iN PHOTOS: Cosplay and pop culture convention makes epic return to Penticton

Lovers of nerd culture are basking in every minute of Penti-Con in the South Okanagan.

After two years of cancellations due to COVID-19, the pop culture festival has returned to the Penticton Trade and Convention Centre.

Guests get to take photos with the villains of Star Wars, admire all the geek-themed artwork, play in non-stop Dungeons and Dragons tournaments, browse the nostalgic action figures and retro video games, and meet cultural icons like Pokémon voice actor Adin Rudd and Datu Shishir Inocalla, a stunt double for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Michelangelo in the 1990s.

Many attendees dressed up as their favourite fictional characters and ready to play the part. They call it cosplay.

Logan Davy from Summerland was at the event dressed at Nightmare!Sans from the video game Undertale.

“He’s an evil character – I like the vibe and the impression he gives off,” Davy said.

As a costume designer, Davy said it’s important to put lots of thought into minor and obscure details that will be appreciated by serious fans.

Lir Waid is another young designer who was excited to be at Penti-Con. He’s a local 17-year-old who was dressed as Grell Sutcliff from an anime show called Black Butler.

“It’s quite nice again seeing everyone back again,” he said.

Waid takes cosplay seriously – he started working on costume projects at the age of 10, he’s been to every local convention since they began in 2016, and he plans on going to college for acting.

“I cosplay as a way to escape and just embrace my weirdness and creativity – and that has skyrocketed me to my acting career and who I am today.”

He said the trick to better cosplay is to give each project all the time and patience they need. For his Grell Sutcliff getup, he put a tedious amount of work into getting his hair, made out of red yarn, just right. It’s also important to make sure the costumes are comfy and don’t cause itching.

“Each strand of hair I punched in myself,” he said.

“And I use the wisdom I gained from all the past few years.”

For this weekend’s convention, Waid also designed the costume for his friend Dmitri Caspersen, who was dressed as Tommy Slater from Fear Street.

Making blue jeans appear bloody was one of the toughest challenges for Tommy Slater’s costume, he said.

Penti-Con continues tomorrow. Doors open at 10 a.m. and single day passes are available.

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