It's the most wonderful time of the year~! Okay, not really. But it's pre-convention season here in New York, which means that planning is underway for the upcoming anime conventions in our area. On a related note, have you or a friend ever wished that you could do more than just sit in the audience of a panel at a convention? If the answer to that question is yes, then we have a chance you won't want to pass up!

SpringFestNY, the largest free anime convention in the NY Tri-State area, is looking for some amazing fans to host panels at their convention this upcoming March. "We want people who have never hosted a panel in their life to come and spread their passion to all of our friends at SpringFest", says PAS President Adam Edwards. If you're interested in hosting a panel, you can submit your idea via their panel registration form.

For those of you looking for something a little more passive, regular guest registration also started today! You can sign up on their eventbrite page. SpringFestNY has always had a special place for us here at leetNEET since it's the first convention that we ever covered. We'll be there this year too, so come on out and say hello!

For more information about SpringFestNY visit: http://springfestny.com/.

Part of the draw to any convention, large or small, is the cosplay. It takes a lot of work to make special outfits (especially when they look really cool). SpringFest NY 2011 was no exception. Be on the look out for some Final Fantasy cosplay, Bonta-kun and a rogue Orihara Izaya.

It's that time of year again, school's starting to get boring, work's piling up, midterms left and right and then suddenly a light appears. Spring Break! What's a better way to kick off your spring break than with an anime convention? Spring Fest NY is an annual convention held by the Polytechnic Anime Society of the Polytechnic Institute of NYU. This year's Spring Fest will be held March 12, 2011 at 6 Metrotech Center in Brooklyn, NY.

Spring Fest, is a small but very special convention for us for many reasons. For one, NYU:Poly, is where I spend my time (learning) when I'm not watching anime, writing here or at work. Also Spring Fest is the first convention we ever covered. This year we'll be heading back for a whole lot of fun and we plan to try something new.

Spring Fest is one of those conventions that's perfect for first timers who are little intimidated of walking in to much larger convention. The fact that it's free is an added bonus!

This year's Spring Fest will be full of events. Its the first to feature an Artists Alley which was organized in part by a very cool guy. It also has a variety of musical guests lined up, including former MoeMiru! member Sneko, post-cyberpunk / 8 bit enthusiast NULLSLEEP and New York City band Yuki & Cuties.

If that's not enough to get you to come out on a Saturday, then how's this? Spring Fest is planning to have Cosplay Comedian Joe as a special guest.

See Spring Fest's website for directions, details and pre-registration. If you've been to SpringFest before, be sure to come again this year, the school's undergone a bit of renovation As for those you who haven't been come by anyway! We'll certainly be there, so come on out and say "hi" to us.