Calgary Expo and Edmonton Expo 2014

So Calgary Expo literally happened the weekend I was moving North of the Wall. And the bestie Dejathoris got super sick. Which means (shocker) I have ZERO pictures. However, to make it up to me, she and I met up in Edmonton this past September for Edmonton Expo! So I'll use those pictures.

But let's rewind shall we? The biggest, bestest thing happened at Calgary Expo. I got to meet Peter S Beagle! AND he LOVED my costume!!! His people took a picture of me which means I have a picture of us!

You know how 15 year olds behave around boy bands? That's how I behave around authors. I'm not joking. Douglas Coupland remembered me from one year to the next because of how stupid I sound when I'm fawning. 

The other amazing thing I was able to squeeze in before I had to leave was the Being Human Finale panel. The only thing I was really disappointed in was the fact that only half the audience was caught up on the season which means that we couldn't talk/ask questions about the finale. What do we think protocol should be at Cons for that? Last year during the Game Of Thrones Lannisters panel it was established early on everything broadcast was fair game. But on average it seems that everyone's doing the Netflix or the streaming at the end of the season/series. ANYWAYS, they were delightful and wonderful and I miss the show ALL OVER AGAIN!!!

Well even though my time was short, it's still no reason to skip my favorite part about expos. Here was this year's BEST COUPLE:

Look at them, they are fabulous

Fast forward to July, this is important, I promise. Guardians of the Galaxy comes out and I'm in love all over again with Marvel (not that I ever fell out of love with Marvel, they're not like DC those shill selling bastards). Seriously, I want to do all the cosplay. I want Star Lord's jacket, I want a dancing baby Groot, I want to dress up my dog as Rocket and I want to be Gamora. DING DING DING! GAMORA!!!! I immediately start scouring the internet for pictures of Gamora's costume and settle on the Hot Toys action figure which has the best 360 images. I found some beautiful blue spandex, some distressed black vinyl and some black sheer stuff and I get to work.

I am Groot!

Instead of using a pattern, I made a 3D pattern on the bustform and then cut the fabric pieces from there. Also, to ensure as little bulk as possible I used the serger instead of using a traditional sewing machine to attach everything. I got some news in August and considering that I want this costume to work for as long as possible I build in secret pregnancy panels! I'm due in May (May the 4th to be exact, what are the odds??) so I'm hoping to wear it at both Norwescon 38 and Calgary Expo 2015! In Edmonton I used Ben Nye liquid makeup in green but I switched to an alcohol-based body paint for Halloween. It just bled everywhere!!! I kept seeing people that bumped into me walking away with green marks on them! (If you're reading this, I'm so sorry!). I reused Calhoun's boots from last year, and I left the trim on them for added detail.The entire costume is one piece that just slips on which is awesome! This is my first costume I can get in and out of without assistance! Finally, I'd been dying my hair purple since March so I decided to let the purple grow out from the roots a little to imitate Gamora's hair. However, I found a Gamora wig online that I will probably get for NWC and Calgary Expo. I'm already to tired to take care of it now!

Dejathoris indulged me in a costume I'd been bugging her about since a small movie came out in January. And I'm sorry if you feel that this is overkill but I had no idea Frozen would explode the way it did! From a cosplay perspective, I saw Elsa and all I thought of was I WANNA PUT DEJATHORIS IN THAT COSTUME!!!! She found the dress and shoes on a Vegas trip and hand dyed a silk chiffon scarf for the cloak. She then embellished it with snowflake stickers and pins.

We also got to show off some costumes you might recognize, and we got some amazing photos of them too!

And finally we have a new member to the Guild! I gave him a name but now I can't remember it.... Go figure, that one is actually new. Anyways, Dejathoris made him a perfect Inigo Montoya costume from The Princess Bride! All I remember is that Dejathoris made leather pants out of the stiffest leather possible and the pants themselves stand up on their own. AND that she made a screen accurate six-finger sword!

So the thing that stood out at Edmonton Expo is that there was a triple bill panel with J August Richards, Amy Acker and Summer Glau and it was spectacular! But it was only half full... Afterwards there was The Big Bang Theory with Kunal Nayyar and Simon Helberg. And that was a full house. Not that I'm complaining, but I had to wait in line to ask my question. And I think my question lost a little of it's oomph since I was green asking a question about race that I re-worded about 16 times so that I didn't get beaten up in the parking lot after the Expo or sued by the cast of the Big Bang Theory.

I really wanted to address the fact that the character Raj replaces Apu in pop culture for Indians and I was wondering how Kunal felt about that and what that means to him. I mean Apu may be drawn Indian but I'm pretty sure that Hank Azaria is not. But you know, when you're caked in green paint, the question looses its context of being asked by someone of the same heritage. I really wish I could do that over again. Also, I was behind three ADORABLE children asking ADORABLE questions and here I am all "Let's talk about race and discrimination and Indian representation in pop culture and nerd culture blah blah blah"... So... wrong crowd? I seem to have gotten side tracked here....

Anyways, since I'm going to be 8 months pregnant by the time Calgary Expo comes around again I only have two costumes in my arsenal that I'm considering. HOWEVER, I've started planning on Calgary Expo 2016 because I will have the most ADORABLE accessory with me. Well at least with me for pictures. I will probably let it sleep at home for the actual con itself.