WHAT HAVE WE ACCOMPLISHED SO FAR?

Since its inception in 2012, the event has proudly donated more than $86,000 to various charities and groups, and welcomed more than 65,000 patrons.

WHAT’S NEXT?

Our next event will be taking place March 27-29, 2020.

Winter EDITION 2019

Date: March 23-24 
Location: Nepean Sportsplex, Curling Rink, Rink 3 & Richmond Ballroom

This was our largest event to day, and we welcomed 11,000 attendees (turnstile) / 9,650 (unique). The festival’s theme was ‘Team Spirit‘ and featured special activities, a geeky food court,  over 120 exhibitors, a huge Lego display and play area, table top gaming convention, colouring area, carnival games, and our very popular workmanship costume contest.

FALL EDITION 2018

Date: September 28th – 30th 
Location: Nepean Sportsplex, Curling Rink & Richmond Ballroom

This was our largest fall edition, and welcomed 8,569 patrons. The festival’s theme was ‘Heroes vs Villains’ and featured special activities, a geeky food court,  over 120 exhibitors, a huge Lego display and play area, table top gaming convention, colouring area, escape room, and our very popular workmanship costume contest.

FALL EDITION 2017

Date: September 30th – October 1st
Location: Nepean Sportsplex, Curling Rink & Richmond Ballroom

This edition welcomed 6,992 patrons. The festival’s theme was ‘Sci-fi vs Fantasy‘ and featured special activities, a new food area,  over 115 exhibitors, a huge Lego display and play area, video gaming, table top gaming, colouring and craft area, an escape room, and our very popular workmanship costume contest.

SPRING EDITION 2017

Date: March 31st – April 2nd
Location: Nepean Sportsplex, Curling Rink

Our spring edition welcomed a record breaking 7,815 patrons. The festival featured over 110 exhibitors, a massive Lego display and play area, table top gaming, colouring area, escape room, a workmanship costume contest, and saw the return of our famous Geek Quest (scavenger hunt). We proudly donated $1,087.15  to Tysen’s Mission to a Million as well as $750 each of the following community groups: Barony of Skraeling Althing (Society for Creative Anachronism), Doctor Who Society of Canada – Ottawa Chapter, IKV Phoenix and Ladies Who Trek (Star Trek), Parlugment, and Steampunk Ottawa.

WINTER GEEK AND GAMING GARAGE SALE 2017

Date: February 4th
Location: Nepean Sportsplex, Halls A&B

Our second winter garage sale saw a record 2,604 shoppers get their geek on. The event featured over 60 tables of geek and gaming merchandise and 20 tables of consignment items.

FALL EDITION 2016

Date: October 3rd-4th
Location: Nepean Sportsplex, Curling Rink, Hall C, Capones Ballroom, Leisure Room

We welcomed 5,637 patrons to our 5th anniversary celebration. The festival featured over 100 exhibitors, another huge LEGO display, video gaming, table top gaming, two escape rooms, and hall cosplay awards. We also ran a cosplay accessories scholarship competition and awarded $2,000 to two amazing cosplay artists.

SUMMER GEEK AND GAMING GARAGE SALE 2016

Date: August 13th
Location: Nepean Sportsplex, Halls A&B

Our second summer garage sale saw 2,121 shoppers brave the pouring rain. The event featured over 60 tables of geek and gaming merchandise. Thanks to the generosity of our shoppers we raised $591.25 for Tysen’s Mission to a Million.

WINTER EDITION 2016

Date: April 8-10th
Location: Nepean Sportsplex, Curling Rink

More than 5,600 attended our winter event which was run again in conjunction with the Capital Gaming Expo. The festival featured over 100 exhibitors, the Geek Quest, our first ICG Masquerade, and a new area devoted entirely to cosplay that included panels, workshops, a rest area, guests, and so much more!

We proudly hosted the following cosplay guests: Comic Girl Cosplay, Detailed-Illusion, Dex Morgan, Matt Ficner, Michel Pennington, Miss Messy Mia, Peekaboo Cosplay, Richard Wong, Ted Bruyere, Undead Du, and Walter DeSousa.

We also ran a writing competition as part of the Ottawa Geek Market Arts Scholarship Program and donated $3,000 to three very talented writers. Some of our exhibitors also helped raise money for charity, including the Doctor Who Society of Canada who raised $465.55 for the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of CHEO, and the Montreal X-Men who raised $221.60 for the Ottawa Geek Market Arts Scholarship Program.

WINTER GEEK AND GAMING GARAGE SALE 2016

Date: February 20th
Location: Nepean Sportsplex, Halls A&B

Our first winter garage sale brought in an overwhelming 2,142 shoppers at our little 5 hour event that featured over 45 vendors and a large consignment area. Thanks to the generosity of our shoppers we raised $609.60 for Tysen’s Mission to a Million.

