Weekends at Fan Expo are a melange of crowds, celebrities and shopping. Those geeks who had to work all week, those families who were waiting for some time off, all descend on the Metro Toronto Convention Centre to get their geek on.

The word of the day, for both Saturday and Sunday, is patience. Shoulders jostle as you work your way through crowds, but it’s so worth it. You wait through your queue to have that moment, to say Hi! to Simu Liu, or laugh and smile with Bryce Dallas Howard.

The floors of both buildings are packed, with people moving about everywhere. Some are simply taking in the sites, but others are moving about with singular focus, intent on finding that last prize for their weekend.

I set out on a special mission, to hunt down some stickers and some washi tape for my partner, and that would mean prowling the nooks and crannies of Artists Alley.

There are varying levels of talent from booth to booth in the Alley, but they all share their wares proudly, providing their interpretations of familiar characters, shows, books, and more. And there is always something to find. And I was able to source some very nice items for my partner.

Then it was prowling of comic stacks, in search of a couple of Batman and Spider-Man titles. I’m also always keeping my eyes open for The Motion Picture-era Star Trek material, comics, toys, anything. I chatted with comic sellers and had a great conversation with the folks at The Canadian Comic Bin, smart, funny and insightful, they’ve given me some other titles to watch out for.

There was a bit of a kerfuffle with the down escalators leading into the South Building for a while on Sunday that caused a bit of a hold-up, but overall, most of the show seemed to run without any major issues. Most of the people were happy, and having a great time.

Yes, there are those of us who have some heightened anxiety in crowds that would have to step away and take breaks, but hey, there are some great street meat vendors just outside that will keep you fed, and allow you to catch a breath of outdoor air before plunging back inside for more geekery.

And the costumes! There were a plethora of Deadpools, a few Spider-Gwens, there was an exceptional Megara from Hercules, lots of stormtroopers and Jedi and more anime characters than I could name or identify.

Fan Expo with its signings, celebrity photos, Q&As, workshops, gaming, screenings (Helen Hunt was here with Twister!) and collectibles, its philosophy of being united by fandom, this is one of the reasons I love being in Toronto. And I love seeing all the different fandoms coming together in one big long weekend of geek love.

What was your favourite moment? Chatting with Mike Flanagan was mine. And what was your best score of the weekend?

Now, the wait for next year begins…