Winnipeg Comiccon

Winnipeg Comiccon is an annual pop culture event held in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It is owned and produced by CapeFlow Productions, which also hosts pop culture conventions in Laval, Montreal, Ottawa, and Quebec City.

Winnipeg Comiccon is the successor of Central Canada Comic Con (C4), which used to be the biggest pop culture event in Manitoba. It was inaugurated in 1994 as the Manitoba Collector’s Expo. Over the next two decades, it has grown from a small weekend trade show into the largest pop culture convention in Central Canada, with an attendance of over 70,000.

However, in April 2019, the team behind C4 announced the cancellation of the event due to the rising costs of rental fees and the unavailability of the venue on the necessary dates. Five months later, the organizers clarified that C4 was canceled for good and not just for a year. That’s when Montreal-based CapeFlow Productions stepped in to fill the void, announcing Winnipeg Comiccon.

Although Winnipeg Comiccon is the de facto successor of Central Canada Comic Con, its organizers don’t seek to replace what came before, but to deliver a fan experience that pop culture enthusiasts have been yearning for. The new event, however, is held on the same dates (late October – early November) and at the same venue, the RBC Convention Center Winnipeg. The inaugural Winnipeg Comiccon was held from October 30 to November 1, 2020.

Just like its predecessor, Winnipeg Comiccon is about all things pop culture, including comic and bandes dessinées, science fiction and fantasy, horror, anime, tabletop gamins, video games, cosplay, and more. Its program includes everything you would expect from a pop culture convention: panels, autograph sessions and photo ops with celebrity guests, various workshops, a costume contest (Masquerade), family-friendly activities, and several hundreds exhibitor booths offering comics and graphic novels, illustrations, original artwork, toys, T-shirts, and collector items.

Many fans attend conventions primarily for celebrity guests, and the organizers of the Winnipeg Comiccon do everything in their power not to disappoint them. For example, the inaugural event was headlined by John Barrowman of Doctor Who, Torchwood and Arrow, and other guest stars included actress Ruth Connel (Supernatural) and actor and bodybuilder Lou Ferrigno (The Incredible Hulk, Hercules, Marvel Cinematic Universe).