You may have heard of these big events, and you may even have been an attendee at one or a few of them over the last 2 weekends. We’re not talking about F1, but local events that have grown to their almost cult-like status.
Last weekend saw the annual SGCC – Singapore Comic Con (7-8 Dec) at Sands Expo, which showcased all things comic and nerd-related. The biggest showcase were the esteemed comic artists like Jock, Greg Capullo, Andy Kubert, Yasmine Putri, (and many more) who have graced many DC and Marvel comics. Newcomers Sarah Andersen (Sarah’s Scribbles) and Fishball also drew crowds with their gag comics.
This year’s inaugural showcase was Singapore Pro Wrestling, where a wrestling ring was set up with live performances to wow the audience with our local talents! As with previous years, toys were a big part of the event, with brands like Beast Nation, tokidoki, Selangor Pewter, Mighty Jaxx, Tamashi Nations, and more brought out all their limited edition collectors’ toys – toy designers, like Jason Freeny and Simone Legno – also came to autograph them.
A big portion of the event was the PVP Championships, with a live Campus League Final, where tertiary teams battled it out in Mobile Legends: Bang Bang. Celebrity Dota 2 gamer Topson, and celebrity cosplayer/gamer Alodia Gosiengfiao also made their presence on stage. Speaking of cosplayers, sthis year’s entrants of Championships of Cosplay 2019 really pulled out all the stops for a chance to participate in next year’s Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo (C2E2).
Happening the same weekend was the second Culture Cartel – an event for sneakerheads and hypebeasts at the F1 Pit, who were there to score some limited edition kicks and toys.
The week prior saw C3 Anime Festival Asia (29 Nov – 1 Dec) at Suntec, a large-scale event featuring all things Japanese pop culture – anime, manga, cosplay, and games. Established in 2008, the event has grown exponentially, and saw almost 2 million attendees over the past decade.
This year’s event saw the birth of a number of new events, including the AFA Film Festival with blockbuster premieres (Saekano the Movie Finale, One Piece: Stampede, Utano☆Princesama Maji LOVE Kingdom, etc), and an AFA Play Zone with tournaments and even the escape room game, Naruto x Boruto: Ninja Selection Exam.
As with previous iterations, there were cosplay events (this year’s cosplayers crowded the second floor of the Convention Centre), interviews with voice actors, a Swallowtail butler cafe (where handsome guys dressed as butlers serve mostly female customers), and of course, Anisong concerts featuring Jpop artists like SCANDAL, May’n, ReoNa, and many more.
Happening the same weekend was SITEX at Expo – not quite pop culture, but popular with the locals nonetheless. Featuring the latest in tech and gadgets, it was a place to get discounted appliances (it was Black Friday weekend) and try out new stuff for the home. It’s not just a place for you to buy stuff, it’s also a place where you can discover new things (there were also workshops).
These are just some of the biggest locally-organised events – if you’ve missed them this year, they’ll be back next year (hopefully bigger and better)!
