First, there was the universe. Then Marvel came along and explored the multiverse. Now, a small-town Alberta museum is inviting Calgary Expo patrons to explore the gopher-verse. The World Famous Gopher Hole Museum, located in Torrington, Alberta, is blending its signature mascot with pop culture at the 2026 Calgary Expo to present a new interactive exhibit called “Into the Gopher-verse.” Known for its handicrafted dioramas featuring taxidermy gophers, Into the Gopher-verse will thrust a few of its little critters into scenes inspired by fan favourites, including Superman, The Lord of the Rings, Star Trek, Death Note, Heartland and Wynonna Earp. There will also be a tribute to one of the greatest gopher cameos in Hollywood history -- Caddyshack. Visitors to the exhibit will be able to step into each miniature world through interactive elements, including a Death Note-inspired signing book, themed games and photo opportunities. “We wanted to take something people already love and give it a completely unexpected twist,” said the team behind the museum in a media release. “It’s about creativity, humour, and not taking things too seriously.” Or, to put it another way, Into the Gopher-verse is about “what happens when global fandom collides with small-town prairie storytelling -- with results that equal parts strange, funny and memorable.” Torrington is around 119 kilometres northeast of Calgary. Homeless Gopher Hole Museum? Taking the Gopher Hole Museum experience on the road comes amid uncertainty as to whether it will even open this summer. It turns out that the present home of the museum in Torrington was originally intended to last a maximum of five years, but that was over 30 years ago. Now, the building is falling apart and there are questions around what to do next. “The current buildings are no longer viable due to a host of issues,” said Laural Kurta, the director of the museum. It is our strongest wish to stay in the community because those dioramas tell the history of Torrington and area. It does not feel right to take them out of the community. “However, we have not had enough time or money to secure a new building and a crowd funder we launched last spring has just enough money in it to buy a 20 yr-old used car (we are very grateful to those that donated, but we are not even close).” Negotiations with the community continue, but Kurta said the museum may need to live somewhere else in the summer of 2026. Calgary Expo lineup DJ Qualls and Samantha Smith from Supernatural were announced as celebrity guests recently, along with Catherine Bell from The Good Witch. Other recent celebrity guests announced include The Lost Boys’ Jamison Newlander, who joins Corey Feldman, and The Lord of the Rings’ John Rhys-Davies, who joins Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Billy Boyd and Dominic Monaghan. William Shatner will also be in the Calgary Expo lineup, joining Star Trek: Next Generation cast members Gates McFadden and Brent Spiner. Recent additions to the comic book creators guests include Marvel and DC cover artist Ken Lashley, as well as Richard Comely of Captain Canuck fame. Expo runs April 23-26 at the BMO Centre. More information about the show — and tickets — can be found on Expo’s website. With files from CTV News’ Damien Woods
