Calgary Comic & Entertainment Expo returns at full capacity

The Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo, the ultimate playground for comic, sci-fi, anime, and videogame fans, is back at full capacity.

It’s the first time in two years that Calgarians can show off their costumes, and get a chance to meet their heroes and in some cases, their villains.

“Being able to share it with like-minded people and not having to worry about someone pointing out that you’re wearing a costume, because everyone is wearing a costume,” Luigi cosplayer Waseem Khourieh said. “It feels like you’re at home, it feels like you’re with your people.”

The annual Parade of Wonders was supposed to kick off the weekend’s festivities but was cancelled due to snowy weather.

Due to the large snowstorm in Calgary, and for the safety of everyone involved, we have made the difficult decision to cancel the POW! Parade of Wonders event this year.
CALGARY EXPO remains open and we have many great events continuing to happen today. Thanks for understanding. pic.twitter.com/VBhBEDMkaI

— CALGARY EXPO (@Calgaryexpo) April 22, 2022

The entire Expo was cancelled in 2020, and in 2021 organizers hosted a scaled-back version of the convention with mandatory masking rules in place.

“Having a mask, it doesn’t come across nearly as much, especially with cosplay, so it’s really nice to see people’s faces again,” Jacqueline Dowhanik, cosplaying as Columbia from Rocky Horror said.

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Fans agree that at this year’s festival, there’s no holding back, especially with relaxed public health restrictions.

“You get to smile at people, which is great, you couldn’t do that obviously before,” said Alex Sadler, cosplaying as Zero Two from the anime series DARLING in the FRANXX. “You can dress up like anything you want and not only will people not judge you, they’ll appreciate you for doing that.”

WATCH: CityNews’ Taylor Braat reports as loyal fans flock to Calgary Expo for its full capacity return

The Expo draws some pretty big names, usually from superhero, fantasy, and sci-fi franchises such as Star Wars and Marvel. This year’s event features actors William Shatner, Katee Sackhoff, Brenden Fraser, and Elijah Wood among others.

“It’s nice to be back for sure, lots of people,” said Andriy Cherwick, auctioneer with Ultimate Key Issue Comics. “It’s nice to see people again, we’re not all cooped up in our homes and shopping online.”

The Expo runs from April 21 to 24 and 90,000 people are expected to attend.

–With files from Gaby Rios, Kenny Mason, Kelly Turner, Haley Jarmain & Taylor Braat.