Saskatchewan Entertainment Expo (SEE, formerly the Saskatoon Comic and Entertainment Expo) is an annual
fan convention
Fan convention (also known as con or fan meeting), a term that predates 1942, is an event in which fans of a particular topic gather to participate and hold programs and other events, and to meet experts, famous personalities, and each other. Some ...
held at
Prairieland Park in
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Yellowhead Highway, and has served as ...
, typically in mid-September.
History
The event was founded by Mike Fisher and Chris Bernhard of Saskatoon, who sought to provide a local alternative to out-of-province events in locations such as
Alberta
Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...
.
The inaugural edition was held in 2013 as the Saskatchewan Entertainment Expo; major guests included
William B. Davis,
Grey DeLisle
Grey DeLisle (; born Erin Grey Van Oosbree; August 24, 1973), sometimes credited as Grey Griffin, is an American voice actress, comedian and singer-songwriter. DeLisle is known for various roles in animated productions and video games. On Sept ...
, and
Kevin Conroy
Kevin Conroy (November 30, 1955 – November 10, 2022) was an American actor. He appeared in a variety of stage performances, television series, and television films, but earned worldwide fame for his voice portrayal of the DC Comics superhero ...
, as well as comic book writers
Ian Boothby,
Pia Guerra
Pia Jasmin Guerra is an American-born Canadian comic book artist and editorial cartoonist, best known for her work as co-creator and lead penciller on the Vertigo title '' Y: The Last Man''. She has worked in the comics industry since the 1990s, ...
and
Marcus To
Marcus To (born 20 October 1983) is a Canadian comic book artist who currently works for Marvel Comics as the artist for ''Excalibur''. He is best known for his work on Red Robin, '' Huntress'' and '' Soulfire''. On July 9, 2012, it was announc ...
among others.
To expand the event, the convention partnered with the
Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo in 2014, and was renamed the Saskatoon Comic and Entertainment Expo (SCEE). Notable guests that year included actor
Robert Englund
Robert Barton Englund (born June 6, 1947) is an American actor and director. He is best known for playing the supernatural serial killer Freddy Krueger in the ''Nightmare on Elm Street'' film series. Classically trained at the Royal Academy of ...
,
Phil LaMarr
Phillip LaMarr (born January 24, 1967) is an American actor, comedian and screenwriter. LaMarr was one of the original featured cast members on the sketch comedy television series '' Mad TV''. His voice acting roles in animated series include ...
, and
Brandon Routh
Brandon James Routh (; born October 9, 1979) is an American actor. He portrayed Superman (1978 film series character), Superman in the 2006 film ''Superman Returns'', which garnered him international fame. In 2011, he played the Dylan Dog, titul ...
.
William Shatner
William Shatner (born March 22, 1931) is a Canadian actor. In a career spanning seven decades, he is best known for his portrayal of James T. Kirk in the ''Star Trek'' franchise, from his 1965 debut as the captain of the starship ''Enterpri ...
appeared at the 2015 edition; attendance had grown to around 15,000.
Carrie Fisher
Carrie Frances Fisher (October 21, 1956 – December 27, 2016) was an American actress and writer. She played Princess Leia in the ''Star Wars'' films (1977–1983). She reprised the role in'' Star Wars: The Force Awakens'' (2015), ''The Last ...
attended in 2016.
Fan Expo Fan Expo is a group of fan conventions operated by Fan Expo HQ, a unit of the Informa Connect division of Informa plc. Most of its events are run under the Fan Expo brand, which stems from its namesake, the Toronto-based Fan Expo Canada.
History ...
—which had also begun to run their own event at
Regina's
Evraz Place in 2014—acquired the organizers of Calgary Expo in late-2017. As a result, the partnership was disbanded,
and the convention reverted to the Saskatchewan Entertainment Expo title in 2018.
Doug Jones,
Ron Perlman
Ronald Perlman (born April 13, 1950) is an American actor. His credits include the roles of Amoukar in '' Quest for Fire'' (1981), Salvatore in ''The Name of the Rose'' (1986), Vincent in the television series ''Beauty and the Beast'' (1987–19 ...
,
Gates McFadden,
Jim Cummings
James Jonah Cummings (born November 3, 1952) is an American voice actor. Since beginning his career in the 1980s, he has appeared in almost 400 roles. Cummings has frequently worked with The Walt Disney Company and Warner Bros., including as t ...
,
John Ratzenberger
John Dezso Ratzenberger (born April 6, 1947)[About John](_blank)
from Ratzenberger's official website is an Americ ...
,
Julian Glover
Julian Wyatt Glover (born 27 March 1935) is an English classical actor with many stage, television, and film roles since commencing his career in the 1950s. He is a recipient of the Laurence Olivier Award and has performed many times for the ...
,
Jewel Staite
Jewel Belair Staite (born June 2, 1982) is a Canadian actress. She is known for her roles as Kaylee Frye in the Fox television series '' Firefly'' (2002–2003) and its spin-off theatrical film ''Serenity'' (2005), and as Jennifer Keller on S ...
,
Pat Mastroianni
Pasquale "Pat" Mastroianni (born December 22, 1971) is a Canadian actor. He is best known for his role as Joey Jeremiah in the ''Degrassi'' franchise, for which he received a Gemini Award in 1988.
Biography
Mastroianni grew up in Toronto, t ...
, and
Stacie Mistysyn were featured as guests.
Billy Dee Williams
William December Williams Jr. (born April 6, 1937) is an American actor. He appeared as Lando Calrissian in the ''Star Wars'' franchise, first in the early 1980s for ''The Empire Strikes Back'' (1980) and ''Return of the Jedi'' (1983), and thirt ...
was scheduled to attend, but cancelled due to conflicts with film work; this cancellation resulted in speculation
— later confirmed
— that Williams would reprise the role of
Lando Calrissian
Landonis Balthazar "Lando" Calrissian III is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. He was introduced in ''The Empire Strikes Back'' (1980) as an old friend of Han Solo and the administrator of the floating Cloud City on the gas p ...
in the upcoming ''
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker''.
In October 2018, Fan Expo announced that its Regina event would be discontinued, citing the size of the market as a factor in the decision. Saskatchewan Entertainment Expo subsequently announced that it would hold an inaugural Regina edition in May 2019 as a ''de facto'' successor, at Evraz Place's International Trade Centre.
Adrian Paul
Adrian Paul Hewett (born 29 May 1959) is an English actor best known for the titular role of Duncan MacLeod on the television series '' Highlander: The Series''. In 1997, he founded the Peace Fund charitable organisation.
Early life
Paul was ...
was announced as one of its first guests.
On January 27, 2019, it was announced that the Saskatoon event had been sold to Prairieland Park, would be renamed the Saskatoon Entertainment Expo in 2021, and move to April.
Both the 2020 and 2021 conventions were cancelled due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...
.
References
External links
*{{Official website, https://saskatoon.saskexpo.com/
Festivals in Saskatoon
Recurring events established in 2013
Comics conventions in Canada
2013 establishments in Saskatchewan
Trade fairs in Canada
Art festivals in Canada
Fan conventions