Anime Iowa is one of the smaller conventions, usually taking place over Labor Day Weekend around Cedar Rapids. Its small size means that you won't see a plethora of A1 guests and you can't spend hours wandering the dealer room -- but it is a pretty cozy con. Although the halls aren't filled with cosplayers, the people who do cosplay are pretty supportive. The small size means that the masquerade is not a half-day time commitment and the staff can pull together a number of niceties that larger cons can't.

Each year, the convention sports a large pinata of some cute anime character. (One year, it was P-chan from Ranma 1/2.) While the masquerade judges decide who gets to go home with prizes, the M.C. auctions off the opportunity to smack the pinata, which is filled with all sorts of goodies. (This can be surprisingly therapeutic ....) You can while away the hours on an old Macross stand-up arcade machine -- set so that no quarters are required.