GUEST BLOG London Gaming Anime Con

It's coming this weekend and Rebecca Moriarty shares the highlights of the con and why you should attend...

This is a guest blog by Rebecca Moriarty, founder of League of Extraordinary Cosplayers and Head of Press for London Gaming Anime Con :

Top of the highlights to look out for over the weekend is our headline guest Colleen Clickenbeard, American voice actress. This is a great opportunity for One Piece fans as Colleen voices the lead, Luffy, also a bonus for Dragon Ball Z fans as she voices Gohan! Colleen will be doing a free signing between 1pm and 3pm on Sunday for fans, so don’t miss out!

The event is very close to Valentine’s Day, so we have decided to add a little romance with a fun cosplay "blind date" event, in style of Cilla Black’s '90s show. For the first time ever we're also holding a convention speed dating event, which I have the honour of organising. This will be a great way to meet new people and maybe even help you find The One! We even have Ai My Maid, a Japanese inspired maid café, serving heart shaped cakes, cookies and pastries to get you in the mood...

Although gaming will be a big part of the con this year, cosplay has always and forever will be an important factor of our events, with the UK high profile cosplayers attending as guests to provide panels, advice and workshops; including Tabitha Lyons, Kelly Jean and Stacey Rebecca. For attendees we have our cosplay contest on the Sunday with a grand prize of £100, which would be a great investment for a future costume.

You may have seen that I recently participated in the E4 series Geeks where I jetted off to Los Angeles with two other cosplayers, where we shared our hobby with LA. Along with some of the other participants in the series, I will be hosting a panel at 6pm on Saturday regarding the portrayal of cosplayers on TV, discussing our experience and additionally discussing Heroes Of Cosplay , another reality show.

A reason that many of our attendees choose to come to London Anime Gaming Con is the social side, with the conventions relaxed atmosphere and lively parties including a glow stick rave and j-pop tunes. That is the reason this year we have introduced an opening night party on Friday which is free for weekend ticket holders, £5 for everyone else. More info can be found at the Facebook page .

The event takes place at London Metropolitan University , Holloway Road. Tickets for the event can be bought on the door priced £13 (Saturday) or £10 (Sunday). For more information regarding the convention, visit the official website . The convention is also on Twitter .