Disclaimer: This report is written by two staff members of TouhouFest, who will be writing this in character as Mononobe no Futo and Aya Shameimaru.

 

“Huzzah! My most respectable greetings to the reader, be it an outsider or a fellow native. This humble Mononobe no Futo hath come to deliver a great memorandum in regards to the eventful TouhouFest of 2024!”

“With me doth accompany the most reputable font of news, bestowed by the crown prince himself, Shameimaru Aya. She shall aid in the remembrance of events for those three days.”

“Thank you, Futo. Anyways, I’d like to clarify that I’ll be doing most of the reporting on TouhouFest 2024 here, with Futo adding a few comments here and there. This is the Bunbunmaru, after all, not the Mononobemaru.”

“Such slander! Both of our deeds present as unquestioned and true! Tis as mine liege commands!”

“Yeah, let’s get on with the report so Miko can cut me some slack. The rest of Japan’s gotta know how things went, ayaya!”

 

On the weekend of April 27-28th, 2024, TouhouFest 2024 was held at the Torrance Cultural Arts Center (TCAC) in Torrance, California, USA. For those of you who aren’t aware, Torrance is a smaller city within the greater LA Region. 

Due to the success of the first event in 2023, the TouhouFest Team decided to host another one, which was announced at the closing ceremonies of the previous event.   

 

“Verily, such a prodigious ceremony couldn’t end in but a year, henceforth the great Prince Shoutoku ratified the event for the posterior year, and to remain!”

“It made sense- everyone wanted more, so we gave them more! You should’ve heard the eruption of cheering once a second TouhouFest was announced last year, it was deafening.

 

So what was different for 2024? First, the venue was expanded to include more outdoor space, and the artist alley was moved to a larger room to accommodate more artists. There were about 20 artists and about 17 vendors the first year. This time, there were 34 artists and 20 vendors. If you include the Community/Fan Tables and the Fan Games and Music Tables, then TouhouFest 2024 had close to 65 exhibitors. 

Second, the registration area was moved to the eastern side to accommodate a longer queue line. 

The atmosphere and vibe was also very different in 2024 as compared to 2023. Whereas in the first year everyone kept to themselves and there was an air of cautious optimism, the second year felt not unlike a class reunion as after the attendees picked up their badges, everyone socialized and chatted with everyone. It was a mishmash of people from all walks of life. 

Day 0 ~ Pre-Registration and Social Mixer

With a bright, warm sun and a spring breeze, Day 0 served as a fun start to TouhouFest before it officially began. Attendees mingled and hung around even after they had their badges pre-registered, bringing out Fumos, gift exchanges, and a remote control mini jeep to drive around in the pavilion; some even came out in full cosplay! 

New attendees both nationwide and international met up for the first time, meanwhile second-year attendees described it as similar to a “family reunion for Touhou fans.”

 

“I hath beheld many a festival, with perhaps thousands of visitants in my twain lives, but ne’er have I witnessed such a diversity from the outer world as this!”

“No one uses the word ‘visitants’ anymore, and we only capped out at around 1200 attendees. Get your facts straight if you want to make a comment! But yes, there were attendees from many different places here. 24 U.S. states and 15 countries, not counting the United States, making TouhouFest 2024 a melting pot of the international Touhou community.”

Day 1 ~ Saturday, April 27th, 2024 

Opening ceremonies commenced at 11:00 a.m. with Medukitty, the lead TouhouFest Cosplay Ambassador and Mikotan introducing all the ambassadors, performers and guests.

Everything was a bustle with many things going on at once, including the gaming tournament’s first waves, daunting lines towards the vendors and artist alleys, panels discussing the doujin spirit of Touhou’s fanworks, mini performances scattered throughout the day on the outdoor stage, and the cosplay photoshoots in the Pine Wind Garden. 

The schedule was packed with something to check out and enjoy at any given time, with attendees in cosplay having… interesting interactions with one another.

