Lovers of art, crafts and a multiverse of fandoms were treated to a spectacular festival as Fanfes 2024 brought the joy of creativity to the community last May 18-19, 2024 at Space at One Ayala in Makati City. With hidden and valuable treasures to be found and entertainment and attractions to its multitude of fans and attendees, Fanfes continues its tradition of being an engaging and enjoyable event.
Fanfes was the second event in the Chronicles of Cosplay Mania Event series for 2024. Since its humble beginnings in 2018, this year’s edition brought a new level of excitement and engagement as it moved to the newly-built Space at One Ayala Convention Center, Makati’s first Trade Hall. Also touted as the biggest edition to date with 2,700 square meters of event space, Fanfes 2024 brought a new world of fun and excitement to an eager crowd.
With art and creativity as its over-arching focus and theme, Fanfes 2024 was a marketplace filled with a multitude of attractions, exhibitors, booths and features all around the venue, attendees had a blast with the fantastic world Fanfes had to offer and the incredible an]mount of merch, collectibles, accessories, art, and food of all kinds on hand.
Fanfes 2024: The Steel Smith Arc brought its audience to a world of steel and steam, and it was strongly seen on stage with themed activities, performances and contests on stage all weekend long led by talented hosts Jillian, Korin and Kenkoy.
Amazing dance performances by idol groups Feedb5ck and DNE wowed the crowd with their energy.
Fan-favorite Cosplay Auctions satisfied the community’s needs for rare and irresistible merch and novelties, with prices starting at just 1 peso.
Fun contests like Price Fight, Facepalm the Music, and Guess the Sketch kept the audience on their toes as these tested their knowledge of anime, music and fandoms. The crowd was also excited about the return of the Yoshinoya Gyudon Eating Contest where the audience for to cheer on as contestants tried to be the first to finish their bowls.
Think Talk was a new segment that brought an engaging discussion on important issues with a panel of experts, giving tips, tricks and lots on info on interesting topics as well as taking questions from the audience. Day 1 featured the various aspects of having a booth at events, while Day 2 was about the effects of generative AI on our community.
Singing contests like Cosplay Karaoke and Anisong Unleashed had some of the best singers in the community going toe to toe with each other in giving their best musical performances. They had the audience cheering and singing along to well-loved tunes that transcended generations, even with the additional twist of songs being chosen for them at random.
Fanfes has also prided itself with its diverse and exciting cosplay contests. Day 1 had Solo Cosplay Catwalk where contestants showed off their cosplays and talents in front of the crowd. Day 2 had Steel the Show that got to showcase steel, armor and mecha cosplays to the delight of the judges and the crowd.
Fanfes 2024 was also especially sensational with four international special guests from South Korea: Berry, ing, JooA and Tomia. They got to show off their amazing talent and cosplays to their Filipino fans at special stage segments, surprise appearances and performances, judging the various contests, as well as meet and greet sessions all weekend long.
There was also the announcement of the special guests for cosplay.ph’s upcoming event, ACX 2024, set for July 20-21, 2024 at the SMX Convention Center Manila, and they are Cos Aim and Kurumin San from Thailand.
With tickets having sold out and with thousands of attendees flocking to the event, the event was a huge success, and Fanfes once again proves that art and creativity is very much alive and enjoyed by the community.
arkadymac.com has been proud to be Fanfes 2024’s official media partner for the sixth straight year. Many thanks to our photographer Marvin for his shots, our Editor-in-Chief Jillian, and to our Correspondents Stephanie, Lia, Shi and Vanessa for helping us cover the event. Many thanks as well to Marivic Aguilar and Camille Anne Regala of Unreplicated MNL for helping us with their shots.
And thank you for dropping by. Do visit us again for more features here at arkadymac.com.
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