Featured Live Event of the Week - Flashback Weekend HorrorCon Chicago

So, two weeks in a row I'm gonna switch things up a bit. 

This week, our Featured Live segment will feature an Event - after all - it is also Live - right?

Flashback Weekend HorrorCon Chicago

This is a three day event that takes place in Rosemont, IL at the Crowne Plaza Hotel (across from the Convention Center).

This event DID feature live music last year, when Alan Howarth had a multi-media concert showcasing his work on so many Horror Films.  They also had a Burlesque/Magic Act, which had music.  But really, this isn't about music - this is about an event.  Just like a concert - an event occurs and provides entertainment.

For 3 days, Flashback Weekend takes over several meeting rooms, halls, ballrooms, etc at the Crowne Plaza hotel.  The event features live meet & greets, where fans can get an autograph and a selfie with horror actors and actresses from past and present.  There are around 20 guests each year, ranging from old Halloween movies to very recent ones like You're Next.  The guests range from the heroes, to the slashers, to the victims, to the ghosts, to the f/x artists and makeup artists, to the directors, to the writers, to the stuntmen, and everything in between.

Fans get an up-close and personal opportunity to talk to their favorite guests - not just an assembly line, but actual conversation and selfie's with the guest.  So far, in the years I've been going, even the biggest stars with the longest lines, take the time to have a brief conversation with the fans.  And I think part of that is that the event is low-key and everybody feels comfortable and "part of the family".  Most of the special guests stay right in the same hotel and can be seen walking around between events, just like average hotel guests.  And the fans respect that and only make appropriate small talk and do not crowd the actors and actresses.

In addition to the meet-and-greets - there are the professional photo ops - now, these are like an assembly line - but if you are limited for time and want a top-notch professional quality photo with the star - these are the way to go.  Very professional and very fast.  Instant prints, by the time you get to the "print table" - it's there waiting for you - and when it's busy, the workers see you coming and hand it right to you.

In addition to that, are the panels and Q&A sessions, in which the stars sit up front in groups or pairs or solo and do a mini-interview followed by a Q&A session from the fans.  And trust me, some of the questions are shockers - but the actors and actresses always answer.  Again, as mentioned earlier, the fans keep things appropriate.  The panels/Q&A are always fun, as the stars "let their hair down" and sometimes it gets so funny, people just can't stop laughing at all - not even the special guests.

There are also screenings from the small screen to the large screen to the outdoor screen.  Yes, outdoor screen.  Flashback Weekend sets up a giant movie screen outside in the courtyard, and they show the feature film right outside, as people watch from chairs.  Like a drive-in, but really a walk-in.  The perfect end to the day in the summer as the night cools off.  In addition, they have screenings of cult-classics and other films throughout the day in one of the meeting rooms/ballrooms.  And, some years, even have a screening over at the Muvico Theater in MB Financial Park - for that full big budget visual and audio!  The movies are even opened with mini-interviews or Q&A with stars or directors associated with the films!

There are also costume contests and various other events going on as well, and it varies from year to year.

And last, but certainly not least, VENDORS.  These vendors sell everything from original artwork to old hard-to-find DVDs to t-shirts (originals and mass produced) to action figures to movie posters to costumes and masks.  The vendors are in the same room as the special guests, so attendees can check out both simultaneously as they weave through the rows.

There is just so much to see and do, and, I think because of the way it is run, it maintains a nice low-key family atmosphere.  It never feels like an assembly line of cattle waiting for a quick signature.

The entire event is run by the owners of the Midway Drive-In in Dixon, IL and the money raised helps keep the Drive-In theater alive and prospering as well as goes to restore old movies.

If you like horror - old and new - then you'll like this convention!