Cottage CountryCon is shaping up to be a Hulk smash.
Formerly known as Orillia ComicCon, Cottage CountryCon will take place June 23-24 at Rotary Place.
Organizers recently announced a big name in the comic world will be in town for the show: Lou Ferrigno.
Ferrigno played the title role in the TV series The Incredible Hulk from the late 1970s to the early ’80s.
Carmine De Santo is as excited as anyone to see the actor up close.
“I’m an ’80s guy,” the event organizer said. “As a kid, I watched the show. I’m also a big Ninja Turtles fan.”
All of the other fans of the crime-fighting, pizza-munching reptiles won’t want to miss this year’s event. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles creator and artist Kevin Eastman will also be in attendance.
When De Santo first organized Orillia ComicCon, it was scheduled to take place at the Geneva Event Centre, but the event outgrew the venue even before the big day arrived. So, he booked the Barnfield Point Recreation Centre. It turned out to be popular — maybe too popular for the curling club. Visitors were lined up out the door, and when they did make their way inside, it was shoulder to shoulder.
“We ran out of space last year. Now my fingers are crossed for Rotary Place,” he said, but added he is confident there will be enough room at the University Avenue facility.
His plan is to use one of the Rotary Place rinks for vendors and the other for displaying large items and vehicles, as well as live wrestling.
Yes, there will be wrestling. Who will be on the bill is not yet determined, but former fan favourites Brutus “the Barber” Beefcake and Tito Santana will be there.
“It’s something for the whole family,” De Santo said, noting there will be a cosplay contest, game zones, Dungeons and Dragons tournaments and food trucks.
The additional space will certainly be needed. After all, Optimus Prime will be rolling into town.
In addition to the life-size Transformers vehicle, the General Lee, the Dodge Charger from The Dukes of Hazzard, and K.I.T.T, from Knight Rider, will be on display, as will Herbie the Love Bug and the 1976 Ford Gran Torino from Starsky and Hutch.
Bob Camp, artist and creator of Ren and Stimpy, is also sure to draw a crowd.
While comic-con events are an opportunity to wax nostalgic, they always draw younger audiences, too.
“Comic-cons are for all generations,” De Santo said.
Cottage CountryCon is mostly a two-day affair, but it will kick off June 22 with an evening with the creator of The Crow, James O'Barr, at the Geneva Event Centre. There will be a meet-and-greet and a Q&A while visitors watch the 1994 movie with O’Barr.
For more information about this year’s event, to order tickets or to keep up to date with more announcements — “We’re not done yet,” De Santo assured — visit cottagecountrycomiccon.com or call Dr. Comics at 705-418-1050.