FALL EDITION 2015

Date: October 3rd-4th
Location: Nepean Sportsplex, Curling Rink, Hall C, Capones Ballroom, Leisure Room

More than 4,150 attended our largest fall Geek Market to date! We proudly hosted the following special guests:

• Media guests: Andrew Ivimey creator of Texts from Superheroes, director Brett Kelly, armorer and blogger Ryan Consell, and actor Joe Silvaggio.
• Guest artists: Tom Fowler and Mark Shainblum.
• Youtube guests: The Opinionated Monsters, Hashtag Nerdlife, and Here Lies.
• Cosplayers: Dr. Holocaust (who also doubled as our Master of Ceremonies), Detailed-Illusion, Jessica Rousseau, and Richard Wong.

The festival was run in conjunction with the Capital Gaming Expo and featured over 100 exhibitors, stage performances, panels, workshops, the Geek Quest, a LEGO play area, and a craft zone.

Instead of supporting a charity like we’d done in the past, we launched the Ottawa Geek Market Arts Scholarship Program and donated $3,000 to three very deserving local artists. Some of our exhibitors also helped raise money for charity, including the Royal Princess Society who raised $455.55 for CHEO, the Ottawa Chapter of the Doctor Who Society of Canada who raised $355.30 for the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of CHEO, and the Montreal X-Men who raised $309 for the Ottawa Geek Market Arts Scholarship Program.

WINTER EDITION 2015

Date: March 27-29th
Location: Nepean Sportsplex, Curling Rink and Rink 3

A record breaking 4,898 patrons attended our first ever 3-day event. This Geek Market featured over 40,000 sq feet of geeky fun and included a huge scavenger hunt, costume contest, stage of activities, bouncy castle, craft zone, and over 100 exhibitors. The event also hosted the first ever Capital Gaming Expo.

The event was superhero-themed in honour of our receiving charity TEMA: Because Heroes Are Human and we were proud to offer free admission to police officers, 911 dispatchers, fire fighters, paramedics, military personnel (including veterans), parole officers, probation officers and correctional services staff.  489 of these real-life superheroes attended over the weekend which meant that we were able to donate more than $14,000 in free weekend passes.

Over the weekend we were also able to raise $7,476.15 for our receiving charity. Combine that with a donation of $200 by Richard Dufault Photography, $70 from The League Of Super Heroes, and $135 donated directly at the Heroes Are Human booth, the event raised $7,881.15.

FALL EDITION 2014

Date: October 4th and 5th
Location: Nepean Sportsplex, Curling Rink

Over 3,450 attended this event, which featured more than 90 exhibitors and a number of new attractions including: panels, workshops, two free video gaming sections, a scavenger hunt, a Quidditch game, and a Geek Social evening event. We were also joined by some amazing featured guests and community groups including award winning cosplayers.

Thanks to the very generous bids made at out silent auction,  and with 20% of our admission sales, we raised $7,224.41 for the Rideau Valley Wildlife Sanctuary! Combined with the awesome donation of $206 from The League Of Super Heroes, the event raised a total of $7,430.41!

WINTER EDITION 2014

Date: March 1st and 2nd
Location: Nepean Sportsplex, Halls A&B

This was our first official winter event, and even with a blizzard, over 2,300 patrons came out to join us. Once again, their costumes were outstanding.

The event hosted more than 50 exhibitors (some of whom were only on site for one day), giant board games, another amazing LEGO display, and a large silent auction area.

Thanks to the generous bids made at out silent auction, in combination with 20% of our admission sales, we raised $5,644 for the Royal Ottawa Foundation for Mental Health. Our friends at UsedOttawa.com also donated an additional $600 bringing our total to $6,244!

FALL EDITION 2013

Date: October 19th and 20th
Location: Carleton University, Fieldhouse

Over 3,200 attended the event which featured some amazing cosplaying, a gaming area, a green screen photo booth, a giant LEGO display and more than 120 exhibitors. We were even joined by a couple Daleks!

Thanks to the generosity of our patrons and exhibitors, we were able to raise $2,540 for the Kids Help Phone, Jer’s Vision and the Distress Center of Ottawa and Region in support of Ottawa’s anti-bullying movement.

FALL EDITION 2012 (INNAGURAL EVENT)

Date: October 12th
Location: Nepean Sportsplex, Halls A&B

The first Geek Market was a smashing success. We had 2,100 attendees (many of whom dressed up in costume), over 50 exhibitors, and some outstanding volunteers.

More than $2,400 in proceeds were donated to the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Ontario.

Check out the Youtube video of our inaugural event!

GAME SUMMIT 2013

We also helped to coordinate the Marketplace at Game Summit’s event on February 2^nd3^rd, 2013 at the Palais des congrès in Gatineau. The event had almost 1,500 participants, and over 70 exhibitors.