This past weekend, heroes and villains collided at the 2013 edition of Fan Expo Canada. Fans of sci-fi, horror, anime, comics, gaming and sports flocked in droves from across Canada to Toronto’s Metro Convention Centre for 4 very animated days. Day Jobs and the Nightlife scuttled through the throngs of caped crusaders and here’s a rundown of what went down!
Running from August 22nd to the 25th, thousands of people arrived at the Expo to line up for star autographs, grab a photo op with their favorite actors and pick up priceless paraphernalia from their favorite shows, movies and comics. Most dressed up as their favorite characters, leaving no detail unfinished. When I was tapped on the shoulder and turned to see I was in the path a furry, 7 foot tall Wookie with attitude I jumped clear out of the way. Throughout the weekend I came across a couple of Ninja Turtles, several Batmen (one in particular claiming that Ben Affleck wasn’t the new Batman, he was…), a gaggle of Spidermen, Stormtroopers galore and even a few zombies. I’m still not a fan of zombies; not even a little.
From chatting with a few exhibitors and convention goers I learned that this was the biggest Fan Expo they’ve seen to date. Sprawling across both the North and South towers of the Convention Centre’s massive space, there were hundreds of people selling everything from comics and toys to jewelry and clothes. Getting through the crowd was tough at times but with so much going on, it was easy to get distracted and change directions to find something new to discover.
While much of the space in the South tower was dedicated to kiosks and displays for upcoming movies and games, a gigantic portion of the North tower’s floor was reserved for the other reason everyone was there; the stars. Space for over 35 actors playing characters ranging from Emperor Palpatine to Spock (pictured) and Hulk Hogan required a fair chunk of space. The line ups for autographs and a quick chat with each of the actors were long but no one seemed weary. They chatted amongst themselves until their turn was up. I did manage to get in the way of Luke Perry and he was a lot nicer than the Wookie, let me tell you.
The Fan Expo also featured panel discussions with the cast of shows like Orphan Black, the Walking Dead, Defiance, Cover Affairs and more. Celebrity Q&A sessions with actors like Zachery Quinto (Star Trek, American Horror Story), David Hasselhoff (Knight Rider) and Norman Reedus (The Walking Dead) were also quite popular. Workshops were offered on everything from costume making to web series writing and production. Special preview screenings of TV shows like Almost Human were featured and by the end of the week I could barely walk another step!
Though I tried my best to figure out the most efficient way to get everything in, it proved highly illogical. I had the most fun when I gave up my conventional thinking and relaxed my schedule.
You can check out my recaps of Day 1, Day 2 and Days 3 and 4 to read up on even more fun!
A special thanks to Tourism Toronto for this awesome opportunity. Fan Expo Canada was thrilling and I even got to check out a little more of the city as well. You can check out Toronto’s website at http://www.seetorontonow.com/.
See you next year!