Steel City NerdCon returns at new venue

Steel City Nerdcon returns After months of uncertainty Steel City Nerdcon made its return to Sault Ste. Marie at a new venue. Mike McDonald was there.

After months of uncertainty, Steel City NerdCon made its return to Sault Ste. Marie – this time at a different venue.

Event organizers told CTV News that it was “an 11th-hour decision to bring back the event.”

The revived event brought large crowds to the Quattro Hotel and Conference Centre.

Michael Turcotte, organizer and owner of Vintage Games 'N Junque, said when the event's usual venue, the Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre, suddenly became unavailable, the future of NerdCon was uncertain.

"With some complications that didn't seem to work out, we thought we'd try Quattro," he said.

"I've got to be honest, the people at Quattro have been amazing. Really amazing. And I think there's more usable space here, and moving forward, there's a good chance, unless we go much larger, that we'll continue to use Quattro."

Turcotte said it was through the unwavering support of local "nerds" that the event has made a comeback.

"We pulled together last minute to try to do it, and every time I feel like it's going to not happen… it's the people, primarily, that convince us to take that extra step and try to make it happen," he said.

Many vendors at the event were attempting to ‘cash in’ on retro video games – some of which can set collectors back hundreds of dollars.

The event also featured a costume competition, which typically draws scores of cosplay enthusiasts. Competitors will be posting pictures of their creations on social media and the public will vote on the best ones with the winners will be announced next week.