Comic Con Chicago 2014: Matt Smith, Norman Reedus, William Shattner

My geographical position put me in a place where I could go to a fantastic event in Chicago, Comic Con (actually in Rosemont, Il, right outside Chicago). Comic Con is a huge deal for fans of many major Sci-Fi television shows and movies, also artists all over the world.  Many celebrities are on hand for autographs and pictures. It was an  amazing experience.

First of all anyone can attend with the purchase of a ticket. This Comic Con was $60 a ticket for entry,  $50 on Sunday because it's a shorter day. Prices vary for different Comic Cons and it also depends on who hosts it. Wizard World hosted the one I attended in Chicago.  Then you pay extra for any celeb photo ops or signatures that you collect. I purchased a VIP ticket that included entry for all four days and a signature and Photo op with Matt Smith and a panel discussion with Matt Smith and Karen Gillian from Dr. Who. It was an amazing panel. Fans could stand up and ask questions to the two of them. They were incredible.

The worst part is the lines. The VIP package helped reduce this a lot. There were lines for all the autographs, some were extremely long, some were pretty short. Some of the celebrities were really cool. They were fist pumping people as they walked to and from their appointments and/or the bathroom. They can't possibly talk to everyone, they get paid to do this, and they are, after all, just people. This being said when you get their autograph you have about six seconds, some people get this stretched out by giving them a gift, or saying something to them that is provocative, but still it will be over pretty quickly. There are lots of people vying for their attention.

I got an autograph and photo op with Matt Smith. Despite the VIP package I still probably spent about two hours in line total. The picture moved really fast once it was started, the autograph line, not as much. People were giving him gifts and chatting with him as much as they could. He was very friendly and I don't think I would be as patient as some of these celebs, these people were drooling and going nuts on them.

The best part was the costumes people dressed in, some where super incredible. Especially the ones people created for their children. The little girl in the Dalek, (from Dr. Who) was especially amazing. There were power rangers, superheroes, zombies, and anything you could possibly think of that was cartoon, Sci-Fi, or superhero related. The superhero costumes were the most predominate. The X-Men were the most obvious, but there were also a lot of wonder women and supermen and of course every color of power ranger imaginable. 

 My niece was excited because she saw celebrities from the Walking Dead.  There were a lot of them there. I have never seen this show, so I didn't know who these people were, in fact Michael Rooker drove past me in a golf cart and the only reason I took his picture was because this man I was talking to started freaking out about it.  So I got out my phone and snapped a couple of pictures of him.  I also saw two others, but the pictures came out kind of blurry. My niece got her picture taken with Norman Reedus, and he was so nice to her. He told her she was adorable and she had the best time meeting him. 

Then later on that same day we ran into William Shattner. That was super cool. He was walking to his autograph booth, so I snapped a couple of pictures of him as well. My mom is a Star Trek fan and always has been, so the second it was downloaded to Facebook she made it into her profile picture :). I kept joking to my sister that we shouldn't be standing around the Star Trek areas with my R2D2 tank top and R2D2 popcorn container. (Yes, I brought R2 with me, it seemed cruel to leave him at home.)

The artists were a really cool part of this event as well. Many of them will autograph the prints you purchase and they are more than happy to talk to you about their artwork. My niece got to meet one of the artist who draws The Walking Dead, I'm not real crazy about Zombies but his work is so interesting I couldn't look away. He had Norman Rockwell style zombies drawn. He was also Norman Reedus' neighbor. I think that's what had drawn (Mind the pun) my niece in to talk to him. He actually drew her a picture of Norman Reedus and signed it. His name was Arthur Suydam and he was facinating to talk to and just generally a nice guy.  She was a very happy 13 year old after getting a picture drawn and talking to this man. 

 My advice, bring lots of cash. Most all the vendors take credit and debit cards, but cash is easier. Make sure you know what you are buying. A lot of the stuff can be found online a lot cheaper.  The stuff you want is the artwork, comic books, original stuff that is hard to find.


Dress up in your favorite superhero and get going!


 Some things to check out:

http://www.wizardworld.com/
http://www.arthursuydam.com/

Movies in the Park

Grand Rapids, MI is a wonderful place for lots of reason. One (Of the many) wonderful things this city has going for it in the summer is "Movies in the Park". It's totally free to come down to the park, Ah-Nab-Awen Park next to the river in front of the Gerald R. Ford Museum. The location is idyllic for the movie because of the soothing background of the Grand River. The river and surrounding buildings add to the atmosphere, making it the perfect place to watch a movie.

 There were a variety of food trucks with different kinds of food available. People brought chairs, blankets, food, and drink. There was an ID checkpoint to get a wrist band so the police know you are over 21 and it prevents them from bothering people drinking who look young. You can bring your own wine or beer. 

Tonight when we went the movie of the night was Top Gun with Tom Cruise.  It was exciting to watch it outside in the open air, kind of like a a drive in, without all the cars. The movie tonight had a little something extra, an ice sculpture. My husband's company put the ice sculpture together in the park, so it was an exciting pre-show. Also there was a 30 minute fighter jet mini air show. It was very cool. 

If you are coming down for the next movie it is on August 22nd and it will be a double feature, Jurassic Park and The Sandlot. Come early for a good spot! 

Chicago Day Three: The Fairy Castle

Well, if you haven't figured out by now with my blogs, I love museums, or any place where you can learn new stuff. The Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago is my favorite museum because it's so hands on and I have found memories of visiting it as a child.  It also houses one of my favorite things to visit when I'm in Chicago, The Fairy Castle. The Fairy Castle was designed and created by silent film star Collen Moore in the 1920's. She designed it perfectly with people in Hollywood, then took it on tour to raise money for children's charities.  It has the most amazing rooms and each one is designed for Fairy Tale characters, like there are Cinderella's tiny glass slippers, and King Arthur's round table. Many of the items are made with gold, diamonds, real gemstones, blown glass, and ancient archaeological finds (tiny little vases). The items in this castle are priceless and this castle cost Colleen Moore over $500,000 (USD) back in the 20's and 30's. It has real running water and copper piping.  This was really the only reason I wanted to come back to this museum this visit, but it has a lot more to offer. 

We spent all day in the museum and I did not take any pictures, I was so wrapped up in every part of it. There was a exhibit about storms and they had a chamber with a created tornado and tsunami simulator. We also watched a movie in an Ommni Max theater called, "The Flight of the Butterfly." it was really informative about Monarch Butterfly migration. 

The special exhibit was Disney, they have several items from Walt Disney's life and costumes from the movies. At the end of the exhibit they are running a drawing class every fifteen minutes.  This is a temporary exhibit. 

Some of the highlights of this museum include the top floor has detailed information on anatomy, with examples of each of the systems in the body. I always found the circulatory system fascinating with all the different veins and arteries showing what they do and where they go. I also enjoyed the room of gemstones and the planes, there are real old airplanes hanging from the ceiling, there is also a simulation to go along with it. 

This museum has changed a lot over the years since I was a child, but it continues to be amazing. Every exhibit is curated with the most care and just about everything in the museum is hands on directed specifically for children. I recommend anyone to with or without children, it will keep you busy for hours and there is something for everyone.