In December 2024, the Bay Area Kei successfully pulled off the second year of Ursa Major, a j-fashion convention held in San Francisco’s Japantown. Our staff just about doubled and we had even more attendees than 2023. While our second year of the convention was so much easier than our first, we still learned a lot from Ursa Major 2024. Things like…
This community is so generous with their talents.
Our convention would not be possible without the work of so many different people. The BAK team literally spends the whole year planning the event, And while I bring a good attitude and two working hands, many BAK staff have a lot more to offer. Our staff includes graphic designers, software engineers, illustrators, sound engineers, photographers, dancers, and more, all of whom volunteer their time to make Ursa Major the event that it is. We’re so lucky to have seriously talented people who like to work for a weekend badge!
Attendees love structured social events.
J-fashion fans take over the Hotel Kabuki all weekend long, and its easy to spot clusters of fashionitas all over Japantown. Even so, our feedback suggests that people want even more opportunities for meeting and mingling with attendees. While Ursa Major already offered a social mixer, game lounge, holiday ball, a doll museum, and karaoke in 2023, we also added bar trivia and a ribbon lounge to chat with other attendees in an organized social setting. BAK loves that attendees want the chance to make friends and meet new people, so we’re constantly thinking up new ways to make that happen!
The j-fashion community is full of wildly creative people.
In addition to the incredible coordinates we saw all weekend, Ursa Major really showcased just how creative people in the community are. This year, our game lounge had a “year book station” with preprinted pages that attendees could decorate that were collected and digitized. BAK was blown away by how many people participated, and how amazing the pages we got back were! In addition to amazing artwork, we also got thoughtful essays about attendees experienced throughout the weekend.
Of course, it didn’t stop there! The Doll Museum had a ton of incredible dolls, some of which had custom faces, clothing, and of course the adorable badges provided by some seriously dedicated members of the BAK staff. While I’m not into dolls, I couldn’t help but be impressed by the loving care dedicated to this hobby too!
Last, but certainly not least, I can’t tell you how many times I was complimenting some part of a person’s coordinate only for them to exclaim, “Thanks, I made it!” I love seeing the talent that handmade j-fashion fans have!
Special shout out to the guerrilla paper crane folder, who left origami creatures all over the hotel throughout the weekend. Not sure when you found time to fold all of them, but it was pretty funny finding tiny cranes all over the venue!
J-fashion fans love shopping. Like REALLY love shopping.
Ursa Major has two markets and a swap meet, giving attendees the chance to shop with indie brands from all over the world, Japanese designers represented by Gothic and Lolita Market, as well as browse secondhand goods from the community. Every single one of these events had a line at the beginning and was crowded for the entire time they were open. Despite being open for more than 7 hours, we still have calls to have shopping open for even longer! Obviously, we’re delighted that people are so excited about our vendors but man, you sure love to shop!
This event is full of some of the kindest people I know.
I’ve alluded to this in other places on the internet, but Ursa Major was a rough weekend for me for reasons outside the convention. The first thing to go catastrophically wrong was losing my wallet, with my ID, in the LAX airport after I’d gotten through security. I had a flight to catch on the end of the weekend and didn’t have a credit card for an event dedicated to shopping. I was one minor inconvenience away from losing my cool.
Within minutes of my impending mental breakdown, I had multiple people offering to spot me money for lunch, offers of places to stay if TSA didn’t let me on my flight, and offers of sweets, treats, and hugs as a general balm.
The weekend continued to throw general mayhem at me, but each time, I only had to say something, and a staff member, friend, or even kind stranger would go out of their way to make sure I was okay.
By the end of the weekend, while I was still struggling with chaotic events, I felt so supported and loved by the community. I truly had a wonderful time despite everything, and I know that was because of the kindness of everyone around me. You guys are the best.