Anime Iowa 2026 was held at the Hyatt Regency Coralville Hotel & Conference Center from July 31 through August 2, 2026. It delivered three fun-filled days of anime, cosplay, gaming, and Japanese pop culture. This event is produced annually by the Mindbridge Foundation and is considered Iowa’s main anime convention.
Mainstage programming included some fan-favorite events such as the annual Idol Fest, a Formal Ball, and late-night dances with live DJ sets. The convention also included a marketplace, where vendors and indie artists offered imported merchandise, manga, original artwork, and custom crafts. The tabletop and video gaming rooms offered free-play consoles, tournament setups, role-playing campaigns, TCG, and a library of board games.
Special guests for this year’s event included voice actors and performers like Brian Beacock, Patrick Pedraza, Carrie Savage, Semetary Cosplay, and the Kamikaze Snowmen. Fan-run and guest panels covered everything from anime history and voice acting to cosplay fabrication techniques and Japanese culture workshops.
It’s been a while since we covered this event, but we have photos from 2021
The highlight of the weekend was the Cosplay Masquerade that included over $1000 in prizes. Not everyone goes for the competitions, many are there just for the fun. They are there to hang with friends and share mutual interests. While there it is fun to dress up as some of your favorite characters, show off some skills or just step to left of your everyday life. Thanks to Michael Leko we get to see some of the fantastic cosplay that was on site.
To see what cosplay conventions are coming up
be sure to check out our Cosplay Convention List!
