Edmonton Expo 2019 – Geegiiees Last?
Edmonton Comic Expo is a 3-day comic convention in Edmonton Alberta Canada that’s filled with geeky shopping, exciting guests, and cosplayers of all sorts! Well, at least 2 out of 3 of those things are true at least.
I’ve been attending the Edmonton Expo for 5 years now and things have changed drastically, and not for the better. I don’t like to complain about conventions because I know how hard it is to run one but, I can’t just pretend everything is still going well. Maybe 2 or so years ago walking into the convention hall was a different experience then it is now. On one side you’d see a large tent filled to the brim with gaming consoles, arcade machines, tournaments and people enjoying themselves! Now you see merchandise stands. On another side, you might see another tent with a super cool laser tag obstacle course with people lined up around the corner! Now you see merchandise stands. In the middle of one of the rooms, you’d see tables and tables filled with people playing board games of all sorts. Role-playing, laughing or throwing dice. Now you just see merchandise stands. You see what I’m kind of getting at? 2 giant expo halls filled to the brim with merchandise, a small section for guests and cosplayers, and, of course, the holy lemonade stand. I love nothing more than spending my money supporting local artists but after a couple of hours what more is there to do?
Cosplay?! Why yes! If cosplaying or admiring cosplay is something you really enjoy then the Edmonton Expo is definitely a good spot to hit. One of my favorite things to do is sit in the giant hallway and take in everyone’s amazing work. Stopping a couple to take pictures and gush about how they made their seams so perfect. One thing that Edmonton Expo always hits out of the park is the cosplay guests. This year they invited such artists like Picklesbird, Nica Stone, Bec of Hearts, and Foam Forge Cosplay, all super amazing and wonderful people. Taking the time to talk to every person that comes to see them, sharing their help whenever possible and just making every experience truly genuine for each person. Cosplayers can be amazing, uplifting people and it makes me so proud.
Edmonton Expo also delivers an enormous list of voice actors, animators, and actors that are all diverse and can cater to almost every person out there. This year we were promised people like Sean Astin (Lord of the Rings), George Takei (Star Trek), Felicia Day (The Guild, Supernatural), and the voice actor of Ash Ketchum, Veronica Tayler! Even though guests such as this aren’t my style I know its something people really get excited about and I love the extra steps the expo takes to get so many different types of artists. Unfortunately, there were quite a lot of actors who had to cancel last minute diminishing the list greatly. Which sadly, caused a lot of people to get angry and not attend; however, this is no fault to the people who run the convention and getting angry in the comment section at the people who run the convention is a huge waste of time (its literally all I’ve seen in every comment thread).
Honestly, I wish I could write more. Edmonton Expo had so much to offer before and scanning the smaller crowds every year, people are starting to notice it too. I still enjoyed myself, cosplaying, shopping and catching up with some old friends but I didn’t need to attend all 3 days for that experience, nor did I need an entire day. The 70 dollars for 3 days or 45 dollars for a Saturday seems like too much for what they have to offer and I can definitely see the attendance continue to drop as I noticed in the last year.
Geegiiee is a great cosplayer and gamer based in Canada! When she is not attending various conventions in awesome costumes, she can be found online slaying internet dragons with friends. She is hardworking, dedicated, and a pretty darn smart cookie! I recommend chatting her up at conventions if your paths cross!
Post a Comment
