Festival Videos

Here are two videos from the Sanrio Festival (aka HK's Supercute Friendship Festival) in Inglewood, California. 

Both videos are from the same day on June 12. As you can see, it was a fun day out for me. Cute mascots, photo-ops, a musical show, and some shopping on the side to do.

Kittified Makeover Diary

Below is a blog post that I started writing earlier this year, but I kept putting it off from finishing the post. Here it is below with a photo of my kittified room half done.

Here's my story:

It's that time to start anew.  Every time that we start a new year, I think of a new beginning. A time to start afresh and welcome the new spring.

My new year consists of completing my room transformation project. From an ordinary and average room to a theme oriented room. I wanted what I saw in the mobile app, Line Play's kittified cartoon room. 

Although, I didn't want it all just one character. My room was going to be all Sanrio themed. Well, for now that is...

For these past few months, I have been waiting patiently for the last final touch that will complete my Makeover Project. It's been a two year long project that seemed like it would last forever. 

Now, I can say that I have succeeded in all my makeover plans because I have achieved the ultimate wish any collector can dream about... a Hello Kitty sofa. Not just any ordinary sofa that we're talking about here: a glorified Hello Kitty shaped sofa made for adult size. Not the kind of sofa where they sticked a Hello Kitty face on it and pass it off as the real deal.

 My most coveted treasure to date

Also, a special custom made sofa that can only be bought from Japan and nowhere else. Imported all the way from Japan, my Hello Kitty sofa is another continuation of my Sanrio journey. 

My Hello Kitty sofa is a game changer for my Makeover plan. 

I could get by without the sofa and have displayed all my other coveted collections, but this sofa changes the playing field. This sofa is the coup de grace. 

In order to emphasize a theme, you would need something out of ordinary to achieve the best result. What better way to do it than a Hello Kitty sofa? It's big, pretty to look at, pearly white new, and best of all-- you can't buy it locally. It's not something an average person could go out of his or her way to get. 

As the months have passed with me owning this gem of a sofa, I feel like I am stuck in an ongoing dream. A dream filled with happiness and cuteness that surrounds me on a daily basis.

A dream that started when I became a serious full time collector. I wanted to see if I could transform my home without making an average person think that it was only a kid's bedroom or themed home. I wanted to prove that Sanrio decor can still achieve that cool effect.

To prove that Hello Kity isn't just for kids anymore. It can also be for adults. So, world-- embrace us, adult collectors, because we're not going anywhere.

My collection for display

What's next for my Kittified Makeover Project? You tell me, Sanrio, how far can this Sanrio Addict can dream...

Hello Kitty's SuperCute Friendship Festival

Friday - June 12

I remember it was just after Hello Kitty Con that I heard about Sanrio Festival. I was still riding high on the excitement from HK Con and was wishing for more opportunities to add to my ever so growing Sanrio collection. Even now, I still regret not planning ahead and saving enough to go on a shopping spree at the convention.

I learned my lesson as I was going to come prepared when Sanrio Festival came around to my city.

Earlier in November of last year, I bought my Red Bow VIP tickets at over $150 USD each. I had considered buying the Platinum VIP tickets, but I felt that the options for platinum was not enough to entice me to spend any further. 

A Platinum Bow comes with:

VIP check-in event entrance
· Reserved seating for live performances
· Advance access to tour merchandise
· Supercute Friends Meet and Greet (Guaranteed minimum of 5 characters including Hello Kitty)
· Platinum Bow Package exclusive design tour print
· Exclusive lanyard and pass
· Exclusive Supercute Friendship Festival tote bag

A Red Bow comes with:
VIP check-in event entrance
· Advance access to tour merchandise
· Hello Kitty Meet and Greet
· Exclusive lanyard and pass
· Exclusive Supercute Friendship Festival tote bag


And at the end, I was glad I chose the Red Bow VIP package instead...

Pic by The Forum

As soon as I walked through the entrance into Inglewood's The Forum venue, I had not realized how much of a smaller scale that this event was compared to the actual HK Convention in Little Tokyo. In terms of merchandise, it was barely there compared to what we saw at the Convention. I think the musical performances and live staging areas for photo ops were the main center for the entire festival. 

While I can see that the festival is a great way for all Sanrio lovers to come together in harmony with their love for the adorable characters, I just felt the pricing for the tickets were a bit too high from the expectations placed by the fans -- especially after Hello Kitty Con. 

If you were going to charge the same General Admission ticket as compared to Hello Kitty Con, then it would be expected that there would be more activities and merchandise at hand. Although this time around, Sanrio priced the VIP package tickets that should have been for future Conventions and not for this smaller scaled Sanrio Festival. 

Sanrio Fashion Couture

With pricing aside, the festival turned out great. It was magical and fun for all ages because everyone came to celebrate the adorable Sanrio characters.

All throughout the festival, Sanrio put out musical performances and dancing attractions to keep you or your little ones entertained. If that didn't hold your interest for long, there were other things to do like getting a Sanrio tattoo, watch the best costume contest, view modern Sanrio product displays, fancy the fashion couture creations, and plenty of stage prop backdrop areas to play with at your convenience.

As the time came for me to leave, I was a bit sad to leave because it meant that I would have to wait a long time for the next big Hello Kitty event. 

As a collector and fan, this era has been amazing. It's a great time to be a Sanrio fan. There was a pop-up shop and event in 2009-- then the amazing first ever HK Con, the Sanrio Festival tour of USA, and finally... Los Angeles (Orange County if you want to be exact) will be getting a Hello Kitty Cafe. 

Good times for this Sanrio collector.