Around 750 convention goers made their way down to Winkler yesterday as the city held its first ever Comic Con. Organizers have also noted the rural comic convention may be the first its kind in Canada.

Plenty of activities kept participants busy throughout the day as GVC played host to comic booths, video game tournaments and cosplay contests.

Meanwhile the P.W Enns Centennial Concert Hall held movie showings and panels with special guests.

Overall, Organizer Deb Penner says she was blown away with the amount of support this first comic-con received.

"So far we've been hearing just amazing comments comparing us with other larger comic cons," Penner says. "So for out of the gate I think we should all be really proud."

She notes they expected to see around 500 participants, but saw closer to 800.

"Very quickly we realized there was so much more interest than we had anticipated. Those are good things we can take forward; you don't like to run out of space, you don't like to run out of room but in this case I think it was all just so positive."

Along with video game tournaments, panels and movie screenings, the comic convention of course included comic books

Professional Ghostbusters cosplayer Justin Morison explains costume play is simply having fun attempting to recreate the look of your favourite character.

He notes it can be expensive hobby. "authenticity comes with a large price," he says. "A lot of glue, a lot of welding, a lot of screws."

However, he says it's great to see another convention come to the province.

"I just heard about it a few weeks ago and I had to look twice," he says. "Normally you see this in Winnipeg once or twice a year, but to have a rural Southern Manitoba convention... It's very exciting."

Professional Ghostbusters cosplayer Justin Morison with rising star Atreyu

A video game celebrity Dan Bergman was also in attendance. Bergman beat the world record for the longest fighting game marathon last summer, playing for 57 hours straight, smashing the previous 48 hours.

He was drawn to the Winkler convention and its Etherlan video game tournament.

"I definitely see the potential for it to grow in the future," he says, adding video games can build community.

Penner notes she's heard lots of amazing feedback about the event, even being compared to larger comic cons, and says she's thankful for all the volunteers that brought the event to fruition.

Smash Bros., Nintendo's brawler was the game of choice last night

Cosplay Contest host Tyler Hildebrand was overwhelmed by the authenticity of many of the costumes

Winnipegger Dan Bergman (far right) holds the world record for longest fighting game marathon

Etherlan organizer Morgan Wiebe notes along with video games they also host board game tournaments like Ticket To Ride

Morgan Wiebe with Etherlan grand prize winner Ryan Dyck