Hands up who’s been to a pop culture or record event in the past 12 months? Whether you have or haven’t, you’ll want to be heading along to the Bendigo Record, Comic and Toy Fair, celebrating old and new in the world of music and pop culture on September 20.
The fair has been going for a number of years, most recently upgrading to the current location of the Bendigo Showground, and this year also sees a change in some new additions to the entertainment.
This time around the Bendigo and District Gamers Association will be on board for a table top demonstration, two Star Wars fan clubs will be in attendance (Star Walking and 501st Legion, Southern Cross Garrison), local party event group Mascot Mates (runing a walk on water set up, blow up castle, face painting and more for kids) and perhaps the largest addition in the cosplay competition.
“We’ve got a couple of cosplay judges down here in Bendigo, the main judge and organiser is Vena Kara, and she’s cosplayed down in Melbourne and is very much into the whole cosplay community. Our second judge is another cosplayer from Bendigo, Elizabethmaree,” organiser Peter Pascoe says.
Entry to compete is $5 with all proceeds from the competition going directly to The Bendigo Radiotherapy Foundation who raise funds for the Peter MacCallum centre in Bendigo.
“They took me through the radiotherapy section in the hospital and showed me the computer simulators and all the different machines in use,” he says.
“And they showed me the things that their foundation purchased for the hospital. It’s incredible to see how much regional hospitals utilise funds donated from organisations like this.”
As well as the additions to the fair, there will still be thousands of local, state and interstate record, comic and toy traders at the event. And while the venue recently upsized, the event still hasn’t lost its regional charm.
“The great thing about the regional events is that you’re able to leisurely walk around and catch everything at your own pace,” he says.
“You can take in the whole thing in a day and not feel rushed or that you’ve missed out on anything and there’s a much more friendly vibe at the regional events.”
The regional aspect has been a main driver for Peter, and with pop culture events popping up regionally all across the state, he hopes to make people realise that there is a strong pop culture community in these areas.
“I’m wanting to get together local organisers and local people to put on show what regional towns have to offer in terms of pop culture,” Peter says.
“For the longest time we’ve had these isolated groups with their own interests and they’ve had to go to Melbourne to expand their interests. So I’m looking to provide an opportunity for these groups to get together under the one group.”
Peter hopes to grow the event for future, while still maintaining the event’s casual vibe, with guest speakers and presentations.
“What I’m aiming to do in future is getting this event on the map,” he says.
Written by Alexander Lightfoot
When & Where: Prince of Wale’s Showground, Bendigo – September 20