Atlanime Fest is coming back to Atlanta, and this time organizers aren't limiting it to a single afternoon. The festival, which drew more than 3,000 attendees to its debut at Center Parc Stadium last October, returns Oct. 15 through Oct. 18 with four days of music, gaming, fashion and panel programming spread across Underground Atlanta and Monday Night Garage.
The expansion follows a breakout first year for the event, which grew out of Trap Sushi, an Atlanta party series co-founded by Tolden “Troop” Williams and Stephanie Williams in 2020. According to Rough Draft Atlanta, the first Atlanime Fest was held in 2025 as a one-day event, and this year's edition is billed as a celebration of Black identity and expression through anime. The festival's official website separately lists Oct. 17 at Underground Atlanta as its date and location, while other event materials describe the fuller four-day run spanning Underground Atlanta and Monday Night Garage, according to Azarian Magazine.
Trap Sushi itself has operated in Atlanta for the past five years, holding regular gatherings that fuse anime, hip-hop and gaming culture and that typically draw hundreds of partygoers, per The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The company partnered with Cxmmunity Media, an Atlanta-based esports company, as it grew from monthly parties into events held across the country. One of those gatherings took place at Monday Night Garage on Feb. 23, 2024, according to the AJC's reporting.
A Bigger Lineup for Atlanta's Main Day
Last year's festival featured Waka Flocka Flame as headliner alongside performances, DJ sets and gaming tournaments, with attendees turning out in cosplay attire, the AJC reported. This year's headlining host is comedian Funny Marco, with Pudgieee serving as co-host, and the performer lineup includes Slim Jxmmi from Rae Sremmurd, Cochise, Domani, DRAM and Duke Deuce, according to Rough Draft Atlanta. The main festival day falls on Oct. 17, running from 1 to 8 p.m. at Underground Atlanta.
New programming this year includes a Black Animators Panel, a streetwear-meets-anime fashion show and a podcast taping, the same outlet reports. Organizers also launched a content creator incubator, selecting 10 creatives for mentorship out of more than 300 applicants, with 100 accepted into the broader program, according to The Beat DFW. Festival passes for the expanded event start at $46, per Azarian Magazine's report.
Community Day Caps the Weekend
Oct. 18 is being billed as Community Day, featuring a celebrity soccer game at Underground Atlanta from 2 to 4 p.m. followed by a closing day party from 5 to 9 p.m. at Monday Night in West Midtown, Rough Draft Atlanta reports. More than 3,500 fans attended last year's festival at Center Parc Stadium, a jump from the figure cited in AJC's report of more than 3,000 attendees at the debut.
Elijah Watkins is Atlanime Fest's chief marketing officer. Atlanime Fest is a family-friendly, multigenerational event.
Riding a National Anime Boom
The growth in Atlanta tracks a broader surge in anime viewership nationally. Netflix reported that anime viewing rose 39% from the first half of 2023 to the first half of 2026. Separately, Netflix has said more than 50% of its global members now watch anime, according to the streamer's own announcement.
Atlanta isn't the only city watching Black-owned anime and gaming conventions scale up fast. Dream Con, a Texas-based convention featuring cosplay contests, gaming tournaments, concerts and panels, debuted in Waco in 2018 with about 800 attendees and drew a record 45,000 this year, according to the Texas Tribune. That convention generated more than $19 million for Houston in 2025, and the Tribune reports Texas organizers worry the event could eventually relocate to a larger market like Atlanta or Los Angeles if those cities offer stronger financial and marketing support — a dynamic that underscores just how much is riding on Atlanime Fest's own expansion this week.
