Updates

Start Prepping That Cosplay!  Announcing Capital City Comic Con 2022 – March 25– 27

February 25, 2021

As vaccines roll out here at home and across the globe in 2021, Capital City Comic Enthusiasts Society (the Society) is planning for a 2022 Capital City Comic Con in Victoria, March 25 – 27.

If there was ever a time when we all needed to come together to celebrate cosplay and everything that energizes pop-culture and story-telling, it is the post-pandemic era. The Victoria Conference Centre and Crystal Garden have been booked and preparations are in the works for what will be a spectacular celebration of toys, games, comics, sci-fi, anime, fantasy and so much more.  Stay tuned for more programming details in the months ahead.

Tickets purchased for the 2020 Capital City Comic Con will be honoured for the 2022 event. We look forward to gathering for an amazing celebration of fantasy, fun and friendship. We miss our community and look forward to seeing you all.

Capital City Comic Enthusiasts Society are currently seeking a new ticketing agent for the 2022 Capital City Comic Con event. Ticket Rocket is in breach of contract and Capital City Comic Enthusiasts Society has filed a Notice of Claim in the Provincial Court of British Columbia.  More information (below)

Ticket Rocket Update:

Ticket Rocket is withholding funds received from a portion of the ticket sales, money that was to be held in trust. More importantly, they are withholding the Society’s ticket-holder data that has no monetary value to Ticket Rocket, but is crucial to the Society’s ability to accurately track event registrants, and crucial to the Society’s ability to assume responsibility for appropriately managing ticket redemptions for those unable to attend the rescheduled event in March 2022.

Having exhausted every means possible to communicate with Ticket Rocket and their local directors, Capital City Comic Enthusiasts Society (the Society) is seeking a legal resolution with Ticket Rocket through the Provincial Court of British Columbia. This is not the outcome we had hoped for, however, Ticket Rocket’s complete refusal to respond has left us with no other recourse.

We acknowledge the frustrations of ticket holders whose requests for refunds have been ignored by Ticket Rocket.  We all expected a higher level of service and share these frustrations. All previously purchased tickets will be honoured at the 2022 Capital City Comic Con event.

Assuming the successful return of the data, those ticket holders who are unable to attend in 2022 will be reimbursed by Capital City Comic Enthusiasts Society.  Please check back in the coming months for more information.

Thank you to those who are able to remain committed to the 2022 Capital City Comic Con event. Capital City Comic Con is a non-profit event and your support will help us continue to grow this event in Victoria. Please contact info@capitalcitycomiccon.ca if you would like to be added to a list of those unable to attend in 2022.  We will follow up once we are in receipt of the data from Ticket Rocket through the Court process.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Who is Ticket Rocket?

Ticket Rocket is a third-party ticketing agent that was contracted by Capital City Comic Enthusiasts Society (the Society) to manage the box-office and on-line sales of ticket packages for 2020 Capital City Comic Con.  Ticket Rocket was chosen as the 2020 ticket provider as they managed tickets for both the 2018 and 2019 events. They are also a local company and supporting local is very important to the Society. The onset of the COVID-19 health pandemic necessitated the postponement of the 2020 event due to provincial health guidelines that prohibited unnecessary travel and gathering.

Efforts to engage with Ticket Rocket on fundamental aspects of their contract were rebuffed and all communication with Ticket Rocket has gone silent. While not in bankruptcy or receivership in Canada, Ticket Rocket’s business has disappeared physically and on-line. Our legal council has performed a search and the company has not filed for insolvency in Canada at the date of filing (February 24, 2021).

Why is Capital City Comic Enthusiast Society filing a Court Action against Ticket Rocket?

Ticket Rocket is in breach of contract with the Society. Ticket Rocket is withholding funds and data that belong to the Society.

Capital City Comic Enthusiasts Society find Ticket Rocket’s unprofessional behaviour deeply disappointing given the many efforts made to achieve an out of Court resolution that considered the unforeseen business impacts of COVID-19.  Capital City Comic Enthusiasts Society is proceeding with legal action in the province of British Columbia’s Small Claims Court to resolve this unfortunate circumstance.

How long will Small Claims Court action take?

Once the Directors of Ticket Rocket have been served, and assuming they are all in Canada, they have 14 days to respond. Following that, there are multiple scenarios that could follow, each with its own time frame.

Capital City Comic Con Enthusiasts Society intends to do what it can to move the Claim forward as expeditiously as possible, which will largely depend on Ticket Rocket’s participation (and willingness to resolve the outstanding issues).

What if Ticket Rocket no longer has the funds?

Capital City Comic Enthusiasts Society’s legal council has undertaken a search and although Ticket Rocket’s business has disappeared physically and on-line, there is no indication that Ticket Rocket is in bankruptcy or receivership in Canada. Capital City Comic Enthusiasts Society is hopeful that the funds that Ticket Rocket has retained will be ordered returned to the Society by the Court.

Key to our ability to reimburse ticket holders is our ability to access the data that identifies ticket purchasers. Given that the data has no monetary value to Ticket Rocket, it is our hope that that the Court will order Ticket Rocket to return the data to the Society. The data in question identifies all ticket purchasers and the type of ticket package that they purchased – crucial information for registration at the 2022 event, and key to identifying those individuals who have already been reimbursed.

