Fans of all things pop culture made their way to Prairieland Park over the weekend for the second annual PopCon, which is becoming an ever growing event in the city. “There’s been previous iterations of PopCon, which were mildly successful. Last year was the first year we branded that name, and it took off. We’ve grown and we’re better than ever,” Peter Jelinski, manager of signature events for Prairieland Park, said. The weekend-long event features cosplay contests, gaming opportunities, celebrity meet-and-greets, and a variety of vendors who bring a wide variety of art, clothing, accessories and other goods to showcase at PopCon. Jelinski added that he wasn’t surprised to see interest in the event grow. He said in a digital age, a lot of people are excited at opportunities to meet others in person who have similar interests. “It’s fun. There’s not a lot that you can actually do in this day and age where you can go out and enjoy yourself. I mean, the internet’s ruined it for music, gambling, for everything almost under the sun, but you can put on a costume, go with your friends, have a great time here and interact with people. That’s what this is all about,” Jelinski said. A big draw in for many attendees is the opportunity to meet and take a photo with a favourite celebrity. While Donovan McAlpine attended the event in the past, he said he was particularly excited to get an autographed photo with WWE Hall of Famer Ted DiBiase. “He was cool. He was unbelievable, he cares about his wrestling fans, cares about the WWE, just cares a lot,” McAlpine said. McAlpine added that he has witnessed the various iterations of the pop culture convention over the years, and it’s been promising to see PopCon grow into what it looks like in 2026. He said that he plans to keep attending so long as the convention keeps up what it has been doing in recent years. “I’m just glad. I’m just glad they’re able to still have this. I’d come back if they keep hosting it at Prairieland and Prairieland keeps doing the right things, getting the right guests and stuff,” McAlpine said. This year’s PopCon was also strategically timed to take place after Calgary’s version of the event, which allowed for many vendors to attend both conventions. Tara Blue is one of several performers who went straight from one convention to another. Her Valkyrie costume, including stilts that allowed her to tower over the crowd, gained a lot of attention from others at PopCon. “We do get a reaction. This is what we do. So we love making the magic and the work. It’s an it’s an iceberg. So there’s 90 per cent of it you don’t see. You don’t see all the work that goes into this. You see, the 10 per cent of the magic at once,” Blue said. The professional performer shared that it’s a team effort to create the final product. “This is a village. This is not just me doing this on my own. I’m a full-time performer, full-time dancer, full-time stilt performer. I perform all over Canada. But it’s not just me. What you’re seeing here is three women, and that’s what makes the difference,” Blue said. Saskatoon-born Amanda Tozser is a professional film makeup artist who played a major role in creating Blue’s look for PopCon. “Her piece is a encapsulated silicone piece that’s actually sculpted on the face, cast applied, and then it’s painted. It’s alcohol makeup, and then the seems are all blended. So it moves with her expressions when she’s talking. It’s a film quality piece.” While she now resides in Calgary, Tozser said being able to share her talents with her hometown has been a very enjoyable time. “I love it, especially with Tara being a living statue. My fun part is when I hear this blood curdling screams, and that I’m like, yeah, I did my job right. And here at these expos, people want to see the magic and they want to see the creatures, and they want to have fun with it,” Tozser said.
