Ocean Barber was dressed up as Keegan from the Call of Duty video game series when she checked out Steel City NerdCon with friends this afternoon.
The celebration of all things nerdy has hundreds of pop culture collectors descending upon Soo Blaster in order to check out a variety of vendors and live entertainment over the course of the three-day event.
It’s the first time Barber has ever attended NerdCon, which is now in its seventh year.
“There's a lot of people in there — a lot more than I expected,” Barber said. “It's really nice though. Everyone's like, really friendly.”
More than 60 vendors are selling a wide range of pop culture collectibles, including toys, video games and trading cards.
It’s the third year in a row that Bladeworks.ULTD has been selling merchandise related to trading card games at NerdCon.
The business is selling a selection of play mats, deck boxes and art prints at this year’s event.
“I do pretty well as far as profit goes each year,” said the owner, who goes by the moniker Blade 80. “There's a great crowd of a lot of my peers, and people that share similar interests.
“It's always a joy to talk to the people and make a couple sales.”
Organizer Michael Turcotte — who co-owns Vintage Games ‘N Junque alongside his wife, Beth — said the event is for everyone that collects pop culture and wants to “enjoy everything nerdy.”
“It started in a garage, so it's grown significantly,” he told SooToday. “Every year it seems to have gotten bigger and bigger.”
Part of that growth includes live entertainment: This year’s NerdCon features a number of events, including live music, sword fighting demonstrations and flash tattoos by Tattoo Tearz.
Today’s lineup included a special screening of The Damnation, a horror film by Anishinaabe film producer Christopher Darton.
“Anytime there's positive things for people to do in the Sault, it's a good thing,” Turcotte said.
Barber, who described NerdCon as “really freaking cool,” said she wants to come back to the event when it rolls around next year.
“Oh, 100 per cent. If I can, I totally will,” she said.
Turcotte attributed the success of NerdCon to the droves of pop culture enthusiasts who show up to the event year after year.
"It has nothing to do with me — just the people that attend and seem to love it,” he said.
More information on this year's Steel City NerdCon can be found here.