Events

Welcome Party and Game show

Friday night is party night! We have a big free buffet, lots of party games including Piñata bashing and multiplayer twister, plus there will be popcorn and candyfloss! Once all the food has gone the Minami Variety show gets underway... this is where the committee members make a dash for it before being dragged up on stage as victims for 'Iron Cosplay'.

Cosplay Photo Shoot

Running over two days of the convention, a chance to get your shots taken professional-style – a priceless souvenir for the weekend! Strike a pose!

Chill Room

A room, for chilling... things. Dead bodies and the like. Not that there will be any of those, although there may be some unconscious gophers after Game Show setup...

Fanime Disco

Choco DJs her way through the night with the latest Anime/J-Pop hits.

Games Room

Get together with your friends and compete in the latest and greatest from arcade games from Japan, courtesy of the amazing DDR:UK.

Karaoke

Sing! Sing! Sing, my prettiesssss!.

Kotatsu Lounge

Need some where to kick back and celebrate the end of the con? Where better than in our traditional kotatsu lounge - snuggle under a heated table and enjoy games both traditional and modern in the company of friends old and new as the con winds down.

Maid Café

The wonderful Maids of England will recreate a traditional Maid café, they will sing, dance and serve their way into your hearts!

Masquerade

Cosplayers take to the stage to show off their creations, with a mixture of showcases and live performances...

Masquerade Briefing

The pre-masquerade briefing for all cosplayers who are participating. Important super-secret information that will help ensure that Mr Cock-up doesn't come to visit your performance will be imparted here, so be sure to attend! (also, attendance is mandatory for anyone doing a skit, which is another good reason to be there!)

Video Programme

Every year we arrange for 3 video streams showing quite a mix of different anime and live action. Some of it may even be new (ish!)

Closing Ceremony

The End of the Con! It's over! Except for the people who haven't collected their auction items yet. And the gophers. And the committee. And the people who left already. Oh, nowait, it's over for them. It's over for them.

Auction

After the masquerade we hold our annual charity auction, in which people spend Far Too Much Money on Tat They Don't Need, but it's all right because It's For Charity.

Auction Item Viewing

Your chance to get up close and personal with our junk… for charity.

Bring & Buy

You can buy things really cheap! You can sell things (just make sure they're really cheap). It's the black hole of anime and manga from yester-year; your only hope to navigate it is the team of gopher sherpas who live behind the desks (and work for Pocky).

Dealers Rooms

Each year the dealers come up with ever more creative ways to cram more goodies onto there tables – watch as Gurinder tries even higher stacks of Gundam kits, whilst Mr Ferengi from UP tries levitation.

Memorabillia Sale

Come and buy Minamicon's priceless historical artifacts for a low, low price! (Note: one person's artifact is another person's tat... this case, the other person being Neil, mainly)

Build Your Own Piñata

Toy with them and then Destroy Them! (no, not an excerpt from the Committee's Gopher Handling Guide...) Build your favourite Anime idol or most hated anime villain for the Minamicon fairground, then watch as it gets beaten to smitherines for all to feast on its tasty innards!

Cosplay/Masquerade

The great and the good of cosplayers vie for everyone's attention! Watch as amazing costumes are paraded through the hotel; giant robots try to make it up the aisle; gaffer tape gets used to fix things that *really* should not need sticking down and observe the judges hide in the bar whilst they think of comedy categories (with the aid of alcohol, lots of alcohol).

Cows Arse Anime Bullseye

Take an trip down memory lane... with a twist. An all-new game show from the two dunderheads who were responsible for Name That Tune, combining anime knowledge with plain old slapstick for a pub quiz with a difference!

Gundam Speed Building

Gurinder's Gundam Garage of Mayhem - grab some tools and put your ultra-lightspeed construction skills to the test!

Iron Artist

West Country Anime are at it again, delving in to the deepest darkest pits of their minds to produce more vile concoctions for their unsuspecting participants to draw.

Iron Cosplay

The ultimate cosplay challenge, or the chance to stitch up one of your mates… in all probability, both. Make what ever Meng feels like on the day :D

Ita-sha Scalextric

Pretend you're Speed Racer with the Minami Super Circuit! An unmissable opportunity to tear up the track and drift your way to victory as your favourite anime character!

J-Pop Quiz

No-knowledge-required J-Pop quiz, asking questions about the bizzare world of Japanese Pop music and celebrity.  People are encouraged to enter by themselves or in teams - and the winners will get fabulous prizes. There will also be some party games during the quiz. Covering a number of genres within Japanese music, and even a little bit of K-Pop!

Mario Table Hockey

It's hockey, but played on top of a table, with an Italian plumber as the puck. That sounds a lot more like a torture scene from a mafia movie than a family-friendly Minamicon activity, but I guess I'll have to trust that the event team either (a) know what they're doing or (b) have already bribed the judge.

Pub Quiz

The Minami pub quiz takes on all challengers - old and new, the no-knowledge-required quiz that offers everyone a chance, thereby redefining that very nature of the term "Quiz"... into something closer to "Lottery", perhaps?

