Calgary Expo History
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Lou Ferrigno & Fans |
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Bruce Timm Sketching |
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Ray Park Signing |
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Firefly beauties |
The Calgary Comic & Entertainment Expo was born in 2006 after carefully evaluating the potential of a show dedicated to not only comics, but to the cross-media attention that exists in the entertainment industry. As has been the result, our expo has become the single largest event of its kind across all of Western Canada.
The Attendance:
In our very first year, over 3,000 individual people attended what became a beyond-our-expectations hit! However, our second year more than doubled that total for an attendance of 6,500+! This year we look to break the 10,000 individual attendee mark and have little doubt of making that goal a reality.
The Size:
In 2006, we positioned ourselves in the Big Four Building at Calgary's Stampede Park, but found the venue too small for the numbers we would be expecting for the following year. Thus, we moved into the Round-Up Centre and into a hall double the size of that of the previous show. Again, we found the space to be too limiting for what was to come and what we wanted to offer attendees, so we are expanding into other rooms for this year's expo.
Double the days, double the fun:
In 2006 and 2007, our shows were restricted to one-day events as we continued to grow and as we needed to gauge the growth potential. Well, we've reached that potential and felt it necessary to broaden the show to a two-day event! With a larger cast of guests, more events than ever before, and a vision for a much larger attendance record, this was a decision we just couldn't pass up!
Our wonderful guests:
Our inaugural year saw Peter “Chewbacca” Mayhew as our marquis guest of honor, with a slew of other actors and creators from the worlds of film, television, animation, anime, comics, and gaming making up a fantastic blend of multi media entertainers. For 2007, we broadened our scope and had media guests such as Robert “The Doctor” Picardo from Star Trek Voyager, Star Wars' own Ray “Darth Maul” Park, Disney animator Tony Bancroft, and so many more new and returning guests. This year marks an even bigger roster of talent. We've gone from 34 guests in 2006 to 59 in 2007. This year will be a blast.
How good is the show?
When it happens that guests and vendors are actually requesting to be part of the next expo just as one is ending, that shows not only the value of the show, but also the spirit we present. We are always pleased to have returning guests and vendors because their success is our success.