“Ayaya, there were many Seijas found throughout TouhouFest this year… I was half-worried that they might’ve been conspiring together for another youkai uprising. It was only half-worrying, however, since it meant I’ll have a potential story to write if that ever happens.”

“Of course thou art more drawn unto troubles than to worries… Fortunately, I have attended to it myself.”

“Yeah, I saw that. You chased one of them all over the garden!”

 

Following all that was the cosplay contest, where cosplayers would step across the Assembly Hall stage to show off their craftsmanship, performance, or just have a fun time getting in character in front of a cheering crowd.

The evening concert, Toho Eurobeat Extravaganza, cemented itself as the raging highlight of Day 1 for many attendees. It was a special 3-hour long concert featuring the Eurobeat artists Shihori, Odyssey Eurobeat and A-One Records.

“♪ Woah woah woah-oh-oh-oh… SCREAM OUT! ♪”

“Aye aye, thy vocal resonance is on par this day. Please stop screaming.”

For an encore, Mikotan called up all the previous groups, Renko, Shihori, Odyssey and A-One and they all performed A-One’s signature song, Scream Out!

“The sheer volume and energy of the concert made me lose a couple of feathers, haha… it was like danmaku with sound waves.”

“And lo, there was a clamor! I doth reckon I never hath heard such lively cacophony emanate from a solitary locale… save for that lone mountain wherein doth reside those Buddhists…”

Day 2 ~ Sunday, April 28th, 2024

The morning of Day 2 started out with a pleasant and unexpected event few people witnessed; in the quiet morning just before the doors opened, two of the Underground Izakaya vendors enjoyed a waltz on the Main Stage, later surprising on-goers as it turned into a marriage proposal.

One of the panels was the Touhou Wrestling Panel, hosted by Paradarx and Asperger. This was a series of WWE videos showcasing the Touhou characters as wrestlers. Surprisingly, TAMUSIC and ZUN were also characters created for a wrestling match, which incited much amusement from TAMUSIC himself.

“That fellow, TAMUSIC… Ne’er have I beheld such a man of vigour and ingenuity in all my days. Verily, a wonder from the outer world.”

“This man is so cool… he plays Wind God Girl like a pro each and every time! I wish I could have scored an interview with him during the festival! Imagine someone like him clashing against the Prismrivers in a battle of the bands!”

 

Another big highlight on Day 2 was the TAMusic concert and jam session. During his set, TAM invited several audience members to bring their instruments and have a jam session with him. The jamming band included violins, trumpet, flutes, and a melodica.

And finally, just as things began to calm down at the end of the day, the festival wrapped things up with one final performance and dance after the closing ceremony. Alstroemeria Records’ famous arrangement of Bad Apple!! played at the end of the day, where most everyone was invited to dance on stage with the guests.

There were several complications with the sound mixer, so the song didn’t play at some points. But that didn’t stop the attendees. They continued singing it themselves, even bringing in some instruments into the mix. It was eventually fixed by the DJ, and the song ended with everyone cheering on stage. All’s well that ends well!

“Those Buddhists, I know they orchestrated this entire mishap in a futile attempt of sabotage! And perchance, I do know the perfect remedy to this incident.”

“If you’re going to cause an incident over this, please refrain from it… at least until I can prepare to write about it, that is.”

 

And that ends the miraculous weekend that was TouhouFest 2024. It left most attendees, including the chairman himself, feeling like they were waking up from a Japanese dream.

 

“And thus, this chronicle draweth to its conclusion. I do extend gratitude to all on behalf of the Divine Spirit Mausoleum for their keen interest in TouhouFest 2024, and perchance, thou wilt deign to grace us with thy presence in the year to come.”

“Ayaya, that wraps it up swimmingly. I hope you all enjoyed this special edition of the Bunbunmaru.”

“…Now go back to that Mausoleum of yours and let me print this out in peace! And stop saying ‘perchance!!!’”

“Fare thee well!”

Contributors: Asperger as Futo, Deltasilver64 as Aya
@TouhouFest
Editor: Nimrod