Anime Detour - History

History

Anime Detour was first held in 2004, after a 2-year period of research and planning (established June 2002), by the non-profit organization Anime Twin Cites, Inc. Initial attendance was only expected to be in the range of 400~600 participants. The staff was somewhat surprised and overwhelmed at the positive response and resulting 1,200 person attendance. Since then, Anime Detour has imposed a yearly attendance cap in order to maintain the feel of a "small" anime convention and also to control "the explosive growth of many anime conventions" with controlled growth, safety, and training being key points of annual convention planning. While the staff and organizers of Anime Detour are not opposed to it becoming one of the premiere midwest anime conventions, rivalling AnimeIowa or Anime Central, they prefer to do so in small steps, hopefully avoiding most of the growing pains experienced by conventions that undergo exponential attendance growth.