I'm always looking for new events to check out, even though scheduling and traveling challenges mean I tend to keep going to the same ones annually. However, this year everything worked out to be able to visit the (relatively) new Toronto Game Expo! I had a lot of friends going either as guests, panelists, or vendors and I was available to travel that weekend, so I had to see what it was all about!

While a large majority of the con was vendor and artist tables, that was perfectly fine for me, since November is a great time to shop for Christmas Gifts. I enjoyed looking at all the indie/local games in display, even though many didn't suit my taste, I still played demos of ones that were appealing. I attended a few presentations/panels (notably by Kamera Ninja, Holly Wolf, Zee the Raccoon, and Dart) though while the main stage worked well, the other panel/workshop area was pretty terrible for that kind of thing (basically tables in the noisy main exhibitors hall). 

Cosplay-wise, I wore my Mario Kart Rosalina on Saturday and Helly R on Sunday. As Rosalina I joined a small-but-mighty Nintendo/Smash Bros meet-up as well as taking lots of pics around the con. I didn't take nearly as many photos on Sunday (maybe I was feeling self-conscious about how big my wig had puffed up since Fan Expo) but still grabbed some photos from Paul Wishart at the official (and much cooler than my costume) photo booth. 

Overall I had a great time; loved getting to hang with the people mentioned above plus Dan the Video Ninja, Nt3rp and Lulu a la Mode, Captain Pira, A Sleepy Meow, and Bear Sailor Moon (who kicked my heeled butt at DDR). Will definitely consider returning next year if I have the time off again!

As is usual, this year I had the opportunity to attend multiple Halloween parties as well as costume-friendly days at my usual activities. Also as usual, I wore more casual (and recognizable) costumes but that doesn't make anything less fun!

My main/new costume for the year was Dr Ellie Sattler from the OG Jurassic Park. The concept was to have a half-dozen JP characters, but in the end only Clay and myself pulled off the good Doctors. We wore them for our own Halloween party (interrupted by a Jays game) in addition to a friend's party (also interrupted by a Jays game), and of course it's what I wore to work and for handing out candy too.

This year's other Halloween events were a series of classes at my gym (really sweating it out in a sloth kigu), and my aerial silks class with a much more activity-appropriate re-wear of Leela from Futurama.

Hope everyone enjoyed the spooky season!