The third-annual collector con event was hosted by Babs Gaming and Sports Cards at the Servus Sports Centre. More than 1,000 people visited the event to check out the unique collections on display. Taylor Weaver Meridian Source
For fans of all things comic books, collectibles, and cosplay, the Servus Sports Centre was the place to be as Babs Gaming and Sports Cards hosting its third-annual Collector Con.
Collector Con has seen growth Babs’ co-owners Andrews Ross and Mitch Lapensee didn’t think was possible when they started a few years ago. Originally held at the Lloyd Ex, this year’s expo held Sept. 23-24, moved to the multiplex to accommodate more guests and vendors.
“It’s awesome to see so much traffic this weekend, and it’s a great feeling having it grow so fast. We had 1,017 people here on Saturday and the numbers are already looking good today,” said Ross on the final afternoon of the show.
“Last year’s expo featured 21 vendors and was hosted at the Lloyd Exhibition, and this year’s show saw 35 vendors in the north fieldhouse at the Servus Sports Centre.”
The new location also allowed Ross and Lapensee to go even bigger when it came to activities. If attendees found they were having a little too much fun, a quick stop in the new Zen Zone was just what the doctor ordered.
“We stuck with the bouncy houses, but we went with bigger and better bouncy houses. We went to a different venue to accommodate more vendors, and we also added a Zen Zone,” explained Ross.
“A lot of people can get over-stimulated and could use a break, so we built a quiet room to help people relax. You can draw in the sand in there, you can colour, do some origami; just hang out.”
Lapensee also explained Collector Con wasn’t just for the kids and included more exciting new features.
“We had everybody from two years of age to 45 years of age,” he said. “Everybody came out, there was something for everybody, and it showed. The community really supported the event, and it was awesome.”
“We had a cosplay contest on Saturday as well as Sunday; we had a Mario Kart tournament yesterday, a magician, all kinds of fun stuff.”
“We also brought in local author Frank Krulicki who built a graphic novel,” explained Ross. “We did a live Q and A session with him on Saturday to talk about his career and how he got to where he is now.”
Another major hit this year was the Bruneau family and their fully customized Mystery Machine, which even included mini putt for the kids.
Amy, Brenden, Sierra (13) and Ferris (5) trailered their Mystery Machine to the Border City from Hepburn, Sask., and turned quite a few heads in the process.
“Yesterday, I guess there was a buzz when we came into town,” said Amy on Sunday afternoon. “Someone posted they saw us in town on What’s Happening in Lloydminster on Facebook and they wanted to know if we were legit. I requested to join the page and was immediately accepted, so I let everyone in the group know where to find us in town.”
With experience in automotive restoration, Brenden explained the Mystery Machine started out as a COVID project to keep everyone busy during lockdowns.
“We took it to a show after it was completed and it was almost a snowball affect after that,” said Brenden. “People loved the van, and we kept getting invited to more car shows and expos like this.
“Quite a few people actually came here specifically to check out the van after seeing the buzz on Facebook.”
“This is the kind of thing we really love to do,” added Amy.
So, what does the family get out of the experience? When asked, mom and dad gave different answers simultaneously.
“Nothing,” said Amy. “Enjoyment,” added Brenden.
“We like showing off our work and making people smile, that was the whole reason for doing this project in the first place,” said Amy. “Getting to show it off even more is icing on the cake.”
