Organizers of Penticton鈥檚 first-ever Comic-Con-style event are calling the event over the weekend a big success, with plans to go even bigger next year.
The Penti-Con featured everything from cosplay to games of Magic: The Gathering to artists鈥 booths to a bit of swordplay in the Penticton Lakeside Resort Saturday afternoon. Organizers Jo Scofield and Lily Wilson said they鈥檙e blown away by the attendance of the inaugural event.
鈥淓verybody has blown us out of the water,鈥 Scofield said.
鈥淚t hasn鈥檛 stopped,鈥 Wilson added. 鈥淲e ended up selling out of tickets on the Friday, and then tickets at the door has been a lineup most of the day.鈥
They estimate between 400 and 600 made their way through the event Saturday afternoon.
鈥淲e broke every number we hoped for,鈥 Scofield said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 been amazing.鈥
The event catered to any number of genres, with vendors selling books, plushies, fan art and more.
鈥淲e have such a variety of vendors that they鈥檙e impressed. We don鈥檛 just stick to one genre,鈥 Wilson said. 鈥淲e have different types of vendors for every type of genre.鈥
The event attracted a crowd beyond the Okanagan, with some making day trips from Vancouver to show off their storm trooper costumes.
鈥淲e always knew there was a secret nerd community,鈥 Wilson said. 鈥(It was) something to bring (tourists) to the Okanagan, something new. We have vendors from Calgary, we have vendors from Vancouver.鈥
Next year, Scofield and Wilson said they鈥檙e planning to go bigger and better, potentially moving to a larger venue to accommodate a bigger turnout.
鈥淲e will finalize that before we announce it, so the next couple of weeks,鈥 Scofield said.