Brandon lands first Comic Con

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This article was published 17/03/2018 (2907 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Comic book fans, Trekkies and other dedicated pop culture fan groups finally have an event to call their own, with the Brandon Comic Con set to take place from Sept. 8-9.

The upcoming comic convention is the latest success story for Brandon First, a not-for-profit destination marketing organization that specializes in bringing large-scale events to Brandon.

Staff visited a Comic Con event in Winnipeg last year, after which they concluded it would be a good fit for Brandon and reached out to its organizing body, River City Conventions Inc.

Brandon First’s leadership made a strong case for the Wheat City hosting their September convention, River City Conventions chief operating officer Kaitlyn Gregorash said.

Convinced that there is a market for the event in Brandon, Gregorash said that she looks forward to the regional hub offering a new market for their eclectic convention.

Brandon First executive director Graham Harvey said that River City Convention’s licensed use of the “Comic Con” trademark adds a level of prestige to the event that not all comic conventions have, which he said might draw in a more regional crowd.

He said that there has been a long-standing community interest in bringing a comic book convention to Brandon, and that a couple of its key proponents helped spur them to action.

These include I Want That Stuff/Board Game Empire owner James Ruser and Eye Opener Book Store owner Scott Bradley.

Although these two were unavailable for comment by press time on Friday, Eye Opener Book Store manager Ben Aprin said that Brandon appears to have built up a critical mass during recent years, to the point where it would support the convention.

Brandon is also home to the longstanding Prairie Con, a role-playing game-based convention, and the new Westman Gaming Expo, a video game-based convention that is taking place April 7-8.

Brandon Comic Con will bring all areas of the comic book and pop culture worlds together, Aprin said, providing “something for everyone.”

Gregorash said that they plan on bringing in at least one celebrity guest from the film, television or comic book communities to the Brandon event, with past guests in Winnipeg including the likes of actors William Shatner and Patrick Stewart, who both played captains on their respective “Star Trek” television series and movies.

They also typically include an artist alley, gaming feature, cosplay competitions, panel discussions and question and answer sessions.

Past events in Winnipeg have typically seen between 90 and 100 vendors attend, and Gregorash said that their goal is to bring in at least as many to the Brandon event, drawing people from across the Prairies.

Only one day after breaking news about the Brandon Comic Con on social media, Harvey said that the response has been overwhelming enough to confirm their belief that there are enough local comic book and pop culture fans to fuel the event.

“We’re really excited,” he said. “This is something that has been on a group of passionate fan-peoples’ radar for a long time.”

» tclarke@brandonsun.com

» Twitter: @TylerClarkeMB