10 Steps to Becoming a Super Popular Cosplayaz

The foolproof guide to becoming famous on the interwebs. (or, as the case may well be, not)

The Absolute Basics of Wigs and Wig Care

How to choose wigs, how to look after wigs (including storing them and washing them), how to brush wigs, how to trim those bangs or cut wigs to be shorter, and how to do some basic styling. Even how to put on wigs properly! (Note: this talk may contain wigs)

Adding Designs to Cosplay

Fed up of painting onto fabric and wondering why you hate life? Tab demonstrates several unusual techniques for adding logos, designs and faux embroidery to fabric.

Cascading Cosplayers to Music

Nert from ManyLemons talks about the phenomenon of pacing circles around cosplayers while balancing cameras on increasingly elaborate pendulums and then setting it to music. Whether you want to make your own, be part of one, or just heckle, all are welcome!

The Counter-Culture of Anime Fandom

Explore and Celebrate Anime, and the way it engages you - the fans! Take a look at the platform for stepping away from your day-to-day lives, covering topics such as fan-fiction and doujinshi as modes of fan expression. Your interaction is strongly encouraged!

Cyberpunk Talk

Discover and discuss the historical origins of cyberpunk, its influence on Japanese animation, and the subsequent influence that the Japanese interpretation of the genre had upon later western cyberpunk material.

Doll Meet

Meet, discuss, share stories and have fun with the photoshoot sets laid out for you and your dolls to enjoy.

Famous Samurai

Join Akemi Solloway as she takes you on a journey into the history of Japan's most famous samurai.

Gunpla - An Addiciton Slightly Cheaper Than Heroin

Gunpla! GUNpla!! GUNPLA!!! Gurinder has all kinds of Gunpla!! Big Gunpla, Small Gunpla, Tiny Gunpla! He will show you all kinds of gunpla! Welcome to Mecha Mecca! (Er… Gunpla == small plastic robot kits, just in case you're wondering)

If You Missed It

The best things are hard to find.. Let Sergi and Morag share their pick of anime's undiscovered gems with you! A whistle-stop tour of delights that struggled to break into four-digit sales figures.

Japanese Etiquette

"Why is it polite to slurp your tea?" - Akemi Solloway presents a guide to the Japanese lifestyle and manners as in Japan.

Japanese Literature

Watch Storme try to discuss 1000+ years of Japanese literature in an hour, focussing on the top 15-or-so most popular/influential authors. You may find a new favourite book, but even if not you'll have some idea of why people go on and on about Soseki or The Tale of Genji. For both beginners and those already familiar with the past thousand years of Japanese written culture!

Japanese Snack Tasting

A cute dinosaur volunteered Babbit to present the snack tasting... Babbit has absolutely no idea what to expect. But apparently there are free snacks; and maybe we get to rate them!

Minami Con Panel

Come and shower the committee with admiration and praise, whilst offering up helpful suggestions for future events. Or, alternatively, just complain about things. Your choice.

Perfect Finish

How to get that perfect finish on your cosplay props! Xearael will share his secrets and techniques in this talk, and show how simple and effective it can really be.

Sake and Shochu Tasting

A range of Sake and Shochu to sample - just remember, it's not "sampling" if you can't find the door afterwards. Also, you must be over 18 to participate in this event.

Cel Painting

Gary & Hunter deliver bring back their cel painting workshop for a third year! This year make your very own Minami Samurai Fairy Cel - no experience required.

Comic Jam

Create your very own one page comic - just doodle for fun, or you can ask for assistance and critique from professional artists from Sweatdrop Studios.

Conbag Creations

Transform your conbag into a colourful comfy cushion to keep as long-lasting memory of your very own!

Cooking with Babbit

Babbit tries to teach you to cook something vaguely Japanese. He is still trying to decide what to cook as this goes to print. A furry member of staff wants him to make omelette roll. Maybe, just maybe...

Custom Kimmidolls

Decorate your very own Kokeshi Kimmidoll Keychain to keep as your own.

Fun with Clay

All you wanted to know but were afraid to ask about the other type of cosplay modelling. Your chance to experience first-hand a sample of clays used by Eurosplay champions Fat Kracken and Xaeral - get hands-on or watch the live demo and learn what clays are best used for.

Hakama Matata

A step by step guide to the cheat's way to make a pair of these traditional Japanese trousers for all your cosplay needs. In true Blue Peter-style learn how to design, mark out, cut, pleat and finish trousers to a close-to-hakama look, then fool your friends and cosplay away!

Japanese Calligraphy

How to hold the brush. Write easy words using Japanese ink and brush. Aim-writing easy words in Japanese.

Japanese Traditional Dance (Nihon Buyo)

Learn the traditional basic dance “ Sakura Sakura “ with Akemi Solloway. An elegant dance representing the blooming of cherry blossoms in spring.

Learning Japanese through Anime

Akemi will be using the Ghibli classic Tonari no Totoro (My Neigbour Totoro) to help you learn the Japanese language.

Origami

Learn the basics or Oragmi and begin sculpting paper creations of your own.

Photography Workshop: Safety Off

An informal photography advice/troubleshooting workshop aimed at people who have a dSLR but lack the confidence and technical knowledge to use it when it's not in green mode, or aren't sure what lenses they should buy or what extra equipment they need.

Puppets

A short talk about different puppets, followed by a "make your own puppet" session.

Sweatdrop Portfolio Production

Bring along your art portfolio and have industry experts assist and offer advice on ways to enhance it! An essential event for any budding artist.