Avalon Expo latest event to showcase geek culture in St. John's
Droids, orcs and superheroes co-existed in St. John's this weekend for the first-ever Avalon Expo.
The event took place at the RE/MAX Centre on Mayor Avenue, and attracted hundreds over the course of the weekend.
Vendors were selling all things geek — from the world of comics, science fiction and fantasy.
Fans turned out for panels, workshops, gaming competitions and to buy paintings, toys and other merchandise.
Jeff Power, who founded and organized Avalon Expo, said he got the idea to start the event after seeing the success of another similar convention; Sci-Fi on the Rock.
"People were incredibly enthusiastic about it," he said.
"We had a place, we had a date, so it had to happen."
Power said with Avalon Expo now the third such event in the province, it shows that geek culture is alive and well in Newfoundland and Labrador.
"There's a real community," he said. "I can't give credit enough for people who started Sci-Fi on the Rock." [Atlanti-Con is held each year in Corner Brook.]
Power said the first year for Avalon Expo was a big success, and he's hoping it will be even bigger next year.
"There's going to be more people for sure, because I look around at all these people and I know each one of them has a friend that's not here," he said Sunday.
"Next year those friends are going to be here, so next year's just going to be mind-blowing."
