Merchandise: The convention has a large Dealers' Area in which commercial merchants such retailers and professional artists and crafters set up booths and sell anime, manga and video game related merchandise. It is one of the main attractions of the convention. There is also a garage sale section where attendees can buy used merchandise items. Music: There are musical performances throughout the weekend. There is at least one concert at the convention featuring a musical Guest. Otakuthon also features karaoke rooms and hosts the Otakuthon Idol singing contest and the J-Music in Motion show. Panels and workshops: Otakuthon, like almost every convention, has panels and workshops on subjects such as various anime series, how to draw manga, voice acting, Japanese culture and a variety of other topics. While Guests of Honour discuss and tell news or stories about their roles or occupations and answer questions from the audience, most panels and workshops are given by fans rather than Guests. Saturday Night Dance: There is a late-night dance party on Saturday night hosted by Montreal area (and sometimes Guest) anime DJs. Video screenings: There are many rooms in which anime series, films and OVAs and live action J-Dramas are shown on projector screens during the convention. Fan-made productions such as fan parodies and anime music videos (AMVs) are also shown. For those who prefer reading manga, there is a room where the entire manga library collection of Otaku Anime is at the disposal of attendees to borrow and read. Sub-events: Each year, Otakuthon has hosted a number of sub-events, a series of programming and activities based around specific passions. To date, this has included Yaoithon, Yurithon, Dollfest, the Hakurei Shrine Festival, and Pokéthon. Other attractions: Attendees can meet Guests and get items autographed, or engage in the weekend-long anime-themed Otakuthon Misadventures live-action role-playing (LARP) game with dozens of participants. There are also various other games, events, shows and contests such as the Opening and Closing Ceremonies, the Fashion Show, the Sunday Morning Brunch, Trollball, Otakuthon Turnabout, the Anime Mystery Dating Game, Anime Name That Tune, Anime Win, Lose, or Draw, the Human Battleship Game, Yurika Kart, and DollFest activities. History Otakuthon evolved from the annual Animethon anime marathon presented by Otaku Anime of Concordia University, held at the Henry F. Hall Building on the Sir George Williams campus. The anime marathon had over the years, used one or several screening rooms,