By Hannah Caparino, May 21 2026—
City of Calgary Mayor, Jeromy Farkas led the newly named “Party of Wonders” to kick off Calgary Expo 2026. Due to weather conditions, the traditional “Parade of Wonders” was cancelled and was changed to the “Party of Wonders” and was held at the base of the BMO Event Centre where Expo fans would gather to see their favourite stars. Cosplayed as the famous plumber, Mario from the “Super Mario Brothers Franchise”, Farkas was seen walking around the alleyways of the BMO after the party was brought inside. In a brief interview with the Gauntlet, Farkas spoke about the community, Calgary’s growth and presenting White Hats to many Expo guests.
At the “Party of Wonders”, many celebrities were sporting White Hats that were gifted by Farkas. Celebrities gifted the hats included: Star Wars star Anthony Daniels, The Lord of the Rings’ John Rhys-Davies and Supernatural stars Samantha Smith and DJ Qualls. Farkas spoke on what these White Hats mean and how they represent the city.
“Well, for me, it’s more than anything else about the kind of city we are. We’re welcoming where everybody can belong. We can celebrate our differences. We can discover new things about ourselves, other people, [and] to have others come from around the world to be part of what we’re building here in Calgary is amazing.” said Farkas, “It’s about [something] bigger than just the symbol of the White Hat for hospitality, but it’s still an important statement about who we are as a city.”
Expo as an event brings multiple people together over a collective love of anything and everything pop culture.
“This [Expo] is just for a weekend, but really this is what Calgary is every single day of the year. It’s a place where anybody and everybody can work hard to come here, to be able to succeed. It’s a place where everyone belongs.” stated Farkas.
After tackling municipal challenges like the recent Bearspaw South Feeder Main Break in December 2025, Farkas has been rallying the community to come together and save water. As Calgary’s “Mario”, while his cosplay is a bit on the nose with the plumbing and water pipe reference, his cosplay speaks to wider individual and collective efforts to better our city’s infrastructure. Now a newly inducted cosplayer, he expressed his excitement for other folks’ cosplay.
“I’m looking forward to the cosplay,” said Farkas, “It’s [Calgary Expo] an amazing place to be because you really see people’s creativity and their different takes on these iconic characters come to life.”
Information on future tickets and Expo events will be on the website.
