Senara Erwin

There is a chill wind in the air, but its not felt under the layers of costume. A Mandalorian Mario parades with Princes Peach. I que up to enter the building marked “Colosseum” past photographs of various stars I’ve seen on T.V. so many times before, who have also visited this convention. The hall opens ahead of me, a makeshift fantasy shop is set up across from Jordan Beardy who is selling pop culture paintings done in a distinctive Anaishinabe style. Crowds of people just as geeky as I flow like water around vendors, a stage, fundraisers, and friendly klingons. On stage Doug Jones, known for his inhuman roles in: Star Trek Discovery, the Shape of Water, Hellboy, and many others, jokes about wanting to star in a Hallmark film. This geek has never felt more at home in northwestern Ontario.

ThunderCon enters its tenth year and draws more than you would expect for a smaller city, attracting speakers and guests of honour like Tiffany Grant, Katy Townsend, Doug Jones, Brian Beacock, and Jessica Rey. Its a place to meet like minded geeks, show off your cosplays, play games, and talk with artists. Oh and yes buy lots of stuff. Lots and lots of stuff. Games, to books of poetry, and pop-culture cultural art. Traditional Anishinaabe artwork of Pokemon was not something I expected to see at ThunderCon, but it was very nice to see.

ThunderCon is located at the Canadian Lakehead Exhibition and has two main buildings, with a third set aside for gaming. The walk between the buildings is no bore, outside there are food vendors, more booths, lots of costumes, and a DJ playing fun songs from different fandoms and franchises. Talking to strangers has never been easier as we are all here for a fun time. And a cosplayer is usually very eager to share the story behind their costume, weather it be the metal worker who built a suite of armour in one night, or the highly organized and welcoming 501st cosplayers, raising money for charity in screen accurate star wars costumes. Even the cars were cosplaying, complete with Jurassic Park Jeep and a Ghost Buster car.

Finding other geeks and nerds can sometimes be hard to do in northwestern Ontario, and conventions like ThunderCon are excellent ways to bridge that gap, weather it be for artists to find new customers, or hobbyists to find new friends. Its one big party and you don’t want to to miss this September. If you are looking for a party of your own to attend, Betty’s and the Pink Parasol Tea Room of Fort Frances will be hosting a Mini-Ren Fair on January 24th.