Courtesy of Edmonton ExpoWhat: Edmonton Comic & Entertainment Expo
When: September 22-24, 2017
Where: Edmonton Expo Centre
https://edmontonexpo.com/
Let’s get this out of the way: If you’ve never been to Edmonton Comic & Entertainment Expo, I highly recommend you go. From the panels to the artist alley to the vendor hall, you’re bound to find something you like in the vast expanse of the convention centre.
If you’re unfamiliar with the event, the Edmonton Expo is a celebration of what some would stereotype to be “nerdy” things: video games, comics of all varieties, and other niche interests, like anime. There are also guests from television and film series, famous comic book artists, and accomplished cosplayers who visit as guests.
I’ve been to the Expo almost every year for about five years now, and every year the event gets bigger, more popular, and more elaborate, with the convention spilling into more and more adjacent halls with each subsequent iteration. Some of the best things about it, like the comforting crowdedness of artist alley and the overwhelming amount of sheer geeky-good stuff in vendor hall, never change. Others, like the nice video gaming setup last year, did — not necessarily for the better, from a purely subjective point of view.
First, though, the good stuff. To put it broadly, I always have a pretty good time at Edmonton Expo. Most of the fun of conventions, for me, comes from being able to wander through the aisles of booths, check out amazing costumes, and discover new vendors, books, statuettes, brands, and series I’ve never seen before. Combined with good company and the general nostalgia I have for the event, that makes for a really good perennial experience. There was also a fun video game station where you could enter to win a Nintendo Switch, so that was definitely unique.
But no event is 100 per cent perfect, and it’s the nature of events to change from year to year. Those changes add cool things, like new setups and more vendors, but they also can take away some of the elements of a convention that worked in previous years. Case in point: It’s probably the Dance Central nerd in me, but I really missed the setup from last year in Hall A with the darkness and the mixture of tabletop and video gaming in one location. Tabletop moved locations to the centre of the vendor hall this year, and while I thoroughly enjoyed playing vicious rounds of Ticket to Ride against fellow convention-goers, I wish I’d been able to break a sweat at the one video game I rule at. Is this a purely selfish wish? You betcha. Did I still miss it? Hell yes.
Aside from that, though, the convention was well-rounded and fun. Edmonton Expo organizers brought in a ton of talent this year for the event’s media guest, artist, and featured cosplayer lists, and long lines snaked around autograph booths featuring the likes of Charles Martinet, the famed voice of Mario (If you haven’t read our interview with the legend himself, check it out here.). Panels were well-orchestrated and programming was, in my opinion, well-thought-out.
Also: This is arguably completely unrelated to the main topic, but shout out to JerkyJerky.ca for their dried beef snack-selling booth in the vendor hall. Beef jerky is about the farthest thing from anything comic-, video game-, or anime-related, but my brother in particular was drawn time and time again to the selection of richly flavoured free samples. He ended up buying two packs of his favourite flavours, and during our debrief, he said it was definitely his favourite purchase. He’s 12, so that’s a real win in anyone’s books.
