Blog #27: Calgary Comic & Entertainment Expo 2012

The dust has settled and another year at the Calgary Expo has come and gone. For the most part I am very happy with my experience this year. I got to see every member of the original TNG cast, got their autographs or got my picture taken with them. I also got to meet Stan Lee, Comic book writing icon Peter David, John Noble from 'Fringe' and got to have beers with a wrestling legend: The Honky Tonk Man. I also managed to buy some stuff including a prop sword similar to the ones used on 'Game Of Thrones', a 'Superman' bathrobe, several sci-fi t-shirts and most importantly I added to my vintage 80's He-Man toy collection. The best part of the weekend was the time I got to spend with my son Bailey. He is a wrestling fan and had a great time meeting Jake The Snake, Honky Tonk Man, Million Dollar Man and other wrestling legends. All in all a very good weekend.

 

But there is a downside to this year. This year the number of people attending the con almost doubled, probably due to the TNG reunion but also in part by the stellar list of celebrities they had besides the TNG cast. Saturday in particular got so bad the Calgary Fire Marshall stepped in and banned people from entering the building. Even people with weekend passes were being denied access the con. One guy I met in line for a photo op told me he had went out to his car to unload some of the stuff he had bought then was forced to stand in line for almost 3 hours before he was let back in. People who had photo-ops payed for weren't being allowed in. And the lines inside were beyond ridiculous. I stood in line for a 'Fringe' photo op for over 2 hours, then with just 10 people ahead of me they closed the photo-op session. I almost lost my mind. Saturday I literally spent the whole day in lines. But I don't think the organizers realized just how many people would show up and were taken completely by surprise to the number of people who did show. They even expanded the con area space this year and it still did not create enough room. Being a fan of this con I have a few suggestions for the Calgary Con organizers which I think will help them next year to create an enjoyable experience for all and not alienate people.

 

1: Sell tickets to the event on line only. No more door sales. That way the days will not get over sold which clearly is what happened Saturday because people with weekend passes were being turned away and that's not fair at all.

 

2: More photo-op areas and have them in a different area away from the autograph area. Why not have 6 photo-op areas spread around. That way the photo-ops will move faster and flow better. 

 

3: In regards to photo-ops they should sell the photo-op tickets with specific times attached to the ticket as to not create huge line ups of people seeking the same photo at the same time. I had my photo-ops planned out prior to going to Calgary and I used their time schedule to make it work and because I got turned away on several lines I had to pass up some of my photo-ops I wanted to get done. I had wanted to get a photo with Adam West and Katee Sackhoff but because my other photo-ops got bumped around I had to drop them which really sucked.

 

But over all it was a great con. Hopefully next year the organizers will have all the bumps from this year smoothed out for next year. And maybe a few less celebrities is what is needed. I like having a variety of people coming as much as the next guy but this year was just too many big names for such a small venue. That being said I look forward to next years con and I will be saving up to purchase a VIP Pass. The VIP pass allows that ticket holder to get first priority to all photo-ops and autograph lines and other cool perks. Those tickets are over $300 but with all the time saved by having such a ticket makes it all worth while. So I will be saving for a VIP ticket for 2013 for sure.

 

And with that I say 'Nuff Said'.

Blog #23: Edmonton Collectible Toy And Comic Show 2012

Last Sunday, despite the monster snow fall and poor road conditions, my Wife, youngest daughter Shelby and I made the trek into Edmonton to attend the 2012 Edmonton Collectible Toy And Comic Show. This is a fun little convention which is held at the Shaw Conference Centre. This year they included 'Photo-ops' at the convention, where a photographer will take a picture of you and the celebrity of your choice and develop the picture on site, something they have done at the Calgary Expo but a new option at the Edmonton show. This year the celebrity guests included John DeLancie, better known as 'Q' from Star Trek: The Next Generation, and Julie Benz best known to me as being 'Rita' from the TV series 'Dexter'. I had the opportunity to get my photo taken with 'Q' which was very cool. He was extremely nice and shook my hand. 

I could have had a photo taken with Julie Benz but I chose to get her autograph instead because I just didn't have the time to wait for a second photo to be developed. Julie Benz was extremely nice and even talked with my daughter who was waiting in line with me. I did manage to ask her a few questions of my own. I asked her if she would be making a return appearance on 'Dexter', perhaps in a flash back sequence and she said No, she will not be on 'Dexter' again. *** SPOILER WARNING *** I also told her how devastated I was when her character 'Rita' was so brutally killed off on 'Dexter', so much so that I couldn't sleep that night after seeing that episode. She thought that was sweet and she admitted that she herself couldn't sleep after watching that episode. Another celebrity my daughter in particular was excited to meet was R2-D2. We got our picture taken with him. 

This was also my first opportunity to start rebuilding my classic 'He-Man' toy collection. I managed to secure many figures:

I also bought myself a complete set of the 1991 Star Trek/ Star Trek: TNG trading card set. I also bought several of the 'Star Trek: Titan' book series. And finally I got my own replica 11th Doctor 'Sonic Screwdriver', as seen used by The Doctor on season 5 and 6 of the 'Doctor Who' television series. It wasn't cheap but the hours of enjoyment I have got out of playing with it makes it worth every penny. I am a huge fan of the Matt Smith 'Doctor Who', and I intend to discuss that series in a future blog post. 

The Edmonton Toy Show was an excellent time, and apparently there is supposed to be some big announcement coming in the next few weeks from the organizers of the event. 

It was really awesome having photo-ops!!! But to improve the show it would be awesome if this were a 2 day event, maybe later in the year too like June-ish. So us people driving in from out of Edmonton don't have to brave the roads in April snow storms. The drive in last Sunday was not pleasent, and not much chance of a snow storm like that in june. All in all it was a great event!