Day two of FAN EXPO Canada was filled with events, photo ops, Q&As, sketch duels and more, making for a fun-filled day, and we were looking forward to it all.
Panels for Friday included “Writing for Comic Books”, “All About Reboots”, “Star Trek: Discovery Production Design Team” and a special presentation with LEGO Star Wars design manager Michael Lee Stockwell. Sketch duels also took place between talented artists with various styles and techniques such as Mirka Andolfo, Rossi Gifford, Sweeney Boo, Becka Kinzie, Jenn St. Onge, and Yana Bogatch, Nick Bradshaw, Stephane Roux, Leonard Kirk, and Megan Hutchison, and also between Ty Templeton, Scott Chantler, and Jay Fosgitt.
Attendees had a plethora of Q&A panels to choose from on Friday. Some of the selections had attendees buzzing with anticipation, such as the cast of Kim’s Convenience, Spotlight on the legendary Mike Grell, Saturday Night Live alumni and voice actor Laraine Newman, Sean Schemmel (Dragon Ball Z), and Tara Strong and Greg Cipes (Teen Titans). There were photo-ops available during the day with Laura Vandervoort (Smallville), Frank Welker (Scooby-Doo and Guess Who?), Peter Cullen (Transformers: Robots in Disguise), and Denise Crosby (Star Trek: The Next Generation).
The Dandies held their first performance of the convention called “Holodeck Follies”. The improvised Star Trek satire comedy show had the performers aboard the USS Pelican, as they boldly went where no one has gone before. This comedy show is Canada’s longest-running improvised parody of the sci-fi series. Each interactive show they put on in a month is a new “episode” that new and long-time fans of Star Trek will undoubtedly enjoy.
Along with Fan Expo Canada, the hit comedy series Friends was celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. With both coinciding during the convention, they had a nice surprise for convention goers. Located in the South building was a replica of the Central Perk backdrop with the iconic couch. The photo ops were free, with a staff member taking your photo as you posed on the couch. There were various props available to use like the giant coffee cups, newspapers, magazines, and sugar packets you could pretend to put in your drink. If you shared your image on social media and used the hashtag #Friends25 to share, you could see everyone’s photos celebrating the show.
There was an impressive LEGO setup during the four days, in the South building at their booth (1047) and around the gaming floor. They had a life-sized Lego Overwatch character, Pokémon, and Star Wars characters and a ship celebrating LEGO Star Wars 20th anniversary. Also, near the panel rooms, there was a life-sized Aqua Man that many people posed for photos with.
Speaking of Star Wars, the 501st Legion Canadian Garrison and the Rebel Legion Canadian Base had a section set up with multiple different Star Wars scenes. You could get your photo with R2-D2 and Jabba the Hutt, Rey from Star Wars: The Force Awakens, a speeder bike from Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, the hall of a ship, and Emperor Palpatine’s chair. Also, around the convention floors, there were stormtroopers, Darth Vader and more characters keeping an eye out for the Force.
While at FAN EXPO Canada on Friday, Nerds and Beyond had the opportunity to take part in interviews with artist Orlando Arocena, Hasbro Transformers team members Ran Sun (Manager, Global Brand Development & Marketing) and John Warden (Senior Manager, Product Design), plus Hasbro Marvel team members Dwight Stall (Senior Design Manager) and Ryan Ting (Senior Manager Global Brand Strategy & Marketing). We’ll be sharing those soon, so keep an eye out!
Stay tuned for coverage from the other days of FAN EXPO Canada!