K-Town back at it at the Bingo

Don’t be fooled by the name, K-Town Collectibles Expo has more to offer than just your standard local game store or hobby shop fare.

Indeed, along with the comics, trading card game, and vintage collectibles vendors, this Sunday’s Expo will feature family-friendly fun like bouncy castles and face painting, food trucks, an Inter Species Wrestling (ISW) show, and more artists than ever before.

“It’s not just for collectors. You can bring your whole family. There’s something for everyone. And that’s what we’re trying to promote, that it’s a family event. It’s not just a collectibles event, it’s an outing,” said Eric Ravenelle, one of K-Town’s three organizers along with William Rice and Mike Brathwaite.

This year’s show will be held at the Mohawk Bingo instead of where it was for the last two years, the Kahnawake Sports Complex. It will also run for a single day instead of for the whole weekend.

Ravenelle said it was proving difficult to find a time that would work at the Sports Complex because of the very busy lacrosse schedule, which would force a change to the time of year the show would be held.

“Changing the date just wasn’t feasible, because there were other shows booked already,” said Ravenelle. “So, we decided to change the location, and we went to the bingo, which is the only other venue that’s bigger than the arena, which works to our advantage as well because we have more floor space now.”

The bigger floor space will allow all the different events that would normally happen over two days to coexist on Sunday.

K-Town has steadily grown over the years, particularly since its return from a COVID hiatus in 2022. Starting off at the Knights of Columbus in 2017 with a few dozen booths, the event grew out of the Knights and into the Sports Complex, and this year’s edition at the Mohawk Bingo will feature more than 100 exhibitors and vendors.

“We added about 20 new vendors this year. It’s the most we’ve had so far, and to be honest, it’s one of the most diverse and biggest shows of its kind in Canada,” said Ravenelle.

Among them will be artist Megan Kanerahtenha:wi Whyte, with this being her first time being a vendor at K-Town or any convention - although she has sold her art at powwows in the past.

“I’ve been going to conventions in different places for years and every time I walk through the artist’s alley, I think to myself ‘I would love to do that.’ My head is always full of ideas and my hands itching to create,” said Whyte.

Her partner encouraged her to try it out for herself, which led to her having a booth at the Expo.

“You don’t know what you’re capable of until you step out of your comfort zone,” said Whyte.

She will have some mixed media paintings that fit in perfectly with the K-Town atmosphere: things like horror, video games, and Disney villains, for example. She’ll also have other things for sale like prints, handmade bookmarks, and resin jewelry, and will be able to take commissions.

A collector and video game fan herself - The Legend of Zelda series being her favourite - she’s looking forward to seeing what everyone else brought with them.

“I’m excited to share what I love with other collectors who may share that same eye that I have! I may have discovered something that I would love to continue doing,” said Whyte.

Ravenelle said the increase in number of Indigenous artists this year comes by popular demand and because he has seen for himself how popular Indigenous artists are at other shows like K-Town.

The Mohawk Bingo will be open on Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. for the K-Town Expo. Entry is five dollars, free for children 10 and younger. The ISW show, which will feature the yearly Masters of the Universe tournament as well as local wrestler “The Dadest Bod on the Planet” Kyle Zachary, will start at 3 p.m.

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