...Do you remember us holding hands, in each other's eyes we'd stare? Tell me...

( Photos now online: FanimeCon 2009 Masquerade entries 26-44, Awards, and Late Night on the Concourse... )

( I mentioned that the more-cumbersome props and costumes were front-loaded towards the beginning of the show... )

The halftime entertainment was a subtitled anime of some sort up on the big screens. I didn't have a good view of that, without getting up and moving six or twelve rows back, so I got up. little_serenity and magi_sammy, and the rest of their group (Entry 13) were sitting in the audience section where all of the participants sat, and I went over and showed them that yes, I got a few shots of them on stage. I learned that neo_serenity and the rest of the group cheered when they flashed "Animé Los Angeles" on the screen as one of the sponsors. I think that if we do this sort of thing again, we'll want to be able to provide a title slide for them. Something splashy they can throw up there, with the animelosangeles logo and perhaps Ala in a costume.

They had to get the awards presented before their curfew at the auditorium -- which I expect is also why the whole thing started so early (pre-show at 6:30 pm, first competitive entrant at 7 o'clock) -- so there wasn't as much stage time for photos as there might have been. Each winner did come on stage, but there wasn't a consistent "stop here and hold for 20 seconds for a photo" routine set up for each group. I grabbed some shots to the best of my ability, though. (left)

I tried to take notes as to which were the "Best in Class/Show" winners, and then joined the crowds heading back over to the Convention Center.

( Almost everything we needed for our nightly Peanut Butter & Jelly Party was in Saltine in the convention center parking garage. Met an old friend of Victoria Shapero... )

55 minutes to go through 8 jumbo loaves of bread (equivalent to 10 2/3 ordinary loaves), about a hundred sandwiches or so. A lot busier than Friday night. Saturday is the big night of course, but I think the "Free Snacks" sign in the middle of the table helped a bit. (Which reminds me, I need to make it a double-sided sign.)

( I packed up the car, then I sat around the Concourse for some time after that. I saw Sarah, Evan, and Death that night... )

And finally, at about 3:00 am, I went to bed. More than an hour and a half after packing everything back in the car for the night... I've got to stop doing that.

(Continued...)