Owners of Babs Gaming and Sports Cards, Mitch Lapensee and Andrew Ross, had a great weekend at the Lloyd Ex as Babs hosted its first-ever Collector Con. Taylor Weaver Meridian Source
Whether you were looking to buy, sell, or trade, there was something for everyone at Babs Gaming and Sports Cards first-ever Collector Con.
Held last Saturday and Sunday at the Lloyd Ex, Collector Con was modelled after larger-scale Comic Con events and featured a cosplay contest, a fun zone with bouncy houses, modern arcade games and an oversized Operation game, sponsored by J&R Automotive, Super Smash Bros and Fortnite tournaments, and much more.
“The weekend was all about getting people out and making them aware there’s this type of community in Lloyd,” said Babs’ co-owner Andrew Ross, who’s called Lloydminster home for the past 15 years. “We also like to keep things local.”
Babs has been open in the Border City for roughly a year and a half and is owned by Ross and his business partner, Mitch Lapensee.
Since they opened, business has been strong enough for Ross and Lapensee to introduce a customer loyalty program.
“As a video game collectible store and hockey card store, there’s lots of call for it here,” said Ross.
“People used to have to drive to Edmonton, but now they don’t have to; we also really push shopping local.”
Ross explained the idea to host a comic con-style event in Lloyd came after attending a show in Edmonton.
“They had a cosplay contest and a bunch of collectables, just as we did, and we thought we’d try to bring that here and put on a show,” he said.
“We’ve seen lots of people come through and heard lots of feedback. The kids had a great time and our cosplay contest had 10 entrees on Sunday, which wasn’t huge, but still lots of fun.
“It’s tough to say, but we probably had 800 people come through the doors throughout the two days.”
The two-day event also featured hockey/trading card vendors, Adventurvers Games out of Lloydminster, as well as the Alberta and Saskatchewan Ghostbusters. The Alberta Ghostbusters is a society with a charitable purpose that fundraises through cosplay events. The organization is composed of volunteers, prop builders, collectors and fans.
“The Ghostbusters came and brought a ton of props, took lots of pictures, and everything they raised went to the Alberta Stollery Children’s Foundation.”
For those who missed out on the fun, Ross assured the Source “We’re definitely doing this again next year.”
