by Thinus Ferreira
The organisers of Comic Con Cape Town, a planned parallel spin-off of Comic-Con Africa in Johannesburg with both events that went physically dormant because of the global Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic, has revived the Cape Town get-together as a one-day pop-up event that will be held on 2 October 2021.
In June Reed Exhibitions Africa announced that it has set 22 September 2022 as the return date for Comic-Con Africa 2022 that will take place at a new venue, the Johannesburg Expo Centre.
The inaugural
Comic Con Cape Town was again delayed in 2021 due to the continuing Covid-19
pandemic.
"While a traditional Con is not possible in 2021, Comic Con Cape Town,
in partnership with the City of Cape Town are excited to announce that they
will be bringing a taste of Comic Con to the city this October," the organisers said in a statement released on Wednesday.
Comic Con
Cape Town will be hosting a series of pop culture pop-up activities at
different locations around the city for one day only on 2 October
2021.
According to the organisers fans can look
forward to exploring pop-up activities like cosplay competitions for
professionals, casuals and kids; the Comic Art Drink &
Draw & Sketch-off competitions, pop culture quiz sessions, fandom meet-ups
across the city, gaming and tabletop competitions and film watch parties.
"There will be
a strong focus on connecting the geek and pop culture communities of Cape
Town, with these pop-up activations at various locations with Covid-19
regulated capacities," the organisers say.
The Comic Con
Cape Town pop-up around Cape Town will run alongside the renowned Cape Town
International Animation Festival and the FAME Africa Week.
"We have
been navigating the landscape of the pandemic with caution and creativity, and
the pop-up activities during this one-day-only fan day gives us the opportunity
to connect with the Cape Town Comic Con fans, while we wait for a full force
festival," says Carla Massmann, show director.
"It allows for us to stay
true to Comic Con's spirit, which is to bring people of all fandoms and interests
together and facilitate friendship and connection, all whilst celebrating the
love of all things pop culture."
Alderman JP Smith, mayoral committee member for safety and security, says "Cape Town is Africa's premier film and media destination,
and the city is fast becoming recognised as the continent's game development
hub with more than half of South Africa's game development studios based in the
Mother City".
"Combine that up with an enthusiastic geek scene, Cape Town is the
perfect city to bring the comic book culture alive."
"For the City, we believe
providing support to film and media events such as Comic Con enables the creative
sector to grow and the industries can work towards recovery post the
pandemic."
