How a weekly burger joint meet-up grew into star-studded Sask. Entertainment Expo
Star Wars actor Billy Dee Williams, Walking Dead's Michael Rooker among guests at convention this weekend
For Mike Fisher, it's hard to believe that weekly conversations about comics and art at a local burger joint have turned into a star-attracting event that's expected to draw thousands of pop culture fans this weekend.
Fisher is the co-founder of the Saskatchewan Entertainment Expo, which started in 2012 with attendance of just shy of 2,000. This year's event, running Saturday and Sunday, is expected to hit attendance of 15,000.
"I just was really looking for something light and fun and something to take my mind off what was going on," when he started the pop culture convention, he says.
Following a divorce and a number of health issues, he was looking for an outlet — something to distract him from what he was experiencing.
That led him back to the comics he had been a fan of as a child. But more than the words and images on the page, Fisher found the people who shared his interests formed a tight-knit and caring community.
That translated to weekly meet-ups to talk pop culture at Fuddruckers.
"To have those conversations, and to be surrounded by people that like the same things, that was a treasure for me at that point in my life," he said.
"Just to have that conversation and that camaraderie with those people — that's sort of where Expo really truly started."
Five minutes until the doors open! The line is looooooong!!! <a href="https://twitter.com/SaskExpo?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SaskExpo</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/saskexpo?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#saskexpo</a> <a href="https://t.co/CBwLW1s8XA">pic.twitter.com/CBwLW1s8XA</a>
—@ericandersonyxeAt that point, attending a fan convention meant Fisher and his friends had to go to cities like Calgary, Toronto or San Diego. So while recovering from a surgery, he decided that Saskatchewan should have its own convention.
In its first year, Fisher and his friends were happy to see a modest turnout.
"We were just blown away that we kind of broke even, that we didn't lose the money that we invested. But it was just such a cool feeling in there," he said.
Fisher kept at it, and in time, the convention grew and attracted bigger names, including Princess Leia herself.
As a Star Wars fan, Fisher said it was hard to keep his cool around actor Carrie Fisher, who came to the convention in 2016, but her warm and humble nature made getting along quite easy.
"She was here just a few months before she passed,and what a joy she was," said Fisher. "So great with the fans. She treated all of the volunteers so well."
When she was in Saskatoon, the actor asked for volunteers to take her through a McDonald's drive-thru to buy Big Macs for all the Expo volunteers.
"She was very cool that way."
This year, another Star Wars actor is coming to Saskatoon.
Billy Dee Williams,who famously portrayed the smuggler Lando Calrissian in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, will be at the expo on Saturday and Sunday. He was set to appear last year, but had to cancel. At the time, it was speculated that was due to filming conflicts with the upcoming Star Wars movie The Rise of Skywalker, in which it was later confirmed he will return as Lando Calrissian.
Other celebrity attendees this year include Star Trek: The Next Generation actor Marina Sirtis, Michael Rooker of The Walking Dead and Guardians of the Galaxy, and Paul Sun-Hyung and Andrew Phung of CBC TV's Kim's Convenience.
The Saskatchewan Entertainment Expo runs Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Prairieland Park in Saskatoon.