The first Edmonton Comic & Entertainment Expo was held in 2012 as a spin-off of the Calgary Comic & Entertainment Expo, a fan convention founded in 2006 by aspiring comic book writer Kandrix Foong. In 2017, Calgary and Edmonton Expos were acquired by Informa, which had previously acquired Fan Expo Canada and Toronto Comicon. Although Informa rebranded many of its North American events as Fan Expo, Calgary Expo and Edmonton Expo have retained their original names and logos.
Edmonton Expo is a three-day convention that attracts tens of thousands of pop culture fans every year. It is one of the best destinations in Canada for all things comics, sci-fi, fantasy, horror, anime, and gaming. The convention is held at the Edmonton EXPO Centre, a multipurpose venue with over 400,000 square feet of exhibit hall space.
As with most fan conventions, celebrity guests are one of the main attractions at Edmonton Expo. For example, the 2025 lineup included Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Billy Boyd, and Dominic Monaghan from The Lord of the Rings, Brandon Rogers, Richard Horvitz and Morgana Ignis from Helluva Boss, Jason Spisak, Mick Wingert and Reed Shannon from Arcane, Christopher Lloyd and Claudia Wells from Back to the Future, Brandon Routh (Superman Returns, Arrowverse), Mike Colter (Luke Cage), Adrianne Palicki (The Orville), Erica Durance (Smallville), May Hong (Kpop Demon Hunters), Robert Patrick (Terminator 2: Judgment Day, The X-Files), and other notable actors and voice actors, as well as comic creators and cosplayers.
Celebrity events at Edmonton Expo include Q&A sessions on stage, where celebrities answer fan questions and share behind-the-scenes stories. There are also autograph sessions and photo ops. Tickets for autographs and photos must be purchased in addition to an admission ticket. Autographs are not permitted in the photo op area, and selfies are generally not allowed in the autograph area. However, some guests may offer selfies for an additional fee.
However, Edmonton Expo is not all about celebrity guests. The convention’s extensive program includes the cosplay red carpet, cosplay competitions, IdolFest, Anime HQ with anime-themed events and activities, cosplay meetups, karaoke, games and trivia, an Artist Alley, sketch duels, Drink & Draw, workshops and seminars, a gaming zone with tabletop and video games, a Kids’ Zone with family-friendly attractions, a shopping zone with tons of merchandise, and more.
Like all Fan Expo events, Edmonton Expo offers several types of tickets: three-day tickets for the entire weekend (regular, Ultimate, and VIP); single-day tickets; family single-day passes (two adults and up to four children aged six to twelve); youth single-day tickets (for teens aged thirteen to seventeen); and child passes.
Photo: fanexpohq.com/edmontonexpo
