Booking Expo is a non- stop mission
Planned guests might not make it due to conflicting commitments
It never stops.
That’s the message Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo hostess Emily Expo, a. k. a. VP of communications and guest acquisitions Lindsay Thomas, has for those who have been attempting to keep track of the ever- changing lineup of actors and artists at this year’s four- day pop- culture celebration.
The lineup is fluid and might be changing at this very moment.
“Quite literally I don’t ever stop booking people,” says Thomas. “I will be booking people right up until the convention and then I’m booking for 2016. It literally never stops.”
It all begins Thursday, when tens of thousands ( last year’s attendance: 97,000) are expected to start descending onto Stampede Park looking for autographs and interactions with the dozens of guests.
But even as the start date drew near, news about the lineup seemed relentless.
It went both ways. On the same day it was announced that Walking Dead star Norman Reedus had cancelled his appearance, the Expo announced that co- star Ross Marquand would be attending.
Superman’s Brandon Routh bowed out on April 4, the same day The Flash’s Robbie Amell was confirmed as a guest. Meanwhile, those who haven’t been paying attention in the past few weeks would have missed news that Agent Carter’s Hayley Atwell, Doctor Who’s Arthur Darvill and The Walking Dead’s Danai Gurira have come aboard. On Monday, Welsh actor Matt Ryan, who plays the titular role in NBC’s Constantine, was announced and more announcements were possible even today.
“It is a reality of the convention scene across the world, this is not a situation that is unique to us,” Thomas says.
“People who have been to multiple conventions throughout North America will absolutely be familiar with this idea of people cancelling very close to the show. It’s something that is common. It makes it tough for sure.”
As with any fan convention, attendance is based on the schedules of actors who are often very busy.
Which means that past coups by Calgary Expo — whether it be last year’s reunion of the cast of Aliens or 2012’ s incredible gathering of the actors from Star Trek: The Next Generation — are the happy exception rather than the norm.
“The biggest advice to anybody coming to the show is to keep an open mind,” Thomas says.
“The thing that really changes the most within a convention is the guests, because they can have commitments which can change things. So if you are focused solely on just one guest and that guest can no longer make it, it is absolutely disappointing. But if you’re open to experiencing other aspects of the show you’ll find you will have a fantastic time. Come down, have fun and you’ll probably discover new things that you will be interested in.”