As of press time, organizers reported that 102,000 attended the four-day expo on the Stampede grounds, up from last’ year’s 97,000. The event was sold out on Saturday and Sunday, although not Thursday and Friday. This year, the event expanded into the Agrium Building, which meant added capacity.
Friday’s numbers got a significant boost when a last-minute deal was signed to bring in actor Neil Patrick Harris for an event at the Corral.
“I cried a little bit,” said VP of communications and guest acquisitions Lindsay Thomas, a.k.a. event hostess Emily Expo. “Because it was the 10th anniversary and I really wanted to do something special for the fans. I had been trying really, really hard. When that e-mail came through, it was 11 a.m. Thursday morning and I cried. Because we were in so much suspense for so long about it, finally having that knowledge it was happening and having that adrenalin rush through my body, I could relax a little bit.”
An estimated 4,500 fans went to see Harris speak at the Stampede Corral Friday evening and organizers say his presence resulted in hundreds of extra tickets being sold. More than 1,500 people participated in the Parade of Wonders in downtown Calgary Friday morning in front of 5,000 viewers.
“It’s gone up every year, at no point have we ever gone down in attendance,” Thomas says. “It keeps going up. I don’t know what we’re going to do next year.”
On Sunday, the festivities continued with fans packing into the Corral for presentations by Agent Carter’s Hayley Atwell, Game of Thrones stars Gwendoline Christie, who plays Brienne of Tarth, and veteran voice actor Peter Cullen (Optimus Prime, Eeyore).
Christie, who gave a lively talk at the Corral with host DJ Tanner, seemed legitimately surprised by the thousands who turned out to her event Sunday afternoon.
“When you were talking to me about the Q& A, I did say to you ‘How many people will be there? About 40 people?,’ Christie told Tanner to cheering fans. “Quite naive.”
Christie seemed to fit into an unofficial theme Sunday of celebrating female characters in pop culture. Discussion about depictions of females in media found its way into Atwell’s chat about her ass-kicking Agent Carter character, and presumably into a panel about “Social Responsibility and Feminism in Pop Media.”
Which brings us to the event’s biggest controversy. On Friday a group with alleged ties to the controversial Gamergate movement, which has been accused of misogynist online attacks of women in the gaming industry, was evicted from the premises.
Speaking of future shows, organizers are now working on programming the Edmonton and Saskatoon Comic and Entertainment Expo, which take place in September. They are also making plans for Calgary Expo 2016.
“I’ve got two people signed,” says Thomas. “I can’t tell you who they are.”
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