Hundreds of superheroes, villains, princesses and aliens filled the Rutland Centennial Hall for Kelowna ComiCon on Saturday. The event was originally scheduled for August, but it was put on hold due to wildfires burning throughout the region.
“Because of the fires, our main event was cancelled, so we had to put something on for the community,” said Kelowna ComiCon organizer, Patrick Finch.
“So, this is our new Yule Event. It’s a mixture of Vendors, we have Michael Cudlitz here to do autographs and take selfies, and we have a few other events going on throughout the day like cosplay contests and kids’ crafts.”
American actor Michael Cudlitz, best known for playing Abraham Ford in The Walking Dead and Lex Luthor in the new Superman and Lois, just so happened to be in Kelowna for another event when he heard about Kelowna ComiCon.
“We got a call at the last minute that he was coming to town to do a whiskey tasting at Crown & Thieves, and he said, ‘well why don’t I come out and give you guys a hand and do some signatures,” said Finch. “We got the call, and we were more than happy to have him show up.”
Cosplayers like Jojo were impressed by the turnout, and love coming to the event to see everyone dressed up as their favourite character.
“I think the turnout is really good, especially considering its just a one-day small thing that they had the luck of being able to throw together after it didn’t go through because of the fires,” said Jojo. “I’m here, mostly to see other cosplayers, the artists, and to just come and support.”
The next Kelowna ComiCon is scheduled for June 22-23, 2024, at the CN Centre. For more information, click here.