Most fans of comics, movies, and games are aware of the big conventions that happen every year like San Diego Comic-con, GenCon, PaX , or AnimeExpo, but many don’t know how rich Atlantic Canada is with our own fan conventions to meet any of your niche interests!
This weekend on March 7th is March to Oblivion a one day event which is part of the larger Impossible Realities organization. It has a great mix of board games, table top role-playing games, and Cosplay. I like to think of it as the kick off to Convention season. At a very affordable $10 you can cram in a full day of gaming, panels, and maybe even win some prizes.
For March 28th – 29th hop over to PEI for Island Entertainment Expo. This new convention had a very strong 1st year and we have no doubt they’ll beat expectations this year with a host of vendors, cosplay, panels, and celebrity guests!
May 2nd – 3rd the Saint John Public Library will once again play host to Fog City Comic-Con. This free convention continues to impress with a host of panels, special guests, and much more. With the venue being a few short blocks from Heroes’ Beacon you can join us for Free Comic Book Day on May 2nd, then take your bag of free swag to the library for a full day of entertainment.
Next up is possibly my personal favorite convention East Coast Comic Expo on June 5th – 6th. Another long standing convention in New Brunswick has the feel of the old school comic conventions with a solid focus on comics, writers and artists. Their vendor hall is always impressive as is their deep list of talented guests from major comic companies like Marvel and DC. If you go stop by our booth and say hi!
If Anime, Manga, and Cosplay are your jam then don’t miss Animaritimes on June 26th – 28th. This will be their 16th year bringing fans guests, panels, and entertainment geared towards anime, manga, and cosplay.
If you are worried that the Fall seasons means the end for conventions don’t fear the local convention Impossible Realities his held September 11th – 13th. This full weekend of gaming and cosplay is the parent event of March to Oblivion. This will mark the 20th anniversary of the convention making it one of the longest running in the Atlantic Provinces.
Finally, I’ll mentioned by far the largest of the Atlantic Canadian Conventions with a whopping 16,000+ attendees last year. Hal-Con is on October 23rd – 25th. I had the absolute pleasure of going to my first Hal-Con last year and it was awesome! The number of cosplayers was mind blowing. The special guests were as good as many conventions that are far larger. I enjoyed the panels, vendor rooms and highly recommend this event!
These are not the only conventions in Atlantic Canada, check out this awesome graphic to see a full list.
