A First Time For Something Fun

Being a geek, I've always been enamored with the idea of conventions, where like-minded individuals will convene upon a location in celebration of a particular theme or genre. The most famous is the annual San Diego ComicCon, but there's conventions everywhere, dedicated not just to comics but things like Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica, World of Warcraft, video games in general, and horror movies.

I bring this up because I got to attend my first convention yesterday, a relatively new horror-themed convention in Lexington. It started in 2008 with a reunion of cast and crew members from the first Friday the 13th movie, which I sadly had to miss. (At least footage from it ended up on on the movie's Blu-ray, so that's some consolation.) I ended up missing last year's Scarefest too, but 2010 was finally my year.

And to tell you the truth, I had a load of fun. I wasn't able to come home with as much swag as I'd have liked, but that can easily be fixed in 2011. What I really loved was getting to meet some of the celebrities who were there. Getting to meet guys like Danny Trejo from Machete and zombie godfather George Romero was a real thrill, and as a total fanboy, being able to meet two Jasons - Richard Brooker from the third Friday the 13th and Kane Hodder from the seventh through tenth - was absolutely amazing.

The real highlight for me, however, was getting to meat Tom Atkins. He's one of my favorite actors, and was the best part of one of my all-time favorite movies (Night of the Creeps, for you interested parties), so getting to meet him and have a little small talk was something very special. I was totally starstruck, I must confess, but I'm content in knowing that I got to speak to him in person. I doubt it means much to him at this point in his life and career, but it was a very special moment for me.

Here I am, rambling like a big doofus. I don't really have much else to say, other than I can't wait for the 2011 Scarefest. I really need to plan a month or two in advance for it, but we'll have to wait and see what the next year has in store. Until then, I'm doing pretty darn good regardless. Now if I can just find a way to the San Diego ComicCon...