The second annual Bruce County Comicon made its return to Southampton over the weekend.
Owner and Founder of the event Julia Barac says she was proud of how this year’s event at the Southampton Coliseum on Saturday turned out.
“There was a lot of chatter leading up to the event this year, there was a lot more advertising which I think paid off, the vendors are happy, the attendees are happy,” says Barac.
Following last year’s success, Barac says they expanded the event to include the coliseum’s annex in addition to the arena area.
“There is a lot more space, so people have room to participate in the free play arcade which is fun. There is a lot more attractions in there and vendors, but I think just the elbow room was a little bit of an improvement this year, people are not as congested,” says Barac. “We were able to fit more vendors because there was a lot of people that heard about the success of the first show that wanted to take part.”
The vendors at the event were selling everything from old horror movies, to video games, comic books, novels, action figures, collectibles, artisan goods, and clothing.
Barac says one new addition to this year’s event was a large Optimus Prime replica truck which sat outside the venue.
“People were happy to see Optimus driving down Southampton and Port Elgin, he was escorted by police so it was all around a good day,” says Barac. “People don’t get exposure to stuff like that, so to bring things that are different, exciting and things to do and see, I think adds a lot of value to a show like this.”
Barac already has ideas for how she can expand next year’s event, including hosting the event possibly more than once a year.
“If it makes sense then yes, but we will see. It is only the second one so I am trying to go baby steps and build it up, but I am optimistic about the future,” says Barac.
