One of my favourite things about living in Calgary is the Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo. This is the third year I've been, and definitely my most epic yet! I don't know how they're going to top the guest list for next year, but I can't wait to find out! :)
I went down early on Friday, to be there for 11 am. Thanks to being over-prepared, I was downtown way earlier then needed, so I had time to pop by Trevor's office and meet him for a Timmies, which was a nice treat. Since I quit my job to go back to school, I've been trying really hard to reign in my Timmies addiction! I wore my new Gryffindor shirt from Think Geek, which I love. It's got long sleeves, and it's super silky, with a big Gryffindor crest on the front.
The people-watching at the Stampede grounds was excellent. I was waiting for my 'boss', Brian Hades from Edge Publishing, to help him set up his booth in the exhibit hall, and watching the other vendors arrive was very entertaining. There's a certain vibe of panic and expectancy in the air, four hours prior to the doors opening for the biggest geek-fest in western Canada, and the second-largest in the country (only Toronto's is bigger). People who only see each other on the con circuit are reunited, the security guards are bemused at the chaos, and lone vendors struggle to get their gear on carts and their vehicles out out of the loading dock so others can pull in. You can definitely tell the con veterans from the n00bs!
We unloaded boxes and boxes of books, and took them to the Edge location to get set up. Sadly, I forgot to take a photo once it was all organized and looking like a bookstore, before it got crowded with people, but here's one I found:
I went down early on Friday, to be there for 11 am. Thanks to being over-prepared, I was downtown way earlier then needed, so I had time to pop by Trevor's office and meet him for a Timmies, which was a nice treat. Since I quit my job to go back to school, I've been trying really hard to reign in my Timmies addiction! I wore my new Gryffindor shirt from Think Geek, which I love. It's got long sleeves, and it's super silky, with a big Gryffindor crest on the front.
The people-watching at the Stampede grounds was excellent. I was waiting for my 'boss', Brian Hades from Edge Publishing, to help him set up his booth in the exhibit hall, and watching the other vendors arrive was very entertaining. There's a certain vibe of panic and expectancy in the air, four hours prior to the doors opening for the biggest geek-fest in western Canada, and the second-largest in the country (only Toronto's is bigger). People who only see each other on the con circuit are reunited, the security guards are bemused at the chaos, and lone vendors struggle to get their gear on carts and their vehicles out out of the loading dock so others can pull in. You can definitely tell the con veterans from the n00bs!
We unloaded boxes and boxes of books, and took them to the Edge location to get set up. Sadly, I forgot to take a photo once it was all organized and looking like a bookstore, before it got crowded with people, but here's one I found:
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| EDGE Publishing booth, courtesy of Billie Milholland's Facebook page |
The first panel I wanted to see was at 4, so after setting up I had a bit of time to wander, and while I was wandering, I ran across Katie Cook's booth. Katie Cook is a licensed Star Wars artist, and does super-cute little watercolour sketches. She'll do a special request sketch for $5, so I asked for a grey Jedi Kitten. Isn't he cute?!
By the time that panel was over, Trevor had made it over from work, and was in line for the next panel I wanted to get into. David Prowse was the man inside the Darth Vader costume in the original three Star Wars movies. He's this cute little old man with a British accent, and he's adorable. He was supposed to come last year but couldn't - he had to have surgery on his knee, and this year he's still using a cane. I learned some interesting Star Wars trivia (I used to be nearly unbeatable at Star Wars Trivial Pursuit, until the new trilogy and extended universe abominations) and totally forgot to take any photos!
It was 6 pm by the time that panel was over, so I snagged a hot dog and a Coke and we went to browse the exhibit hall, which was the largest I've ever seen outside of Stampede. Typically the Friday night/first night of a con is the least busy, but it was already a zoo. After a crazy long day, I was already overloaded, and there were a couple of points when I just stopped trying to figure out where to go and let Trevor just steer me in the right direction! We did manage to wander up and down every aisle, although I avoided buying anything or taking any pictures of costumes, because it was just too busy to pull over without causing a pile-up. We left before it closed at 8, so we could get to bed at a decent time and get an early start on Saturday, which turned out to be a very good plan...
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| Jedi Kitten by Katie Cook |
The first panel I took in was Denise Crosby and Gates McFadden, who were Tasha Yar and Dr. Beverly Crusher on Star Trek: The Next Generation. By the time I started watching tv, TNG had been over for years, but re-runs were almost always available on the Space channel, so I watched a lot of them. Voyager will always be my favourite Star Trek, but TNG had some great moments. Crosby and McFadden work together at a theatre company now, although they didn't have any scenes together when they were on TNG - funny, hey?
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| Denise Crosby and Gates McFadden |
By the time that panel was over, Trevor had made it over from work, and was in line for the next panel I wanted to get into. David Prowse was the man inside the Darth Vader costume in the original three Star Wars movies. He's this cute little old man with a British accent, and he's adorable. He was supposed to come last year but couldn't - he had to have surgery on his knee, and this year he's still using a cane. I learned some interesting Star Wars trivia (I used to be nearly unbeatable at Star Wars Trivial Pursuit, until the new trilogy and extended universe abominations) and totally forgot to take any photos!
It was 6 pm by the time that panel was over, so I snagged a hot dog and a Coke and we went to browse the exhibit hall, which was the largest I've ever seen outside of Stampede. Typically the Friday night/first night of a con is the least busy, but it was already a zoo. After a crazy long day, I was already overloaded, and there were a couple of points when I just stopped trying to figure out where to go and let Trevor just steer me in the right direction! We did manage to wander up and down every aisle, although I avoided buying anything or taking any pictures of costumes, because it was just too busy to pull over without causing a pile-up. We left before it closed at 8, so we could get to bed at a decent time and get an early start on Saturday, which turned out to be a very good plan...
2 comments:
I'm glad that you had a good time and were able to get in both days!
Did you get any photos of your costume?
Stay tuned for the Saturday recap - there's a picture of my back :)
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