Skip to content

PHOTOS: Penticton’s pop culture festival brings out ‘the weird’ in hundreds

The festival returned with its fan-favourite cosplay contest on Saturday, Oct. 22

Penticton’s only pop culture festival returned Saturday to prove that it’s cool to “embrace your weird.”

More than 500 people attended the first day of Penti-Con 2022 on Oct. 22, with costumes, special contests, and art displays among the headliners.

“We’re a bunch of misfits hanging out enjoying the fact that in a group, nobody is weird,” said Lily Knelsen, the Penti-Con’s chairperson. “Everyone here has fandom they love, a genre they appreciate and they could find others to do the same thing.”

That appreciation extended to costumes, art and comic book vendors.

Saturday marked the fourth-ever Penti-Con gathering, but it was the return of the cosplay contest that got everyone talking by the time 3:30 p.m. came around.

“It depends on what you like but some would say our headline is the cosplay competition,” Knelsen said. “The winner gets some amazing awards and other cool prizes.”

People from across B.C. and Alberta purchased tickets for the two-day festival, that’s set to wrap up Sunday after the annual Zombie Walk outside the trade and convention centre.

While some were there to show off their best costumes, others spent the day enjoying the several pop-culture vendors that featured comic books, fashion, games and more.

A full Penti-Con 2022 schedule can be found here.

READ MORE: Here’s what’s happening this weekend in the South Okanagan


@lgllockhart
logan.lockhart@pentictonwesternnews.com