‘Stranger Things,’ ‘Daredevil,’ ‘The Walking Dead’ Q&As Among Top Programming at FAN EXPO Portland

By Staff Reports

From celebrity Q&As to industry, cosplay, gaming, anime and entertaining, informative sessions from all areas of pop culture, FAN EXPO Portland presents its collection of nearly 150 programing panels and meetups during the event, Friday through Sunday, January 12-14 at Oregon Convention Center. There’s truly something for every fan and every taste every hour of the show into the evening throughout all three days of the convention, right until Sunday’s 5 p.m. finish. 

FAN EXPO Portland celebrity guests such as “Stranger Things” standouts Joseph Quinn and Grace Van Dien, the “Daredevil” tandem of Charlie Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio, “The Walking Dead” stars Jon Bernthal (“The Punisher”) and Laurie Holden, Giancarlo Esposito (“The Mandalorian,” “Breaking Bad”), Danny Trejo (Machete, The Book of Boba Fett), Lana Parrilla (“Once Upon a Time,” “Spin City”), Holly Marie Combs (“Charmed”), Peter Weller (RoboCop, The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension), Jason Lee (Vanilla Sky, Almost Famous), Mary McDonnell (“Battlestar Galactica,” “The Fall of the House of Usher”) and Emily Swallow (“The Mandalorian,” “Supernatural”) are among those who will conduct individual and group interactive sessions with fans, headlining the slate.

There are dozens of informative, entertaining panels by superstar creators as well as cosplay, gaming, trivia, film, horror and other pop culture themed sessions. And it all begins a day early, with the FAN EXPO Portland Kick Off Party/Cartoon Fantasy Adventure on Thursday, January 11, at 6 p.m. at Wonderwood Springs (8811 N. Lombard St.), open to all attendees.

Fans can review the entire event schedule at fanexpohq.com/fanexpoportland/schedule. Most panels are free with event admission. Just a few of the other highlights include:

Friday:

• 3:45 p.m., Whatever a Spider-Can, Room B111
• 4 p.m., Evil Animated: The Top Ten Animated Movie Villains, Creators Stage
• 4:30 p.m., Spy x Family x Cast Reunion with Kristen Bateson, Alex Organ and Natalie Van Sistine, Theater #2
• 5:30 p.m., Helluva A with Brandon Rogers and Richard Horvitz
• 5:45 p.m., Charmed Spotlight on Holly Marie Combs
• 5:45 p.m., Comicare Smiles Superhero Group, Room B111
• 6 p.m., Cartoon Academy with Joe Wos: As Easy as ABC, Cartooning Basics, Family Zone
• 6 p.m., Playing with Power! Chainsaw Man’s Sarah Wiedenheft Q&A, Room A106
• 6:30 p.m., Spotlight on Keith David, Theater #2
• 6:45 p.m., There are Stranger A with Joseph Quinn and Grace Van Dien, Main Theater
• 7:30 p.m., Special Screening: The Thing, Theater #2
• 8 p.m., Nerdy Nightcaps nerd-themed party at Hyatt Regency Portland, 375 NE Holladay St.

Saturday:

