The recent Central Alberts Fanfest, described as a high-quality anime, comic book, sci-fi, and fantasy expo, was a huge community hit, organizers say.
The event was held Aug. 19 at the Ponoka Jubilee Library.
Central Alberta Fanfest’s objective is to provide a high-quality (and safe) anime, comic-book, sci-fi, and fantasy expo with a small-town vibe, explained Cynthia Bottomley, a library clerk/programmer.
“The day went really well, and the event was really well-attended,” she said, adding that this year saw twice as many folks turn out as compared to last year.
“Everything went very smoothly.”
Bottomley said cosplay (the dressing up and performance of characters from books, movies, and other media) can be described as an art form.
It’s more than just dressing up – those taking part can really have fun getting into ‘character’ as well, she said.
“The main event would have been the Cosplay Contest. They were divided into six categories (Beginner Open, Beginner Craftsmanship; Journeyman Open, Journeyman Craftsmanship; Master Open, and Master Craftsmanship) and we had participants in all of them except the Family category.
“It all went really well. We also had some professional cosplayers that came in, too.
“The vendors’ market also went really well — we had 11 vendors, basically made up of local artists and local collectors,” she said.
“We also donations of cookies from residents and Sarah’s Specialty Cakes for our cafe hangout zone, and lots of cosplayers of all levels including the Star Wars group 501st Legion,” she said.
“There were also two game panels and an introduction to the cosplay competition from Cyclone_Cosplay. We also had Mary C. Moore Library and Smash Bros Lacombe run a Nintendo Switch gaming room and a Mario Kart Tournament where one guest won a gift card.”
Other attractions included various panels and interactive exhibits such as a Jedi Academy (where folks could learn some Jedi lightsaber moves) and a unique 360 video booth.
She also noted that some guest visitors dropped by this year including local author G.W. Thomas who ran a panel on Alberta connections in Pulp comics.
“He showed areas of ‘geek-dom’ in Alberta which I thought was fascinating. His interest is really in comic book references to Alberta, especially in older comic books from the 1940s and such.”
The first Fanfest was held in the summer of 2019.
Bottomley said it really all started from the anime/manga club at the Library in 2018.
That club has since been renamed the Fandomedia Club because it isn’t just limited to anime and manga.
She noted that part of the reason behind starting up the Fandomedia Club was, as mentioned, that some of the members weren’t comfortable about attending larger, similar functions in Edmonton or Calgary for example.
The Club meets every Thursday from 3:30 to 5 p.m. at the Library.
Meanwhile, Bottomley said it was great to see the community’s very positive and supportive response to this year’s Fanfest.
“I was very happy with how it went. It was awesome to also see how cheerful people were with it.
“They seemed grateful for the event. I think it was greatly appreciated and it was successful in providing that geeky-expo experience in a small town. I think we really met our objectives, and it will be back next August.”
