Wizard World 2017 Recap: The Panels

This past weekend, April 7th through the 9th, Wizard World again graced us with their presence. This time, bringing with them some Guardians, Monkees, a vampire, and even a special appearance by some Wizards.

 

On Friday, the first day of the convention, we didn’t see any celebrity panels. This day, instead, had a variety of different events for people to attend. There were panels on cosplay, comics, fan discussions and even a comedy sketch by cosplayer Aaron Rabe as Captain Jack Sparrow. There were also a lot of activities geared towards small children. There were magic shows and also a ventriloquist. However, being the avid Pokémon GO players we are, we had to attend the “Name That Pokémon” panel. This panel was hosted by SuperKayce and RealBreakingNate. While this panel   may have been geared towards a younger crowd, there was a fairly even mix of children and adults. The panel was fun and entertaining with almost everyone joining in on the activities. I am hoping to see this again next year.

 

Saturday was the day for the majority of the celebrity panels. The first panel of the day on the main stage was Ian Somerhalder from the TV series Vampire Diaries and Lost. This was a very laid back panel. Ian answered questions, talked about new projects and told stories from the set of Vampire Diaries. The next panel was Gene Simmons from KISS. After that, was Buffy alum, James Marsters. Marsters is always a delight. He’s very funny and always engages the audience. Jennifer Carpenter was next. You know her best from the TV series Dexter. The next panel, in my opinion, was the best of the day. Guardians of the Galaxy stars Michael Rooker and Sean Gunn, who hails from Saint Louis, were very funny. At one point, Rooker got off stage and was wandering through the audience having people ask questions. The last panel of the day on the main stage was Evan Peters from American Horror Story. He’s also Quicksilver in the new X-men movies. There were also panels through the day in one of the panel rooms. Caleb McLaughlin from Strange Things, Randy Orton from WWE, and actor/voice-actor Loren Lester all had panels as well. We ended the night with the Pokémon Game Show event again hosted by SuperKayce and RealBreakingNate.

 

The last day of the convention, Sunday, was a more laid back day. There were a few celebrity panels hosted in one of the panel rooms. The first of the day was none other than Peter Tork and Mickey Dolenz of The Monkees. After them, Charisma Carpenter of Buffy. And then, the biggest panel of the day, James and Oliver Phelps. Better known as Fred and George Weasley from Harry Potter. The room was packed with people lining up along the walls as all of the seating was filled. They were very enteraining and reminded me much of their on-screen counterparts. And last but not least, was voice-actor Kevin Conroy best known as the voice of Batman in the animated series.

 

Overall, the weekend was full of activities for people of all ages. My only suggestion is to get an itinerary as soon as you can and plan out your day as a lot of the panels and events coincide with each other. I am looking forward very much to see who they bring along next year.

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