• 10:30 a.m., Saturday Morning Cartoons: Teen Titans, Theater #2
• 11 a.m., Cosplay Demo with Pacific Northwest Guild of Cosplayers, Creators Stage
• 11 a.m, Too Many to Count: All the Voices of Tara Strong, Theater #2
• 11 a.m. Ultimate Transformers Experience, Room C124 (additional ticket required)
• 11:45 a.m., Women in Sci-Fi and Horror: Michelle Hurd, Mary McDonnell and Laurie Holden, Main Theater
• Noon, ¡Hóla, Soy Kathleen Herles!, Theater #2
• Noon, Ultimate Frank Welker Experience, Room C124 (additional ticket required)
• 12:45 p.m., My Name is Earl: Meet Jason Lee and Ethan Suplee, Main Theater
• 1 p.m., Let’s Talk about A with Alex Organ, Room A106
• 2 p.m., Lego Masters with Kelly Bartlett, Room B111
• 2 p.m., Plus Ultra! The My Hero Academia Voice Actors Panel with Justin Briner, Christopher Sabat and Kristen Bateson
• 3 p.m., Women in Horror with local Gothic Royalty Morgue Anne, Room B111
• 3:45 p.m., All About Ahsoka with Eman Esfandi and Diana Lee Inosanto, Main Theater
• 4 p.m., Behind the Scenes with Titus Weliver, Theater #2
• 4:45 p.m., Born Again: Meet Charlie Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio, Main Theater
• 5 p.m., Fighting in Fiction: Writing a Knockout Scene with author Jason Bond, Room B111
• 5 p.m., Horr-Oregon Haunted Happenings of 2024 with Stapled Spine Horror Fanzine, Room B111
• 5 p.m., Sketch Duel: artists Mitch Gerads vs Doc Schaner, Creators Stage
• 5:45 p.m., Hear Ye, Hear Ye! Lana Parrilla has Entered the Building, Main Theater
• 6 p.m., Spotlight on Logic, Theater #2
• 7:30 p.m., FAN EXPO Official After Party: The Bigfoot Bash at Whiskey Distillery and Tasting Room (65 SE Washington St.)

Sunday:

• 10:15 a.m., Pokémon Meetup, Room A103
• 11 a.m., Spider-Man vs. Venom: Spotlight on Nadji Jeter and Tony Todd, Theater #2
• 11:45 a.m., Meet the Cast of the Mandalorian: Giancarlo Esposito and Emily Swallow, Main Theater
• Noon, Discussing A with My Hero Academia’s Justin Briner
• Noon, Spotlight: Tim Jacobus (“Goosebumps”), Creators Stage
• 12:45 p.m., One Batch, Two Batch: Meet Jon Bernthal, Main Theater
• 1 p.m., Giant Robots! Gunpla Model Building Workshop, Workshop Room B118
• 1 p.m., Star Wars and Conflict Resolution, Room B111
• 2 p.m., The Super Power of Bats, Room B111
• 2 p.m., You’re Yor! Spy x Family Q&A with Natalie Van Sistine
• 2:15 p.m., Kids Cosplay Contest, Cosplay Red Carpet (Lobby A) 
• 2:30 p.m., Serving the Public Trust and other Directives with Robocop, Peter Weller hosted by KATU’s Wesleigh Ogle, Theater #2
• 2:45 p.m., Robots in Disguise with Peter Cullen and Frank Welker, Main Theater
• 3:30 p.m., So You Want to Start 3D Printing? With Pikosplay, Cosplay Theater
• 3:45 p.m., The Man, the Myth, the Legend: Spotlight on Danny Trejo, Main Theater
• 4 p.m., Help us Write our Fan Fiction, Room B111
• 5:30 p.m., Drink ‘N’ Draw with Joe Wos, Hyatt Regency Portland (375 NE Holladay St.)

FAN EXPO Portland features the biggest and best in pop culture: movies, TV, music, artists, writers, exhibitors, cosplay, with three full days of themed programming to satisfy every fandom.

Single-Day Tickets, Three-Day Passes, VIP and Ultimate Fan Packages for FAN EXPO Portland are available now. Portland is the second event on the 2024 FAN EXPO HQ calendar; the full schedule is available at fanexpohq.com/home/events/.

ABOUT FAN EXPO HQ 

FAN EXPO HQ is the largest comic con producer in the world. Collectively it hosts more than one million fans annually at FAN EXPO Chicago, FAN EXPO Canada™, MEGACON Orlando, FAN EXPO Dallas™, FAN EXPO Boston™, FAN EXPO Denver, FAN EXPO San Francisco, FAN EXPO New Orleans, FAN EXPO Portland, FAN EXPO Cleveland, FAN EXPO Philadelphia, Calgary Comics & Entertainment Expo, FAN EXPO Vancouver™, Toronto Comicon, Dallas FAN FESTIVAL and Edmonton Comics & Entertainment Expo. The latest 2024 schedule of events is available here, along with up-to-date ticket information. Discover. Celebrate. Belong.