Calgary expo parade sets records for attendance and participation

A record number of people marched in and watched Friday morning’s Pow! Parade of Wonders, which officially kicks off the 2018 Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo.

More than 4,000 people dressed up as their favourite pop culture characters and made their way down Stephen Avenue toward Olympic Plaza.

Around 17,750 people lined the route, waving and cheering the cos-players on.

“You feel like a celebrity even if nobody knows what you are or who you are,” said a woman dressed up as a valkyrie from Norse mythology.

“The crowd’s awesome. It’s awesome every year,” another man, dressed as the Grinch, said.

The roughly 45-minute-long parade ended at Olympic Plaza, where Mayor Naheed Nenshi and a number of special guests officially opened the 13^th annual expo.

Officials expect more than 90,000 people to take part in the pop culture convention, which wraps up on Sunday.