Let’s Glow! BART Anime Festival returned bigger and better this year!

BART’s Let’s Glow! BART Anime Festival returned to Warm Springs/South Fremont Station for a celebration of anime, art, music, cosplay and transit fandom. This year’s free festival was bigger and better than ever, following a huge turnout of more than 4,000 attendees in 2025! 

The festival celebrates the shared fandom of anime and transit, with an expanded lineup of artists, performances, food, cosplay, and more. 

Get to know BART’s anime mascots at bart.gov/anime.  

Photos from Let's Glow!

Details 

  • What: Let’s Glow! BART Anime Festival  
  • When: Saturday, September 19, 4pm to 9pm  
  • Where: Warm Springs/South Fremont Station  
  • RSVP on Eventbrite at letsglowfestival.eventbrite.com. Not required but helps us get a headcount.  
  • Free to attend 

We also now have a fan made interactive map! https://alley.moe/events/lets-glow-2026/ 

Lets Glow venue map

What to expect 

  • Artist Alley: 100 artists will sell a mix of BART, anime-, and transit-themed art, along with their own original artwork. Check out the artist alley catalog here: https://lg26.notion.site/

    Tip: We recommend arriving prepared with a list of tables you want to visit! Help us keep lines moving - please have your order & payment method ready when you get to the front of the line.
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  • Music and performances: AniClover will DJ for us, and SanFlare will perform wotagei, a high-energy style of synchronized fan dancing. SanFlare will teach attendees the official BART wotagei dance. Local DJs chiii, DJ AJL, Spiritsnare feat. Majoriin from Trademark, Kataoka, Capturelight, DatGai will have tunes running all night.
  • Special Youtaite concert: An exclusive VTuber concert produced by Neon Shrine featuring J-pop and Vocaloid cover artists JubyPhonic, Rachie, and Lizz Robinett. It all starts at 7:15pm on the Neon Stage (do not line up earlier than 7:00pm.)
  • Railgoods: Shop BART and BART anime mascot merchandise, including new and exclusive products available at the festival. Find our current BART anime merch here. 
  • Food truck village: Boba + exclusive drinks, desserts, and an array of cuisines from food trucks across the Bay Area. Stop by Creative Sips & Ume Tea for am exclusive coaster and our event drinks: Baylee’s GOATed Berry-essa Special, Jasmine’s Sweetest Matcha ♡, Nimbus' Citrus of the Skies, and Mira's Transbay Taro Tea.
  • Trinket & freebie trading: Gachapon Pals will be managing tables for freebies, trinket trading, and stamps! Bring your trinkets to trade, freebies to share, and collect exclusive event stamps!
  • Itasha cars & manga truck: Anime-themed cars and vehicles will be on display with Dreamscape. The Manga Truck bring tons of free manga to read at the event.
  • Community tables: Discover local happenings, conventions, and fan clubs. Kin-Yoobi Con (happening on Sunday), FanimeCon, OffKai Expo, Bay Area Hoshiyomis, Cal Animage Alpha/Anime Destiny, Tri-City Ecology, and Gamers Heaven will be tabling.
  • Indie Game Showcase: Discover fun games created by local game developers. Hosted by BAD Collective.

Cosplay and win prizes 

Start planning your outfit now! This year we are hosting a cosplay contest with prizes, including a special category for anyone cosplaying as one of BART’s anime mascots. See the cosplay contest details and guidelines here.  

Cosplay seminar: Crafty Sorceress will answer your cosplay questions and show attendees how to dress as BART’s anime mascots. Check out their cosplay guides for Baylee, Nimbus, Jasmine and Mira. Cosplay seminar: At 6pm on the Neon Stage.

No prop weapons: This event has a zero-tolerance policy for prop weapons of any kind and material. Leave them at home. There is no peace bonding station. Any prop weapons or accessories that need to be peace bonded should not be brought. 

Take BART to Let’s Glow! and receive exclusive giveaway  

Parking at Warm Springs/South Fremont Station will be extremely limited, so attendees are encouraged to park at nearby BART stations and take BART to the festival. Free parking is available at Fremont and Union City stations, and paid parking is available at Milpitas and Berryessa/North San Jose stations. Learn more about parking at nearby BART stations.  

As a special bonus, anyone who takes BART to the event can receive an exclusive BART anime giveaway. 

Come celebrate anime, art, music, cosplay and transit fandom with thousands of fellow fans. Let’s Glow!

Lets Glow banner graphic with Baylee and BARTy