Vancouver Retro Gaming Expo returns for its 12th year
The event continues to evolve while maintaining familiar experiences of gaming past
Vancouver Retro Gaming Expo attendees can play games like Dr. Mario at the event. (Submitted)
The Vancouver Retro Gaming Expo will return for its 12th year and 11th annual event in New Westminster on June 22.
The event will take place in the Anvil Centre from 11:00 am to 7:00 pm, and feature activities such as video game tournaments, a vendor hall, an artist alley, and viewing panels taking place throughout the day.
Brian Hughes, show director for Vancouver Retro Gaming Expo, was inspired to create the event after attending the Portland Retro Gaming Expo in Oregon, U.S.
“I … had a good time, met a bunch of people, and I thought, ‘Wow, Vancouver needs this.’ Then, I came back to talk to a bunch of people and started putting it together,” he says.
A major part of the live entertainment at this year’s expo will be the roster of musical acts set to perform there.
“This is our best musical lineup that we’ve ever had,” Hughes says.
Returning artists such as missingNo and The Wavebirds will be performing again alongside some new additions like ROM-hack. Hughes says Danny Baranowsky, also known as dannyBstyle, and Lena Raine are the big musical acts for this year’s expo.
“Lena is well-known for (video games) Celeste, Minecraft, and Guild Wars 2. Danny is known for Super Meat Boy, Crypt of the NecroDancer, Cadence of Hyrule, Binding of Isaac, so our music lineup this year is top tier. We’re super excited about that.”
Hughes says the Chilliwack Retro-Computing Club, who have had a presence at the expo for many years, is another notable aspect of the event attendees should look out for.
“This year, they are bringing a ton of stuff. They’re bringing [more than 20] tables worth of retro computers, they’re bringing Brad Hodge, who’s known as the Tech Time Traveller on YouTube.”
Being around for many years, the expo has expanded to include more events over time, but Hughes says going to a larger venue isn’t possible right now.
“When it comes to demographics, there aren’t enough vendors or attendees to support this kind of show at the [Vancouver] Convention Centre, and there really are not a lot of mid-sized venues,” he says.
“When we started off, we started at the comedy club here that is now known as the House of Comedy, and we then outgrew that pretty quickly. Then we moved to the Anvil Centre …. We pack Anvil Centre every year that’s conveniently located next to the SkyTrain station, it’s a great venue for us.”
Although the expo has been around for a while and continues to evolve, Hughes says it’s fun to see everyone attending have a fun experience.
“After the show when we see the pictures and the videos that people post, and they get to see how much fun everyone had, that brings me joy,” Hughes says, adding he hopes people come out to the event to have a good time.
“What people can expect is an entire day of having fun with their friends doing the things they enjoy.”
Tickets for the event cost $25 and are available on the expo’s website.
