Last year, the inaugural year for the Bangor Comic & Toy Con, was a bit of a gamble for convention organizer Chris MacMillian. Would his three-day gathering for fans of comic books, horror, science fiction, fantasy and pop culture be a hit? Other comic conventions in Maine had either fizzled or were held intermittently — could MacMillian make it work?
Judging from the thousands of often colorfully-dressed folks that streamed through the doors of the Cross Insurance Center last April, it certainly did work. The second Bangor Comic & Toy Con is set for April 8-10, again at the Cross Center. MacMillian hopes to build on last year’s success.
“It left us speechless. We were amazed at how well it was supported, and the positive feedback we got inspired us to go forward,” said MacMillian, of last year’s turnout. “I think that it was a great mix of all things, and the local artists, businesses all appreciated people showing up. We had our ups and downs for a first year con, but all in all it just felt great to be a part of Bangor for the weekend.”
This year’s event begins Friday, with VIP ticket holders able to get a sneak peek of the convention floor between 4 p.m. and 10 p.m. at the Cross Center. Later, there’s the kickoff Friday Night Lights party set for 8 p.m. at the Downunder Club at Seasons Restaurant on Main Street in Bangor. Nine local rock, punk and indie bands will perform, including The Banner Year, Under Fire, The Waking Life, Summit, Glass Canyon, Caster, The Royal Bones, Dear Father and Fading Dawn
On Saturday, the main event begins, with the convention floor opening to VIP ticket holders at 9:30 a.m. and general admission at 10 a.m. Comic stores and dealers, craftspeople, costumers, authors, pop culture and toy dealers and much more will have goods for sale until 7 p.m.
There will also be panels on cosplay — costume play, the subculture devoted to meticulously crafting costume homages to pop culture characters — and on comic books, horror and science fiction films. Gaming sessions are also set up for video gamers, card games and a six-foot-tall, fully controllable Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots game. There’s another after party, set for the evening, again at the Downunder Club, as well as amateur wrestling courtesy of local stars from International Wrestling Entertainment.
Additionally, the many media guests set for BCTC will be on hand for panels and photo ops on both Saturday and Sunday. Guests include Nichelle Nichols, who played Uhura on the original Star Trek TV series; Colin Baker, who played the sixth Doctor Who; Tim Rose, who played Admiral Ackbar in “Return of the Jedi” and in the upcoming eighth Star Wars movie; Denise Crosby, who played Tasha Yar on “Star Trek: The Next Generation,”; Tom Kane, who has voiced countless animation and video game characters; Verne Troyer, who played Mini-Me in the Austin Powers movies; David Fielding, Paul Schier and Jason Narvy from the “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers” franchise; and Kel Mitchell, from Nickelodeon’s “All That” and “Kenan and Kel.” Photo ops may be purchased on site, through Memory Maker Photography, which will also be on hand throughout the weekend, documenting the convention..
There’s more on Sunday, with the cosplay competitions in the afternoon, with kid’s cosplay set for 11 a.m. and adult cosplay set for 1 p.m. Kids age twelve and under get in a free all weekend with an adult’s paid admission, and coloring, mask making and drawing workshops all day Saturday and Sunday.
Tickets are $35 for the whole weekend, $25 for either Saturday or Sunday, and $15 for Friday night, and can be purchased online via Ticketmaster, or in person at the Cross Insurance Center box office. For a full schedule, visit bangorcomictoycon.com.