Capital City Comic Enthusiasts Society will honour all purchased tickets at the 2022 Capital City Comic Con event. Please keep your ticket(s) in a safe place in the meantime. If you are unable to attend the 2022 convention, the Society will assume responsibility for ticket reimbursement upon receipt of the data from Ticket Rocket through the Court process.

What if Ticket Rocket has destroyed the data?

It is highly unlikely that the data has been destroyed.

Capital City Comic Enthusiasts Society, through the filing in the province of British Columbia’s Small Claims Court, is diligently working towards procuring the data.

A Message from the organizers of Capital City Comic Con

June 29, 2020

Thank you for your patience over the last month while we tried to work with Ticket Rocket regarding refunds and their lack of communication to our beloved ticket holders. Capital City Comic Con’s partners have worked diligently behind the scenes after attendees had brought to our attention that Ticket Rocket was not responding and that they had not received refunds. We have made no headway in getting them to make any statements, email any communications, or refund those in need. Due to this we have been forced to engage in correspondence and communications through legal representatives, but to no avail. We chose Ticket Rocket as a local community-minded business and although the pandemic has affected most businesses in a negative way, we cannot excuse their lack of communication.

At this point, we have decided to postpone the event until after the COVID-19 emergency restrictions have been lifted. We will be honoring all tickets for that event in 2021, which we will announce shortly. We are working with a legal team to obtain our Comic Con ticket holder data and ticket sales from Ticket Rocket at this time. Ticket Rocket holds all of the data on our ticket purchases and we need that information to move the refund process forward, for those who have requested it. This is not the outcome we were hoping for and we are extremely disappointed in the way this has been handled at Ticket Rocket. We know there have been a few people who are rightfully upset that they have not received a refund yet or any communication from Ticket Rocket. We ask for a bit more patience while we acquire the information we need on our end to handle the refunds.

We know this is not an ideal situation but please know we are working on it on our end with our legal team. We will be updating any new information on our website and via social media when we know more. We apologize for the inconvenience and frustration our ticket holders waiting on refunds are feeling. Thank you so much for your patience and support, it is greatly appreciated during this time.

Capital City Comic Enthusiasts Society

May 11, 2020

Thank you to all our Capital City Comic Con fans for your patience during this unprecedented time. We miss our community especially at this time and hope everyone is staying safe.

It has been brought to our attention that, due to COVID-19 related layoffs, Ticket Rocket has been unable to respond to refund requests in a timely manner. Capital City Comic Enthusiasts Society is working with Ticket Rocket to help remedy this situation as soon as possible. We thank everyone for your patience.

Changes are happening daily and impacts to the events industry are still unknown. However, our goal remains as always to deliver a wonderful convention experience so we continue to source new dates for Capital City Comic Con when we can all safely gather. We anticipate new information being available to you in the very near future. Thank you for your support and patience during this difficult time.

A STATEMENT FROM THE ORGANIZERS OF CAPITAL CITY COMIC CON

UPDATED March 13, 2020 – 12:00 PM

Statement regarding postponement of Capital City Comic Con 2020.

Over the last three years all of us here at Capital City Comic Con have loved watching our fans, exhibitors, volunteers and guests grow this community event into what it is today. We know the uplifting power a fun and inclusive event holds and look forward to seeing all your smiling faces and incredible cosplay every year.

On behalf of all our organizing partners, Cherry Bomb Toys, Downtown Victoria Business Association and Destination Greater Victoria, it is with great disappointment that we are announcing the postponement of Capital City Comic Con 2020 due to the situation related to COVID-19, or coronavirus.

Capital City Comic Con was scheduled to take place from March 20-22, 2020. We know every attendee eagerly anticipates the Capital City Comic Con but considering recent events, we felt it was important to put safety and peace of mind first.  We know this is as disappointing to you as it is to us, but we do believe that this is the right decision.

This is not a decision we’ve made lightly. In addition to the recent COVID-19 developments, on March 9, 2020 the Screen Actors Guild (SAG AFTRA) issued a notice to its members that it would be in their best interest to cease flying for the foreseeable future. We respect and recognize this union body is acting with the safety of its members in mind and as a result some of Capital City Comic Con’s guests have chosen to postpone their travel to Greater Victoria for the time being.

Our team is working diligently with our venue to determine an alternative date in 2020. Due to the impact COVID-19 has had on all events, this process may take a little longer than usual.  We are pushing to more information within the next couple of weeks and will continue to update our fans as quickly as possible.

We realize you may have several questions and we hope this communication will provide you with some answers.

• All purchased tickets will be completely transferable to any new dates announced in 2020.
• If you are unable to attend the new dates, your tickets will be refundable less service fees.
• Any refund requests (for Capital City Comic Con, Nerdlesque or Comic Queens tickets) will be processed through Ticket Rocket and may take up to 10 business days for processing. Please contact them at support@ticketrocket.co and they will let you know once they’ve initiated your refund.

All of us here at Capital City Comic Con have loved watching our fans, exhibitors, volunteers and guests grow this community event into what it is today.

We thank you for your continued support and understanding,

Capital City Comic Con Enthusiasts Society