Lyra and I left Essex, VT for Otakuthon early on Friday, August 5th. After a quick stop at West Meadow Farm for gluten-free bakery treats, I drove northward. With cloudy and occasional misty weather in Vermont, we encountered little traffic and made good time, crossing the border in a startling 35 minutes. From the border to Montreal, the clouds cleared, and the sun shone. Southern Quebec seems strangely flat in comparison to the rippling valleys of New England, and there are many more active farms with silos and grain elevators, neither of which are seen much in my state.
We arrived in Montreal around lunch time, checked in to our favorite hotel, the Travelodge on Boulevard Rene Levesque West, very early, and dropped our stuff in room 411. I think that, with the pandemic, people have temporarily curtailed their activities, so we saw few crowds, even in the city.
Usually we have arrived at Otakuthon in mid-afternoon on Friday, starting our days much later. This time, we enjoyed a leisurely start with a partial circuit of the vendor/dealer room. As usual, I spent most of my time in artist’s alley, chatting with artists whose work I was especially interested in. Pictures follow, mostly from booths where I bought stuff. Vendors show up in booth pics unless otherwise noted.Continue reading Otakuthon, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, 08/05/2022: Hotel and dealer room