The Tomo Neko Maid Café Trevor Project event took place at the Asian American Memorial Museum in Los Angeles on April 28. This year the Tomo Neko Maids and Butlers had set up their café in support of the Trevor Project an organization that fights against LGBT teen suicide. While this was a heavy subject the staff at the café did try to keep everything light hearted and fun. We chose the Queen song Breakthru for this theme because “if I could make you smile, if I could only reach you, that would really be a breakthru”.

Before the show began two of the maids played music for those who were coming into the event. The violinist was amazing and played many popular songs from video games and pop culture including the theme to Game of Thrones. The press people were seated first, but slowly the long line outside was brought into the large hall that was being used for the event. We heard that the event completely sold out and judging by how many people were being seated it is very believable. By one the room was packed, the energy was high, and everyone was ready for a great show.

The event opened with host Jon Allen getting the audience excited and introducing the guests of honor. The guest list for the event was made up of popular video game voice actors Kyle Hebert (Ryu in Street Fighter), Danielle McRae (Painwheel in Skull Girls), and Dino Andrade (several characters in World of Warcraft). In addition, Christina Vee, Christine Marie Cabanos, Lauren Landa, and Sarah Williams from the Magical Madoka voice cast were guests. The introductions were followed by a performance by Stephanie Yanez. Her band did a set that lasted for nearly thirty minutes and consisted of several anime songs. The crowd did get excited when they heard the opening chords of Moonlight Densetsu. After the concert it was time for the crowd to mingle and for the guests to set up for pictures and autographs.

Between the stage performances there were plenty of things to do including hitting a small game room. The game room had three screens with different popular games setup. They had an option to challenge your maid or butler to a game for a dollar and a prize if you won and a special prize if you could win three in a row. You could also play board games with your maid or butler as well for a small donation. These are great additions to the entertainment line up as they appeal to many different people and give another option to those waiting between stage shows. All the guests had autograph sessions at different times and photo opportunities as well. In addition, they had a TARDIS and The Doctor there as well assisting the staff.

Beyond entertainment there was food. The menu had a large selection of choices. From appetizers like Miso Soup to main dishes like katsudon and tasty disserts providing far more options than any other maid café type event I have attended in the past. They also had a nice selection of drinks and several flavors of tea to go along with the food selection. As Scarlet Rhapsody’s resident foodie I had to eat something I went with jasmine tea and chocolate lasagna. The food was really good and the people I talked with enjoyed their food.

After a short time the next event started. This was a fashion show featuring designs by Darling Army. The models were dressed in outfits and aprons based on popular anime and video games. The audience really seemed to like the show and gave a good response to each model. This was followed by a heart breaking story by Dino Andrade about the suicide of his first wife. While this did bring down the room it also drove home how important suicide prevention can be and how much it is needed. There was no real way to transition from the story, but Jon Allen did try to lighten the mood with a little humor and a raffle drawing.

To help keep the energy up the maids came on stage to do some extra performances. One maid did a dance and another two sang the Pinky Pie song from My Little Pony. This was fun and light hearted, easily one of the best parts of the event. During this time they also held raffles for different prizes. One person ended up winning three times, which was a bit of a surprise. We all wondered how many tickets he bought.

After the break we were treated to Miyuki Matsunaga’s traditional dance. She did a variety of dances and painted a picture to the rhythm of the music. It was a very different form of entertainment than everything else that day. The inclusion of a Japanese style show was a great addition to the line up especially as this did take place in Little Tokyo. This was followed by an Avengers themed skit by the floor models from the Darling Army. Sadly at that point I was called out due to a family emergency. While things did sort out on my end, I do feel bad about not being there to see the conclusion of the event.

It is really heart warming to see charity events that are both fun and still get the message of the charity across to those giving donations. The most memorable moment of the entire event was Dino’s story about his first wife. A close friend of mine is also a suicide survivor, this brought up memories of how difficult it was for him to deal with the loss. I can only hope that Dino’s story affected people like it did me because suicide is one of the most difficult losses to deal with and no one should have to live through an ordeal like that.

This was a great event due to the hard work of the maids and butlers. They each dressed as a well known character and tried to stay in character during the event. Also, I really like the performances they did and I feel that next year it would be a good idea to add more of those throughout the event. I also liked how you could play games with your butler and/or maid, which added a nice fun touch to the event. Despite all the good there were a couple problems this year. The first is the problems in the kitchen. Many meals were brought out late and that upset several attendees. As problems like this can happen there should have been some sort of contingency to deal with possible issues like that. Secondly some of the entertainment did not really seem to connect to the event. I understand the Miyuki Geta Dance as she is performing a Japanese routine and Stephanie Yanez was singing Japanese songs, but the model walk, Avengers skit, and the TARDIS really had nothing to do with an Akibahara-style maid café. Even with a few minor hiccups the event ran well and I hope that a good amount of money was raised for the Trevor Project.

If you have the opportunity to attend any of the Tomo Neko café events I highly suggest that you do so. The staff is great, the event is fun, and if you are lucky you will get two or three people at your table who are fun to talk with like I did this time. We are eagerly looking forward to the next café event and wish the best to all the maids and butlers who worked so hard for the Trevor Project.

Tomo Neko Maid Cafe 2013: Trever Project Gallery Here

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