Shawicon 2020: For the Love of Geek Culture and Cosplay

Driving on the Trans-Canada highway, we take an exit and wind up going North, a bit in the middle of nowhere, between fields and forests. We ended up in Shawinigan, the most easy-going place in Quebec!

This time, our adventures took us to the fifth edition of Shawicon. We are simply in love with this event; it’s our second year covering it! Shawicon is just like its organizer Nino Mancuso; a joyful, friendly event where all the other big conventions are put on the backburner. Mancuso, an ex-wrestler, proudly shares his passions of geek culture with all.

This year, aside from talented local artists, great, inventive cosplayers and real-life medieval fighters, we had the pleasure of meeting Mike Quinn (pictured above,) director, actor, puppeteer, voice over artist and all-around great guy! You might recognize his work from Dark Crystal (he designed and built the original podlings!), Labyrinth and Star Wars (as Nien Nunb; who, straight from the horse’s mouth, isn’t dead!) only to name a few. Where else than Shawinigan do we get to chat and drink beer and gin with actors from Star Wars! (P.S. We can’t wait for seconds with this amazingly talented and genuinely nice person.)

For our local fans, we also got to meet funny guy François Pérusse and techno-journalist Denis Talbot, who was also the spokesperson for the event. Mr. Talbot streamed most of the event on his twitch channel. And we also had the pleasure to listen to an hour and a half recap of Star Wars 1 through 6 by comedian Jeremie Larouche! Just hilarious!

Here are a few of our favorite shots of the weekend!