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It was a busy weekend at Prairieland Park in Saskatoon, as the first Pop Con YXE was held on May 3 and 4.
The pop culture event similar to Comic-Con provides a space for comic lovers and cosplay enthusiasts to express themselves and meet some Hollywood talent.
Pop Con hopes to build off the success the Saskatoon Expo had before the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
Kevin Sussman who played Stuart Bloom on TV show The Big Bang Theory, and Deborah Ann Woll who played Marvel Cinematic Universe character Karen Page in Daredevil and The Punisher were among the celebrities at the event.
Peter Jelinski, Prairieland’s manager of signature events, said it takes a while to get everything set up for an event like this.
“People started working on this back in November of 2024 really preparing for this year,” he said.
“It generally takes about six to eight months — you have to start talking to celebrities and making all your plans and start getting vendors out.”
Jelinski said the park was aiming to attract a big crowd with the event.
“We’re hoping for between 10,000 and 15,000 over the weekend,” he said.
‘Who ya gonna call? Ghostbusters!’
Parents heading to Pop Con YXE with their kids were enjoying the Ghostbusters booth.
Evan Burr and Chris Frisen are both fans of the 1984 supernatural comedy and their booth is at the event to help the community.
“We’re raising donations for the Ronald McDonald House funds,” Frisen said.
“We like to partner with local charities and Ronald McDonald House, for me at least, is a real life saver,” said Burr. “It’s an opportunity for us to let our freak flag fly and then give back as much as we possibly can.”
While the duo isn’t actually busting ghosts, they are providing a safe spot for parents who may feel out of their element.
“You’ll see a lot of parents and kids and the kids will be looking at every anime … and then the parents will just look confused, scared and sad,” said Burr.
“Then they’ll see us and a single tear will descend from their eyes like, ‘I know what this is’.”
It’s not everyday you see a toaster dance by itself, and if you do see this everyday you might want to move pic.twitter.com/IaGnWGa1IY
— Will Mandzuk (@WMandzuk) May 3, 2025
Frisen said the have a ton of gadgets that people can check out.
“A Spirit Halloween proton pack … we got the toaster from Ghostbusters II (and) mood slime, that when they put it into an object, it can tend to jump around.”
Jester Sliva (left) and Sam Sic dressed as Pure Vanilla Cookie, and Wizard Cookie from CookieRun: Kingdom. (Will Mandzuk/650CKOM)
Popular cosplays on display
The popular mobile game CookieRun: Kingdom had representation at the event, with attendees Jester Sliva and Sam Sic dressing up as the Pure Vanilla Cookie and Wizard Cookie characters.
Sliva said she’s happy that something has replaced the Saskatoon Expo.
“I’ve been going to the Saska Expo for as long as I’ve known,” said Sliva. “After COVID-19 it went downhill, but I think Pop Con is going to be the thing that really brings it back.”
Sliva said that she had really enjoyed seeing all the cool booths and people.
“I really like seeing all the hard work that all the vendors have put up and all the cosplayers (have) done,” said Sliva.
For Sic, two booths stuck out.
“I’ve been to every one at least twice so far and there’s one with bones that’s really sick,” he said.
Both Sic and Sliva said the best part was having people recognize their costumes and smiling.
“You see so many people compliment you and they just smile seeing it, it feels great,” said Sic.
“I’ve seen kids smile and giggle at me and it’s like, one of the best things,” said Sliva. “If I could make someone happy with my cosplay, that would be amazing.”
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