The Fourth was strong

Hundreds of Hatters released their inner nerd Saturday at the Medicine Hat Public Library, and we were lucky enough to be with them.

Typically, the first Saturday in May is a free comic book day with lots of opportunities to delve into some new content. May 4 is also notable in geek culture because of the Star Wars reference (May the Fourth Be With You). When those two were set to collide on the same day in 2024, library worker Stephanie knew she had to take advantage. Thus was born the MHPL Comic Con.

Once we heard about it we asked to have a table to let folks know about Extra Life. It was a safe bet we'd have plenty of gamers walking by, after all.

They sure proved us right! We gave away lots of dice and pins with the Extra Life logo to folks who signed up on the spot. One said he was looking for something like this for a company with hundreds of employees. Others talked about their hospital experiences and how important it is to give back. More than a couple visitors signed up their spouses since "they're always gaming anyhow. Might as well be for a good cause!"

We got to tell our story and let folks know what we're up to this year. After raising a couple hundred dollars at a board game flea market at the end of April, our next planned event is July 13 when the Medicine Hat Mavericks hold Superhero Night. The 501st Legion will be there and we'll unveil the special jerseys the Mavs will wear closer to the big day. Then we're off to Kansas City for Extra Life United (now part of Children's Miracle Networks' Ignite Conference). Later this year we'll do our online auction and finally do the big 25-hour game day Nov. 2-3.

It was great fun playing the Imperial March whenever Darth Vader walked by, and Samantha loved story time with Spiderman.

Hoping this becomes an annual event, since Calgary's Comic Con is always during tax season, which prevents Trish from going!

More Extra Life news

Speaking of Extra Life, I'm honoured to be part of a new initiative known as the Community Council!

It's a group of 16 people hand-picked to give ideas and feedback to Extra Life.

Extra Life has changed a lot over the years, but the mission remains the same: Play games, help kids. I like to think Dominic would give us a big thumbs-up for continuing to do it.