Kalamazoo Animation Festival International (KAFI) is a project of Kalamazoo Valley Community College in Kalamazoo, Michigan. KAFI has a reputation for excellence, education, wide ranging speakers, and a commitment to art, and provides a continuing stage for media artists. At KAFI, artists, educators, and students display their talents, observe the talents of their peers, participate in roundtable discussions, engage in educational outreach, and share their passion for the arts. A truly artistic adventure!

Igniting the spark of creativity through animation, the evolving technologies employed in this form of artistic expression, and teaching methods and strategies to appeal to today's growing "Gamer Generation" will be among the topics at a one-day conference for educators launching the fifth Kalamazoo Animation Festival International (KAFI).

 The conference is scheduled for Thursday, May 14, from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and will kick off the four-day KAFI, sponsored by Kalamazoo Valley Community College. The conference will be held at the college's Anna Whitten Hall in downtown Kalamazoo. The $185 fee entitles educators to take part in the entire festival, running through Sunday, May 17, also in downtown Kalamazoo. Purchase your pass here.

 In addition to a speaker from a university in Portugal and professionals in the field, presenters and panelists will hail from schools of animation throughout North America, including Grand Valley State University, the Humber Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning in Toronto, Ohio State University, the International Academy of Design and Technology in Detroit, and the State University of New York in Fredonia.