Capital City Comic Con is on pause for 2023.
The partners that hold the annual event – Destination Greater Victoria, Downtown Victoria Business Association and The National Toy Museum of Canada represented by Cherry Bomb Toys – announced the hiatus Monday (Nov. 28) to allow time for event reevaluation.
“This event has been a passion of mine since the beginning. I love the cosplay, fan culture, community and seeing so many happy faces and families attend the event,” Cherry Bomb Toys owner Candice Woodward said in a statement. “A successful Capital City Comic Con is a tremendous amount of work for everyone involved and navigating this large of an event during a pandemic hasn’t been easy. We appreciate everyone’s support of our non-profit convention over the years and we will revisit putting on another in the future.”
Destination Greater Victoria is very proud of the event that attracts out-of-town visitors and residents as well, according to CEO Paul Nursey.
“However, as a nonprofit with limited resources, we must weigh the effort required to hold a successful event with our focus on marketing, sales, and enhancing sustainable tourism development. We want to deliver for our members and stakeholders in our many lines of business. This is where our focus will be in 2023,” he said in a statement.
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Capital City Comic Con 2022 took place in September, delayed from March because of the COVID-19 Omicron variant. The family-friendly event was well received, but the resources required to plan the event in its traditional spring dates for 2023, were deemed beyond the capacity of the partner organizations.
A hiatus is the right decision, noted Jeff Bray, CEO of the business association.
“We have set the bar high for this event and want to deliver the best product possible. Holding the event in March 2023 is too soon. I support taking a step back, evaluating the event and considering how best to proceed,” he said.
Visit capitalcitycomiccon.ca for more about the event.
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