Kigurumi Live at Calgary Comic & Entertainment Expo
In 2006, Calgary Expo attracted 3,400 attendees. 11 years later, the convention reeled in a whopping 95,000 attendees, not including guests, exhibitors, and crew! Some notable media guests present this year (amongst many) were James Mewes and Kevin Smith (Jay&Silent Bob), Kenny Hotz and Spencer Rice (Kenny vs Spenny), Jeremy Renner (The Avengers, Arrival), John Cusack (Being John Malkovich, 1408), Kristian Nairn (Hodor), Peter Capaldi (Doctor Who), Steven Yeun (Walking Dead), the Legendary Stan Lee (Marvel Comics), and the local celebrity: Nathan Fillion (Firefly, Castle).
Our Kigurumi team found themselves in the BMO building, neighbouring Bow Valley College, and STL Ocarina. Bow Valley College is a post-secondary public college, offering a vast variety of degrees and certifications, and is also an active participant in offering career services and specialized services to newcomers in Canada. Their booth offered a fun photo contest, as well as a variety of games and information about their programs (we had a lot of fun with the Jenga contest during the downtimes). STL Ocarina provided relentless live tunes throughout the weekend. With video game songs from The Legend of Zelda, to movie hits such as Beauty and the Beast, these vendors could certainly play! The cosplayers are impressive as usual.
Whether we’re in the United States or Canada, East Coast through West Coast, the outfits are always stunning. From Princesses to robots, the wow-factor is there.
We even had some classic Spaceballs cosplays float on by!
For those who were missing that special outfit for the weekend, they found solutions at our booth. Being at a chilly 1°C at the start of the convention, onesies offered a solution for being both dressed up, as well as warm and cozy. Stitch brought through their entire Ohana so that they could all enjoy comfortable movie nights together. Dad can sure make some jaws drop in that outfit!
The weather did pick up, however, and Calgary featured many long hours of sunlight throughout the weekend. It was the perfect weather to go for pop and ice cream, which were also found present at the Kigurumi booth!
The nice weather followed our Kigurumi team from Calgary to Regina, where they were met with a whopping 30degree Celsius (86F)! That didn’t stop Don Cheery from putting on some swag and amping up people’s excitement over the Canadian teams currently in the playoffs! Even William Shatner took the time to check him out!
From West Coast to East Coast, Canadians never fail to amaze us with their creativity and passion for fun. “Cat meow-tside” was this little one’s catchphrase all weekend! We look forward to seeing what our local Montreal shows have to offer next!
