The Chronicles of Stu: Edmonton Entertainment Expo

This weekend I decided to volunteer for the Edmonton Entertainment Expo. I've attended these type of shows on occasion down in Calgary before (here & here) and have enjoyed them quite a bit. Partly, one of the reasons for me deciding to be a volunteer is that I hate lineups. So for a bit of service, I got to skip right by these folks.

So I could rummage around the stacks of comics looking for deals on Trade Paperbacks.

Or taking in some gory costumes. The Silent Hill nurse is enough to give you nightmares.

Over the last few years I have noticed that Steampunk has become huge.I really appreciate some of the great imagery and DIY style of the cosplayers but overall I just don't get it. That being said - this gun was cool.

When I wasn't wandering around aimlessly I was working the VIP line for celebrity autographs. My job was to escort VIP pass holders to the front of individual celebrity autograph lines, keep people moving around the exits and tell people to turn off their 'flash'. The celebrities in attendance included:

Misha Collins from Supernatural - I had never heard of him but the ladies loved him. He was at the far side of the line from me and for the first two hours of my shift I thought Misha was a woman due to the name.

Lee Majors the Six Million Dollar Man - Seemed nice but getting a little rickety and in need of a tune up.
Julie Newmar - The original and best Catwoman. She is looking her age and had a bit of trouble getting around but she was fantastic with the fans and by all accounts a very nice lady. Plus, she wore some cat ears the first day which everyone loved. The old pictures of herself that she were signing were pin-up style and were exceptionally hot.
Burt Ward, the original Robin, smiled a lot and wore a Hawaiian shirt.
Jewel Staite from Firefly and Stargate Alliance. Meh...She ran about an hour late at all times.
Billy Dee Williams who rocks a purple cape better than any man as Lando Calrissian.
Charisma Carpenter from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. Holy Crap she looked good. Especially for 42. She was hard to take your eyes off of. I couldn't get a picture of her as she really didn't like all the cameras around. I had to continually tell people, "No pictures of Charisma". I don't think anyone was confused thinking that they couldn't take any pictures of my undeniable charm. Also, she could seem a little stand offish but she was quite nice with young kids and even stomached an especially creepy dude who had an empty baby stroller full of knick knacks and a copy of her Playboy issue. That dude gave even me the creeps.
Nichelle Nichols, Lt. Uhura from Star Trek the Original Series. I spent the majority of my time volunteering about 5 feet from her. She was a very nice and very accommodating lady. She ended up signing a lot of weird and cool stuff. When requested to sign the Mr. Potato Head version of herself I could hear her giggle and proclaim that she had forgotten all about them. For her age she looked great, almost regal. She was easily the most recognized and appreciated of the fans at the show.

My spot at the show.

I wore a Red Shirt in front of a Star Trek Original Series veteran on a "Away Mission" for multiple hours and managed to walk away and tell the tale. Much better than these Star Fleet rejects...

When you start walking the floor of the show you quickly start to realize who the real stars of the show are - the Cosplayers. One shopkeeper/cosplayer from CanadaCosplay.com had all of the guys talking - she was the most realistic/enhanced human of Jessica Rabbit you will ever see. Gravity has a new opponent.