Set your phasers to stun because Captain Kirk is back!
William Shatner is in Winnipeg this weekend to discuss the 50th anniversary of Star Trek – and he’s just one of the many reasons to beam yourself up to the RBC Convention Centre for Central Canada Comic Con!
Believe it or not, Central Canada Comic Con (C4) has grown from a humble collector’s expo in the mid-90s to the most-attended annual event at the RBC Convention Centre!
It’s also the 2015 Tourism Winnipeg award winner for best “Small Business of the Year,” which seems like a misnomer when you witness the thousands of people who pack the place.
Every year they bring in more big names and intriguing characters from your favourite sci-fi and fantasy shows than the Marvel Universe has films (and that’s including sequels and spin-offs).
Along with Captain Kirk, who will be at C4 on October 28 and 29, you can meet Tia Carrere of Wayne’s World, Lilo & Stitch and Relic Hunter fame, along with Lee Arenberg from the Pirates of the Caribbean films, and Mark Pellegrino – who has been in everything from The Big Lebowski, to Lost, to Dexter, to Mulholland Drive, to playing Lucifer in Supernatural (seriously, this dude has been in everything!).
(photo courtesy of C4)
On top of that, you have some of the best cosplayers in the business in attendance, while you’ll also be astonished at the work and detail of the outfits of many of our own local cosplayers.
There will be a Cosplay Photo Booth, so you can get your pic with your favourite cosplayers, while attendees can enter the annual Costume Contest, which features six categories along with a "Best in Show" for the whole convention.
All of these dedicated cosplayers are seeking to emulate their favourite anime and comic book characters, so it's only fitting that a massive part of C4 is the artists and illustrators themselves, many of whom bring these characters to life on the pages of DC and Marvel.
This year the C4 roster of artists is stacked.
James O’Barr, the creator of The Crow will be there, as will veterans like Michael Golden – who has seemingly worked on everything from Batman, to X-Men, Punisher, and Dead Pool. There’s also John Beatty, who in his own words, has worked “on almost every major comic character in the industry at one point or another.” And of course, collectors will also freak out at the chance to get original works and prints from luminaries like Mike Zeck, Greg Horn, Scott Rosema, and so many more.
Bring your kids... and your Ewoks too! (C4)
The gaming tournaments are also a super popular feature of C4, and this year you can test your skills at Magic: The Gathering, Twin Eagles, or in the video game BaseLAN 30.
And if that wasn’t enough, there will be live action wrestling courtesy of Canadian Wrestling’s Elite (CWE), while you can also meet the legendary WWE tag team Demolition throughout the weekend.
Bring your little ones too! All day on Sunday, for children 12 and under, they can go trick or treating at C4.
C4 has also partnered with the Alt Hotel Winnipeg to provide affordable accommodation (in one of Winnipeg’s most stylish hotels) for just $139/night. Click here for details.
It all goes down at the RBC Convention Centre Winnipeg, October 28-30, 2 p.m. – 9 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. – 7 p.m. Saturday, 11 a.m. – 6 p.m. Sunday.
Tickets are available as day and weekend passes and can be purchased here.