St. Albert fans are bringing vomiting pumpkins, street fighters, and miniaturized magical mountains to Edmonton this weekend to take part in one of the region’s biggest pop-culture showcases.
Tens of thousands of Albertans will be at the Edmonton Expo Centre this Sept. 20-22 for the 2024 Edmonton Comic and Entertainment Expo. Established in 2012, this annual event draws science fiction, comic book, anime, and video game fans from across the region together to celebrate their fandoms.
This year’s expo features panels, cosplay, gaming, photo ops, and exclusive merchandise. Special guests include Spider-Man writer Dan Slott, Transformers voice actor Peter Cullen, and Star Trek: the Next Generation star Jonathan Frakes.
St. Albert fans
Paul Kane Chemistry teacher Michael Ng will once again be at this year’s Expo as part of the MakiNg Science Fun Show. Ng and his student scientists have been delighting and educating guests at the Expo with smoke fountains, vomiting pumpkins, and random explosions since 2015.
Ng said he and his team would perform many classic tricks such as elephant toothpaste (which he often has spew out of a pumpkin), the smoking genie’s bottle, instant colour changes, and gigantic bubbles, all while explaining the chemistry and physics behind them.
“A lot of superheroes and science fiction involve science,” Ng said, as do many movie special effects, and comics and science fiction can help students become more engaged with science lessons.
Ng said he hopes to see the cast of The Flash at this year’s Expo, and expected to encounter many Deadpool cosplayers. He suspected the Star Trek panel would be packed, as Frakes rarely comes to this convention.
St. Albert resident and Lego fan Angelique Roth will be at the Expo to help run a 40-table Lego display built by her and members of the Northern Alberta Lego Users Group. Roth said NALUG members planned to show off foot-tall pokémon, Star Wars podracers, and a Borg spaceship the size of a large washing machine at the event.
Roth will be bringing a recreation of the Hogwarts School (and the mountain it sits upon) from Harry Potter.
“It’s pretty big,” she said, as it fills four tables, and has been in the works since about May.
Roth said the display features a moving train and many vignettes from the novels, including the escape from Azkaban, dinner in the Great Hall, and the defeat of Voldemort. Sharp-eyed viewers may spot cameo appearances by out-of-place characters such as the superhero Iron Man.
St. Albert cosplayer Vicky Lau has been attending the Expo as a fan, special guest, and volunteer for about 10 years. This year, she said she’ll be roaming the vendor’s hall dressed as Chun-Li from Street Fighter, accompanied by a toddler-sized Ryu portrayed by her daughter, Joyce.
“It’s really challenging to cosplay with a child,” she said, as you can’t really control what they’ll do at any moment.
Lau said she typically sews her own costumes for cosplay events as most don’t come in toddler sizes. She and Joyce have previously dressed as characters from Frozen, Ranma 1/2, Pokémon, and Spy X Family.
Lau said events like the Expo were a great way to reconnect with friends and meet people who share your interests. She hoped to pass her love of cosplay onto her daughter.
“I want to encourage her to participate in lots of events and be able to experience lots of different things in life.”
Tickets to the Expo range from $12 to $299. Visit fanexpohq.com/edmontonexpo for details.
