Calgary Expo and Entertainment will take over Stampede Park and the new BMO Centre for four days starting Thursday. While these events tend to attract tens of thousands of fans who are nerdily well-versed in the pop-culture juggernauts and cult phenomena Calgary Expo celebrates, we have some suggestions to help you navigate. The celebrities this year feature stars from Lord of the Rings, Star Trek, the Star Wars universe, Smallville and the Grand Theft Auto video-game franchise.
Here is what to look out for.
OG Lord of the Rings hobbits (l-r) Sean Astin, Elijah Wood, Billy Boyd, and Dominic Monaghan will reunite with fans for An Evening with the Hobbits: In Celebration of 25 Years tour that will be stopping at 11 Fan Expo shows across North America. Photo, Chi Tang
The Hobbits Reunion
Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Dominic Monaghan and Billy Boyd played hobbit pals in the Lord of the Rings trilogy and have reunited more times than Motley Crue. All four actors, in fact, were here as recently as 2022. Nevertheless, fans never seem to tire of hearing tales from the Shire. These actors also represent other Expo-worthy hits. Wood has been in the gore-filled, mean-girls treat Yellowjackets, Sin City, Tron: Uprising and the Toxic Avenger; while Astin has been in The Goonies and, most recently, Stranger Things. Monaghan will be pulling double duty at Expo this year, representing the hobbits and Lost. An Evening with the Hobbits in Celebration of 25 Years will be held April 25 in the Champions Ballroom at the BMO Centre at 7:30 p.m. This is a separately ticketed event. Monaghan will participate in Finding Lost: The Ultimate Reunion Panel alongside Josh Holloway and Henry Ian Cusick on Saturday at 12 p.m. in the Percheron ABCDE room, Stage 2.
Oliver Phelps and James Phelps are the brothers who played the Weasley twins in the Harry Potter series.
Former child/teen stars
At one time, the Calgary Expo 2026 guest list seemed to have a major theme: Former child stars. Sadly, that was until the inevitable flurry of guest cancellations happened. Former child stars are fascinating, of course, and tend to fall into a handful of categories: those who become surprise success stories as adults, those who disappeared from the spotlight entirely and the casualties who become cautionary tales. Former teen actor Jamison Newlander of the Lost Boys cancelled, as did co-star Corey Feldman. Feldman was both a Lost Boy and a Goonie, but the planned Goonies reunion was derailed when the young stars from the film — Kerri Green, Martha Plimpton and Feldman — all cancelled alongside their adult co-stars Robert Davi and Joe Pantoliano. Still, there are plenty of former child stars to go around. Omri Katz and Vinessa Shaw will reunite to chat about their experiences in the 1993 family comedy Hocus Pocus on Thursday, April 23 at 6 p.m. in Percheron ABCDE – Stage 2; former child actors Bonnie Wright, Oliver and James Phelps and Matthew Lewis will reunite for Pranks and Prophecies at 2:45 p.m. on Sunday at the Champions Ballroom A/B – Main Stage to discuss their time in the Harry Potter franchise; and former child/teen TV star Alyssa Milano, from Charmed and Who’s The Boss, is scheduled to appear at the Champions Ballroom A/B – Main Stage on Saturday at 11:50 a.m.
William Shatner as iconic Captain Kirk holding a Star Trek phaser rifle, first seen in the episode, Where No Man Has Gone Before. Photo courtesy, NBC
Star Trek
Calgary Expo wouldn’t be Calgary Expo without a healthy showing from the Star Trek franchise, and we scored a coup this year because William Shatner, a.k.a. Captain James. T. Kirk, will be on hand to answer your questions on Saturday, April 25, at 12:15 p.m. in the Champions Ballroom A/B — Main Stage. Also, Star Trek: The Next Generation stars Gates McFadden and Brent Spiner (Dr. Crusher and Data, respectively) will be on the same stage on Friday, April 24, at 4:45 p.m.
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Anthony Daniels poses with C-3PO and BB-8 at a special fan event for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker in Tokyo, Japan.
Star Wars
Star Wars and its ever-expanding universe is also perennially popular, and Calgary Expo will feature Anthony Daniels, who played C-3PO in all of the films, starting with 1977’s A New Hope. He will be in the Champions Ballroom at 3:30 p.m. on Friday. Temuera Morrison of The Book of Boba Fett will be on the same stage later that day at 7:15 p.m. On Saturday, actor and stuntman Brendan Wayne from The Mandalorian will be in the Percheron ABCDE – Stage 2 at 2 p.m.
Tom Welling (Clark Kent) and Erica Durance (Lois Lane) in Smallville.
Locals done good
Twenty-two years ago, Three Hills-born actress Erica Durance landed what is arguably her most famous role, playing a teenage Lois Lane in the WB show Smallville. It placed her in the spotlight and probably raised a lot of eyebrows in her deeply religious hometown, as did an interview she did with then-shock jock Howard Stern about her sex life and the alluring photo she posed for on the cover of the lad-mag FHM. She will be joined by her Smallville co-star Tom Welling on Friday, April 23, at 6 p.m. for the Ultimate Smallville 25th Anniversary Reunion (Durance didn’t join the cast until the show’s fourth season) at the Champions Ballroom A/B – Main Stage.
Calgary’s Steven Ogg has earned his Expo bona fides with roles in many hit shows — including The Walking Dead, Snowpiercer, Better Call Saul and Westworld. This year, he will be attending Expo to celebrate his star-making turn in the video game Grand Theft Auto alongside Ned Luke and Shawn Fonteno at the Percheron ABCDE – Stage 2 on Saturday, April 25 at 4 p.m.
Calgary Expo runs from April 23 to 26 at Stampede Park. Visit fanexpohq.com/calgaryexpo/our-schedule/