This has to be my favourite Expo hands down for Western Canada. It's so big it can be a little overwhelming, but it is well organized and laid out so things are easy to find which is fabulous!
For anyone who hasn't been to Calgary Expo, it's 4 days of nerdy awesomeness! It's located in the heart of Calgary at the Stampede grounds. This year it took over both the BMO Centre and The Big Four building. Thursday is their half day of opening, Friday is the Parade of Wonders or POW! which kicks off the whole event, then Saturday is their famous cosplay contest and Sunday wraps it all up! So we started off our adventures with a completely full schedule filled with panels and autograph sessions and SO much shopping, which of course the schedule changed a bit as the days went on. Thursday: We got to Expo about an hour after they first opened. They had a new ticketing system this year where you got a badge with a microchip inside rather than a wrist band. They would scan the badge every time you entered or exited a building. This helped them keep track of how many people were visiting the expo. We started off our adventures by going through the artist alley to meet Bailey Jae who is a very talented artist and youtuber. After successfully acquiring merch from her for a friend, we ventured over to the BMO Centre and wandered around the retail hall. With close to 400 retailers we had a LOT to cover, and definitely needed to practice restraint. Friday: We got to the Parade of Wonders half an hour early, and it started half an hour late :p It was so cool though! 4000 cosplayers walking down Steven Avenue accompanying cars with celebrities, marching bands and city authorities. Got lots of photos and video from here. We later headed back to the con for more shopping and panels. In the afternoon we went and saw a panel on Cosplay Photography featuring a Calgary company called Hazzardous Material. Very cool insight into making a company for cosplay photo shoots. Saturday: The weather wasn't the best Saturday morning as the forecast was calling for snow. So the morning was cold and windy. I wore my Journey cosplay to the expo, which surprisingly was warmer than I thought it would be, but definitely not enough to merit being outside for long. We checked out some retail vendors and artists, met up with friends and then left in the early afternoon. After a quick nap we headed back to the expo to watch the Master's of Cosplay Western Qualifier. I tell you, these cosplayer's brought their A-Game. These costumes were a cut above the rest, with so much attention to detail and care put into their craftsmanship. Sunday: We got there right as the doors opened expecting to meet Peter Cullen and Frank Welker from Transformers, only to be disappointed that they were not signing autographs at all on Sunday, only photo ops and a panel. We moved on and went to meet Tom Welling (Smallville), Mark Sheppard (Supernatural) and Tyler Hoechlin (Supergirl). My highlight for this week was meeting Rose McIvor from iZombie. She was so incredibly nice! I had brought a cross stitch pattern from my friend that she wanted signed, and it completely blew Rose's mind (mine too). She was also super stoked that both my friend and I had worked on iZombie. It made for a great start to both of our days! Afterwards we wandered around the artist's alley checking out the different wares, and finished our day back at the retail hall leaving with an awesome leather jacket by Luca Designs. All in all, Expo was a ton of fun! We spent way too much money, saw lots of great things, talented cosplayers and can't wait to go to another Calgary Expo! 2020 anyone?? :D
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