Hi, I'm Nanc, and I'm a comic con addict.
Luckily for me, the organizers of the Calgary Expo have got my back. After this year's HUGE attendance (over 60K attendees), they decided that that wasn't enough comic convention for Alberta and put together one in Edmonton 6 months later. I swear these expo organizers do not sleep.
On a cold October morning last weekend, Edmonton embraced its inner nerd for the first time. There was a lot of nervousness whether the con would pull any interest. The guest line up was impressive for the first con: the TV Batman reunion with Burt Ward and Julie Newmar (Adam West was planning to attend but unfortunately broke his back - insert clever Batman/Bane reference). Jewel Staite and Charisma Carpenter from the Whedon universe. Nichelle Nichols and Billy Dee Williams representing the Star Trek and Star Wars realms, respectively. For gamers they pulled together big names from Bioware and comic folks got to meet legends like Chris Claremont and Mike Grell. As I stood in line waiting with about 500 people for the doors to open on the first day, I knew that this would become an annual event. And sure enough 14K people ventured out.
Because I'm a long time attendee of the Calgary Expo, I am familiar with some of the organizers - which includes Emily Expo (aka Lindsay Thomas). I didn't know if the Calgary folks were directly helping the Edmonton folks until I saw Emily on the exhibitor floor busily making sure that the guest panels were running smoothly. Emily is considered the face of Calgary Expo (literally! Check out the Expo logo girl!). The next day (back in the line awaiting doors to open), I saw and called her out on the spot - loudly. I thought she might be too busy to stop, but instead she high fived me. I took the opportunity to thank her for being such a great public figure for Albertan Expo cons and that her troops really deserve an award for pulling off not one, but now two big cons every year. Then I indulged myself to ask for a picture with Emily. You must understand that this is the woman who Patrick Stewart kissed on the hand - being in Emily's presence is like 2 degrees of separation to Captain Picard!
Best photo opt ever!
Thanks Emily and the rest of the Alberta Expo team!
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