Fan Expo Canada: Limited Edition 2021 is a Wrap!

October 29, 2021

This past weekend saw the return of Toronto’s Fan Expo Canada: Limited Edition, which ran from Friday until Sunday at the Metro Toronto Convention Center. The convention was hit with a flurry of unfortunate cancellations leading up to the con, and many were wondering if the event would even happen. It did take place, with Fan Expo implementing a lot of changes due to COVID safety. Some changes worked well, while some did not.

First, let’s talk about what worked. Celebrity interactions felt surprisingly the same as in previous years. Aside from a bit of plexiglass added on the front of the autograph tables, or between celebrity and guest for photo ops, the experiences felt the same as they did from my last pre-pandemic convention.

Safety restrictions and protocols were followed pretty strictly. Before even entering the convention, vax wristbands were issued after checking for vaccination proof, and were to be worn for the entire weekend. Wristbands were then checked at every entrance to any area of the convention, including the impromptu roped-off food court. The con also featured a ton of sanitizer stations all over the place, which was good to see.

The biggest change seemed to be the formatting of the show floor. The number of vendors on the floor was greatly reduced, which was a bummer, but it did allow for things to be more spaced out, even with only half the show floor in use. Additionally, since the food court was no longer located on the actual con floor space, the Artists’ Alley was able to stretch out more, making the aisles wider and not nearly as cramped as previous years. This made traversing my favorite part of conventions so much more comfortable and easy. This is a change I would welcome in future, hopefully less restrictive, conventions.

Of course, hosting a convention in the new world we’re now living is going to have some hiccups. One of my biggest gripes with the convention would have to be the ticket prices. Before the pandemic, we would have a tiny little convention around the holidays in December, run by the same team as Fan Expo Canada. The event would feature a couple of local artists and comic creators, but it was mostly viewed as a shopping event for the upcoming holiday season. Fan Expo Canada: Limited Edition felt only a bit bigger (not including the celebrity tables), yet ticket prices still cost almost the same as a full-sized, restriction-free Fan Expo. I think the ticket prices definitely should have been scaled down to match the size of the convention.

Ahead of the con, the organizers had advertised a plan for a single area in the building for attendees to be able to take off their masks to relax and eat. On paper, this is a fantastic idea and I’m all for it. Unfortunately, it was executed poorly. Every time I passed the food court, there were lines of hundreds of people making the wait to take your mask off, eat, and breathe a bit. This being the only place in the south building designated for taking off your mask and eating made it an issue for people who were hungry, but told they had to wait up to 2 hours to eat! Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on how you look at it, this rule didn’t seem to be enforced much, as many people grabbed a spot on the floor in the hall and ate there.

The floor plan had some issues, primarily in the north building where the celebrities, photo-ops, and major Q&A panels were set up. The celebrities lined the back wall, and about 15 feet away were two big stages set to host the Q&As. This made it an issue if you actually wanted to hear and have a conversation with the celebrity you just paid for an autograph and short chat. Having any sort of conversation in that building while a panel was going on was just…not going to happen. This also made it an issue for the media hoping to interview anyone. Most of these interviews would take place at the celebrity’s table, very close to an enthusiastic celebrity and a horde of their fans screaming, laughing, and cheering.

Fan Expo Canada: Limited Edition wasn’t without its issues, which is probably to be expected. That being said, I had a lot of fun, and more important than that, Fan Expo ran a safe enough convention that I was able to relax and have fun. Returning to a convention after two years and during a global pandemic was weird and surreal in ways, both good and anxiety-inducing, but at the end of the weekend, I walked away happy and very broke. Can’t wait for the next one!