*Disclaimer: This post will sound increasingly fangirl-esque as you progress. I was excited.
In his poem, The Hollow Men, T.S. Eliot wrote, “This is the way the world ends. Not with a bang, but with a whimper.” The world may end with a whimper, but Youth Week Calgary 2012 certainly did not! Depending on who you are and what time you went, that can be either a good thing or a bad thing. Needless to say, the downsides to this year’s Expo only serve to highlight how great it was in my opinion.
Let’s start off with why there was some grumbling about the Expo. It was crowded. Like, seriously crowded. Bigger than the Stampede crowded. Now picture the BMO Centre, and imagine it filled well beyond capacity. So far beyond capacity, in fact, that the Fire Marshall was minutes away from shutting the whole thing down. There was actually a point on Saturday where people were literally being told at the gates to come back on Sunday because it was that busy. I’ll put it this way: Last year’s attendance was surpassed by this year’s pre-sales alone! Evidently, a LOT of people wanted in, and with names like Sir Patrick Stewart, Adam West, Stan Lee, and James and Oliver Phelps at the show, who can really blame them?
So there I am, Saturday at 10 a.m., tackling my way through the crowd in an effort to get in before, FINALLY! Some breathing space. I’m in. Phase numero uno of Mission: Have an awesome day, is a success. I didn’t really have a game plan to start off the day, so I took in some sights and sounds, and man, were there a lot of those. Here are just a few of the classic relics I stumbled upon:
And of course, the costumes:
There are a ton more, but I’m sure you get the idea. That was not the end of my day, however! I also got a chance to listen to Adam West – the original (and best) Batman – speak. The man is hilarious, and his voice is ridiculously awesome!
Perfect end to a perfect day, right? Wrong, there’s even more! Next up, I got an autograph and a handshake from the man whose hands are responsible for practically all of my childhood heroes. I had the dumbest grin on my face ever for hours after that.
And then, just when you think things are wrapping up, you get a picture with the actors that played your two favourite characters in the Harry Potter franchise!!
It was a truly awesome experience, and I highly recommend that you check it out next year. By then, I’m sure the crowding issues will be worked out, too! From someone that was there, though, holy man was that ever epic! =D
When I went on Saturday it was a mess. My friends and I got off the train and were told that it was shut down due to a fire hazard and that we had to go home. Not much communication otherwise. My friends who made it in said the lineups were hours long. I’m pretty disappointed but I’m glad at least some people managed to get in and have a good time.
Yeah, Saturday was a gongshow at times. Hopefully the organizers learn from this and next year’s event can be enjoyable for everyone involved.
Yeah. To be fair it’s not totally their fault. Calgary really needs more event spaces.
I heard that poor timing was a big factor as well. A large number of people showed up at the same time – if it had been more staggered, there wouldn’t have been an issue.
It would have been solved, though, if the event had been more spread out in Stampede Park (kinda like WorldSkills Calgary 2009 was). They didn’t use the whole BMO Centre (Palomino Room, etc.) or the Big Four. WorldSkills used every building, except for the Saddledome, and had tents as well.
That’s awesome! I was really hoping to be able to go there myself this year, but unfortunately I was busy all weekend. I’m definitely making time for it next year on my schedule. I remember seeing lots of people in the streets dressed up in a whole bunch of different costumes, and I knew where they were all heading to :P.
That sucks that you couldn’t go this year, but the organizers are promising next year’s Expo will be bigger and better, so I’d definitely be there!
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