Idol Matsuri 2015 get!

There was a lot of things I wanted to do last year but could not because of financial restrictions and one of the major ones was going to the first Idol Matsuri in Silverdale, WA. Even though I was not familiar with the guests it still seemed like something with a lot of promise and I wanted to support it to see this grow and hopefully help spread Japanese idols to a wider audience. Of course I doubt J-idols will ever be mainstream in the West but that does not mean it cannot be a nice niche interest in it, much like anime.

That all said that first Idol Matsuri was successful enough that the organizers are going to try for a follow up this year. Though they want to do a few things differently to help improve the experience for all. The first item on the agenda is to get a space in the Seattle-Tacoma (or Seatac) area to make it easier for both guests and attendees to get to the convention. They need help for this and have a Kickstarter to help make it happen. They just need 600USD for this goal and already have over haf of that raised. But they need the rest in a little under two weeks for it to succeed.

The longer this convention keeps going and continues to be successful the greater the chance they will be able to bring over the idols that you want to be able to see. And for those that do not live in or near Japan this may be the easier way to meet them. Not to mention with the first year they were able to bring over a couple indie idol groups so fans of indie idols definitely benefit from this as they probably much more access to the groups than they would going to Japan. Also indie groups don't make the trip to the U.S. if they were not able to make money off of it, so this is one way an overseas fan can directly support the idols they love.

While I cannot commit to being able to go this year I am planning on doing so. It is far enough in the future that I can feasibly save up for it and I have friends I would love to visit while I am out there so I know no matter what it will be a worthwhile trip. Of course none of that will matter if this does not get up off the ground, so I will be pitching in what I can to help and I hope everyone else interested in Japanese idols will do so as well.