CORNWALL, Ontario – The 2019 Cornwall and Area Pop Event (CAPE) is less than a month away, and Co-Founder Randy Sauve, owner of Fantasy Realm, is hoping to see over 6,000 attendees throughout the weekend-long event.
“It’s just a gathering of pop culture and everything geeky all in one place,” said Sauve. “We feel very strongly, with the group of people we have coming vendor wise and celebrity guest wise, that there will hopefully be a lot of tourism involved. They’re celebrities and characters that you might not necessarily see at other shows on a regular basis, so for some people, this may be your only opportunity to see them.”
On Saturday, April 27, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., guests 13-years-old and up can enter the event for $18 (early bird ticket price) at the Benson Centre, where they can enjoy a variety of vendors, cosplay and a panel of celebrity guests. On Sunday, April 28, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., guests can enter the venue for $12 (early bird ticket price). Children 12-years-old and under can enter for free both days.
“We encourage a lot of families, and especially children, to come to the show…For a 4, 5, 6-year-old to meet Spider-Man or Batman, that’s probably more exciting to them than meeting Santa Clause or the Easter Bunny. So, the kids bring a lot of energy to these shows and it makes for a lot of fun,” said Sauve.
Sauve said CAPE is like traditional comic con events, but encompasses a wider range of pop culture and ‘fandoms’. He explained the majority of the event is superhero based, with a lot of anime fans, every range of pop culture, old T.V. shows, movies, etc. Sauve said that his wife, Carol, encouraged him to start a CAPE event with her after they had attended different comic cons in North America. Although he was initially hesitant, he said that CAPE has been a success in Cornwall since it started in 2015.
“I think it’s an outlet (people in the area) need. Before we brought CAPE to Cornwall, I think it was something a lot of people read about…there’s maybe not a lot of people in Cornwall who have had the opportunity to travel to another convention, or be able to afford another convention, so CAPE is geared to be family affordable and it’s right in everybody’s back yard,” said Sauve.
This year’s event will feature Pat Mastroianni, Stacy Mistysyn and Stefan Brogren of Degrassi High, Lew Temple of Halloween and Walking Dead, Scout Taylor-Compton of Halloween, and authors Jack Briglio and J. Torres.
Tickets are already sold out to a special, V.I.P. Degrassi High detention pizza party that will take place between noon and 1 p.m. on Saturday, April 27.
“We are inviting the community to come out and support CAPE. We think it’s a fun event for anyone to come check it out for the first time. If you’re a fan of anything geeky, this is the place to be,” said Sauve.
Early bird tickets can be purchased at Fantasy Realm until the day of CAPE.
