ALRIGHT! Part two to Calgary Expo! If you haven’t seen the first post, click here to read it. Also: I’m going to be putting a couple photos randomly throughout this post. Appreciate the greatness of these cos players.
Last post I talked about comfortable shoes, makeup primer, respect, line ups and storage. This time around, we’re getting down and dirty: let’s talk money.
The Calgary Expo is full of vendors selling their wares, whether it’s tarot/palm reading, fandom memorabilia, posters, t shirts, CDs, mugs, etc. If/when you do go, you will be surrounded by merchandise right, left and centre. This means that if you want to buy something, you need money (first rule of economics guys: money can be exchanged for goods and services. Magical.) – something which a young unemployed teen like myself tends to lack. Here are a few essential things you’ll need to save money for if you’re going to attend in 2015:
1. TICKETS. Over the years that I have gone, tickets range from $25-$40 for the one day passes, and weekend passes are just above $100. However, there are also VIP passes to consider, which are so expensive I cry just thinking about it.
2. PHOTO OPS. This is one of hardest things to purchase. The prices can range from $20-$200, depending on the person you’re seeing. But Jessica! This person is my role model! It’s so awful that time has been turned into an expensive commodity! I hear you, but your role model’s gotta make a living too.
3. MERCHANDISE. This is where the guilt settles in. You pull out your mental calculator and realize you already blew $200 bucks on autographs alone – BUT THIS POSTER! THAT MUG! YOU NEED IT ALL. Or do you?
4. You do need it all. If there was ever a time for impulse buying, this is it (I was never a good role model – that being said, it’s probably best you listen to your conscious than a teenage girl who only ventures out into the sunlight for Comic Expos).
5. That being said, you need to prepare! Start saving money in advance – I managed to save a good $400 a couple months before and that was more than enough. I also tried to hold back on my spending this year though – the old me would have gone through that in the first 15 minutes. (Role model or not – I still have pretty good advice)
6. Last one guys: like I said in my last post, the Calgary Expo is about having fun. Saw a cool cos player? Ask for a picture! Go with
your friends and do a group cosplay! Sure, getting here took a lot of money – but having fun and experiencing the exuberance of the Calgary Expo – surrounded by people who share your interests with the same amount of passion as you do?
That, my friends, is free.
