Homegrown gaming convention coming to Fergus

FERGUS – Russell Davey and Alexander Taylor are tired of heading to Waterloo or Toronto, or even further away, for conventions to sell or buy collectables, trading cards, video games and their accessories. 

Especially when they see so many Centre Wellington residents at those same conventions.

So they’ve decided to bring the conventions to Fergus and have partnered with the Fergus Legion to hold regular conventions at the refurbished Riverside Events Centre for the next year.

“Russell has wanted to run conventions here for at least 10 years,” said Taylor. “We see so many vendors from Centre Wellington at these events and thought it was time to have one ourselves.”

Davey is owner and operator of Bonus Box Games on St. Andrew Street in Fergus, and his list of contacts in the convention world is expansive.

Taylor has a background in communications and a passion for gaming. Together they decided it was time for Centre Wellingcon.

The first convention is slated for Sept. 20 and there’s room for 50 vendors and several hundred visitors.

Vendors pay $50 for a table, which is well under the industry standard of $75 to $100, Taylor said.

Visitors pay $10 to enter at 10am or $5 after 10:30am, affording early birds first dibs on items that catch their eye.

“I’ve lived in the area for about 10 years and there’s a vibrant community of gamers here,” Taylor said. “Even more in the world of nerdom than I was aware of.”

The Sept. 20 Centre Wellingcon will feature general collectables. But the October convention will be all about trading cards and in November it will be multi-media, including music, records, video games, cassettes and the like.

The organizers plan on holding a convention every third Sunday through the year. So for those with an interest in these things, it might be time to head to the attic or basement, have a look through any collections of trading cards and such, and either rent a table to sell them or attend as a buyer to augment those collections.

“Hobbying can be expensive,” said Taylor, who acknowledged his passion is Magic: The Gathering, and when he gets together with friends there could be “hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of cardboard on the table.”

But, he added, when people pay admission to attend a convention, they are coming to buy. That’s not always the case when someone goes to a store, where there can be browsing but no purchase.

And they are likely to get a better deal on things at a convention than in a store, as vendors would rather sell at a lower price than bring their wares back home.

Having the convention in Centre Wellington means all that money stays in Centre Wellington, Taylor said.

The long-term vision for Centre Wellingcon is to grow the event in size and stature, and eventually to hold tournaments and game play at the convention.

But baby steps first.

The task right now is to spread the word that the first convention is coming. Vendors can book a table by emailing centrewellingcon@outlook.com.

The website hasn’t launched just yet, but centrewellingcon.com will be loaded with information in the next few weeks.