The last weekend of April (27th – 30th) saw the Calgary Comic & Entertainment Expo take place at the Stampede Grounds in the heart of wonderful Calgary, Alberta, Canada. This weekend-long event has exploded in popularity in the last few years, as many Cons and Expos around the world have, and FandomWire’s own two writers, Chris Nugent and Maxwell Mantik, along with photographer and technician, Taylor Scheiner, were able to take to the Grounds to catch up on all the events taking place with equipment provided by Todd Worobets, and Kimberly Tran.
Celebrities are obviously the main attraction to be held for many fans, and the Calgary Expo does not disappoint. Multi-franchise stars such as Jeff Goldblum, Jason Momoa, Elijah Wood, Christopher Llyod, and Lou Ferrigno, Star Wars legend, Anthony Daniels, Princess Bride stars, Carey Elwes and Wallace Shawn, and veteran voice talents Irene Bedard, Jodi Benson, Venessa Marshall, Paige O’Hara, and Chris Sarandon would place as the celebrity headliners throughout the weekend.
A handful of other honorable celebrity mentions that were present throughout Calgary Expo are comic creators Jim Lee, David Finch, Rob Liefeld, Amanda Conner, professional cosplayers Brit Bliss, Jessica Nigri, Spence Valliant, Vamp, and internet celebrities Wes The Editor, Lasercorn, Joshua Ovenshire, Sohinki, and Tobuscus. These are just some examples of the many variations of celebrities in attendance.
If celebrities are not on the top of your list then there are many alternative events and activities that take place on the Grounds. Face painting, tabletop games, small interactive rides, the POW! Parade of Wonders, as well as outdoor events such as the Society of Creative Anachronism, and the Sons of Fenrir all play into the massive interplay that occurs.
A special event that is new to this year’s Calgary Expo is the Master of Cosplay Contest that is currently in the regional qualifiers of competition. This contest takes place all over in North America and quickly became the highlight event.
The contest opened with a cute, but nevertheless a nice collection of cosplaying and costuming from the kids and children (12 – Under) that were at the Expo. They would then move on to the walk-on contest, which involved a gathering of expo attendees that wanted to show their best on stage.
Finally, there was the divisional cosplaying competition, which was separated into three categories: Beginner, Intermediate, and Expert-level cosplaying, which was based on certain specifications such as detailing of the costumes and time/experience in cosplaying.
What are some of your favourite cosplays from this year’s Calgary Comic & Entertainment Expo? Which events do you look forward to next year? Lets us know and we’ll see you there in 2019!
Photos By: Maxwell Mantik, and Taylor Scheiner
Equipment Provided By: Todd Worobets, and Kimberly Tran
