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A local vendor is asking people to keep an eye out for a handcrafted Captain America shield that was stolen from a booth at the Calgary Expo.
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The radiator-shaped shield has been pressed and hand-painted to match Marvel character Captain America’s iconic WWII shield design, and distressed to look battle-damaged – with bullet holes, scratches and burns – said Matt Pickering, the owner of Pickering Woodworks. He and another craftsman had spent hours on the shield and were selling it at Calgary Expo for $250.
After realizing the shield was missing on Saturday, Pickering and those working at his booth asked around and reported him missing to Stampede Park security.
“It’s kind of disheartening when something like that happens,” Pickering said. “It’s really frustrating when someone doesn’t have the respect for the job and the respect for the community that they would run away and take something like that.”
This weekend’s Calgary Expo was the first since 2019 after being canceled for two years during the pandemic. Pickering said there was a wonderful sense of community at the event, so it’s sad the experience was dampened by the theft – although sales were good overall.
“The community that comes to this show is very tight-knit, very enthusiastic and very creative. There was an avalanche of messages that I received after all this telling me that they are sorry to hear that this happened, they hope that I can recover it and that they support me, ”a he declared.
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Pickering said he also received messages telling him his work was worth buying, which he said was also encouraging. He quit a job building sets for community theaters about seven years ago to start his craft carpentry business, and the income generated at events like the Calgary Expo is important to keep things running. .
Andrew Moyes, Vice President of Fan Expo HQ, said it was disheartening to hear about the theft after four days of incredible community.
“We sincerely hope that this situation will be resolved. Artisans and small businesses like this are at the heart of the show,” Moyes said in a statement to Postmedia.
sbabych@postmedia.com
Twitter: @BabychStephanie