Home Local News Get ready for the Guardians of the Galleries volume 2

Get ready for the Guardians of the Galleries volume 2

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Wigan town centre’s Marvel-lous Comic Con event, Guardians of the Galleries, will be back in next weekend for the second time in seven months.

Wigan Council has teamed up with Nwcc Events again, a company bringing the internationally renowned Comic Con splendour to areas across the North West, to organise another colourful event taking over the first floor of The Galleries shopping centre. The event will take place on Saturday 13th April between 9am and 3pm.

In September 2018, Marvel fans were treated to a Spencer Wilding meet and greet and experienced appearances from Ironman’s Hulkbuster and Transformers’ Bumblebee. The day saw an increase in footfall of 6,000 meaning it was one of The Galleries’ busiest days of the year.

This year, in addition to retro and virtual reality gaming, transformer cars and jedi academy, visitors will even get to meet Ross Mullen, who was a White Walker in Game of Thrones and Willie Coppen, who played the Ewok in the Star Wars: Return of the Jedi film. Willie will bring along his replica Ewok suit so fans can get photographs of him both in and out of character.

The Transformer cars will be at the event again, along with a display from the Alien films. Star Wars costuming group, 5th Legion, will also be in attendance.

The event is one of many in Wigan town centre recently, including the Run Wigan Festival, continental markets and the upcoming Food Fest on the Square.

Becca Heron, director of economy and skills at Wigan Council said: “Comic Con is an internationally celebrated convention and people travel far and wide to experience these Marvel events.

“Guardians of the Galleries was a roaring success in Wigan last year so it is fantastic that we are able to work with Nwcc Events again to organise another day for visitors and local people to enjoy that is both affordable and accessible.

“To have another actor confirmed for the second event is also very exciting and we are sure that Willie Coppen will be an intriguing draw for many people.

“Arranging this vibrant and creative event demonstrates our commitment to supporting the local economy, increasing footfall in the town centre and rejuvenating The Galleries shopping centre.

“We look forward to seeing people really enjoy the day and go all out with a costume!”

The free event will bring vibrancy to the first floor of The Galleries shopping centre, where there will be a range of stalls and stands selling TV, film, comic and gaming related products, collectables and artwork.

Paul Prescott from Nwcc Events and owner of Funky Figures collectables in Makinson Arcade said: “I’m really proud to work with the council and The Galleries to put this event on in my home town. I love Wigan and I want nothing more than to see it thrive.
“It’s a pleasure to organise this event knowing it will be free to the public and I hope local people and visitors from surrounding areas make the most of the day and our event.”

Simon Tucker, centre manager for The Galleries said: “We’re committed to looking at fresh, innovative ways to use our space and encourage more footfall to the centre.

“We know people enjoy coming to the town centre for social reasons and this fact combined with the success of last year’s Comic Con, suggests this second event will be very popular, showing The Galleries in a vibrant and welcoming light.”

Follow Wigan Council on Facebook and Twitter for event updates.

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