of Post Street. A food court will further complement the celebration with delicious Japanese cuisine.
Guests at the New People grand opening include Yoshitaka Amano, Yuichi Yokoyama, and Baby, The Stars Shine Bright!
Want to learn more? Visit www.newpeopleworld.com!
Cencoroll Comes To NYAF!
I am very, very proud to announce that NYAF is hosting the US Premiere of Aniplex's Cencoroll. What's Cencoroll? Cencoroll is a 30-minute movie created entirely by one man, award-winning artist Atsuya Uki. Uki originally created a Cencoroll short in 2007 and distributed the animation via the internet. Overwhelmed by the praise and support from fans of this original short, Uki decided to single-handedly create a full film which will debut later this month in theaters in Japan -- and debut in the USA at NYAF this September. What's it about? Cencoroll is the story of a provincial Japanese town under attack by a mysterious monster, and the young girl -- Yuki -- and boy -- Tetsu -- who hold the secret to fighting back: a strange and even-more-mysterious pet called Cenco. For more information and footage of Cencoroll, please visit the film's official site (www.cencoroll.com).
NYAF screened the original Cencoroll short at our first show in 2007, and we count ourselves as very fortunate to now revisit this world and present the American premiere of the full film.
NYC Japan Street Fair � August 23
What are you doing Sunday, August 23? Going to NYC's first Japanese Street Fair! The "NYC Japan Fair" runs from 11 AM to 6 PM on Sunday, August 23 from 43rd to 44th Street on Madison Avenue. The Fair’s approximately 40 booths will offer traditional Japanese goods including miso-marinaded beef, roasted mochi, and okonomiyaki, sell Japanese goods including tenugui, anime, and manga, and there'll be ikebana, calligraphy, and martial arts lessons, too.
Well-known Japanese brands including Marukome, Hisamitsu America Inc., Ajinomoto, Otafuku Foods, and Kikkoman will all be participating. In addition, local Japanese restaurants and companies including Café Zaiya, Washoku Café, and Book-Off will be there.
And… Lucky visitors can win round-trip tickets to Japan.
For details, follow the Fair on Twitter (@NYCJapanFair) and read its blog (http://nycjapanfair.blogspot.com/).
NYAF Goes To Japan!
NYAF friends Anna Fischer, Renee Gloger, and Leo Lee along with World Cosplay Summit Team USA -- India Davis and Elizabeth Licata -- are right now in Tokyo, sightseeing and causing chaos in the lead up to this year's World Cosplay Summit.
Leo's got photos of the girls online over at Flickr, including some shots of them visiting Tokyo's giant Gundam. Check his images out here… http://www.flickr.com/photos/ljinto/3767676828/in/set-72157621878309926/
Also, follow Team USA as they tour through Japan over on their official LiveJournal page. Be sure to send them your love from the USA… http://community.livejournal.com/wcs_teamusa09
And if you want to go to Japan, sign up for the Yume Cosplay Prize right now at www.nyanimefestival.com, as the winners of NYAF's Masquerade this year will be heading out to the Tokyo Anime Fair!
DramaFever Launch Party � August 6
NYAF friend David Hou is currently working on a new site, DramaFever.com. An online video portal for high-quality, subtitled Asian prime time television -- all 100% legal thanks to ground-breaking partnerships with top Asian networks including MBC America and KBS Internet Co., Ltd, it’s going to be the Hulu of Asian Dramas.
The public launch date of DramaFever.com is Thursday, August 6, and to celebrate, DramaFever will host a launch party this same day in New York City at Circle Nightclub. The event is free and open to the (21+) public. Guests will receive gift bags from sponsors Ito En, Theme Magazine, TimeOutNY magazine, mark. cosmetics, MiN New York, and La Vie Zen Spa, and there will also be special performances by Asian American artists Magnetic North, Kelly Zen-Yie Tsai, and Taiyo Na.
DramaFever Launch Party
August 6, 7-9 PM
Circle Nightclub
135 W. 41st St.
Get your drama on!
