Shows in July: Hyper Japan and MCM Expo Manchester

July’s a busy month for Cakes with Faces, with the Stan Lee Excelsior Award Ceremony, then MCM Expo Manchester Comic Con and Hyper Japan July 2013, all on consecutive weekends!

I’ll be there with all my Cakes with Faces stuffs, including the full range of t-shirts (including the 3 newest designs!), How to Make Sushi comics, prints, charms, hair clips and badges – and if you can’t make it to the show, everything’s available to order online in the shop.

MCM Expo Manchester

MCM Manchester Comic Con will be on Saturday 20th July at Manchester Central (formerly known as GMEX). Last year it was really busy, as it’s only a one-day con. It’s a smaller version of the London show, with anime and manga, a comics village, stage programme, game demos, DDR, robots live and lots of cosplayers.

This year they’ve made the show larger and extended the opening hours. General tickets, available on the door, are for entry from 11am-6pm, and are £6 for adults, £3 for 11-14 year olds and free for children aged 10 and under. If you buy a ticket in advance you get early entry from 9:00am, which costs a bit more – details on the MCM website. If you like anime, manga, comics and cosplay and live in the north, this is the show for you. Be warned: last year the queues to get in got pretty long (so bring your Nintendo DS!).

Hyper Japan

Hyper Japan is an event about Japanese culture, including traditional aspects as well as pop culture at Earl’s Court London on 26-28 July. There are yummy Japanese food stalls (Hyper Japan was where I first tried okonomiyaki), a stage programme with performers from Japan, fashion events, and it’s a great place for spotting lolitas! This time it’s moved from Brompton Hall into Earl’s Court 2, so expect the show to be larger than before, with a new layout.

An exciting addition to the show this time is the Tokyo Style Transformation area, where you can have your make up done in lolita, gyaru or shironuri style, try on wigs and costumes and have your photo taken! Can someone watch the stall for me while I have a go….

Tickets include Fast Track Entry tickets, Weekend passes, and discounted Late Afternoon Entry tickets, and children 10 and under are free – details on their website. For this show, tickets cost less online than they do on the door. The Saturday is by far the busiest day – if you can make it on Friday that’s usually the quietest day with the least crowds. The show’s open late until 8pm on Friday and Saturday, and 6pm on Sunday.