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Aug 23, 2003 Conventions are fun. They are big parties where a bunch of like-minded people get together to talk about whatever it is they’ve gathered to talk about. I’m not necessarily talking about industry-type gatherings, like window washing or undertaker’s conventions, but more mainstream events like Star Trek, comic books and the Beatles. I attended conventions for the last two things I mentioned. I’m not a Trekkie, but I’m thankful there are places for Star Trek fans to gather. The comic book convention was good for a lot of free stuff and to see people dressed in Star Wars Imperial Stormtrooper outfits as well as hob nobbing with folks who publish their own comic books, which in some cases are better than the material churned out by DC and Marvel. Not only is it fun to see all the stuff available for sale, it’s fun to people watch. On “The Simpsons,” the local comic book dealer is, well, rotund. In medical terms, morbidly obese. Is he the stereotypical comic book dealer? I don’t know, but at Wizard World Chicago, there were a lot of hefty men. So is it safe to say the majority of comic book readers are males age 18-30 and overweight? Yup. There were women and little kids there, but they didn’t make up the majority of the people in the Donald Stephens convention center a couple weeks ago. Beatlefest, or, The Fest for Beatles Fans as it is now known, brings out a wide age range of people. People may wrongly assume the average FBF attendee is an aging hippie still mad at Yoko, but this is truly an all-ages event. And fun. Babies are pushed by their Generation X parents, who may be shopping with (or for) their Baby Boomer parents. I wore my Beatle jersey, purchased at the convention six years ago. A 16-year-old girl asked me where I got it, and from there she and my friend and I discussed the Beatles and other types of music. Apparently, not everyone under the age of 20 is enamored by Eminem, so there’s hope. So what do a bunch of Beatle fans do when they get together? It’s a three-day party for a lot of them. Some bring artwork, some bring puppets, others bring their stash of Beatle memorabilia. A lot of fans bring their instruments, hoping to get into the sound-alike contest. The fellow who won it this year wowed the crowd with an acoustic guitar version of “A Day in the Life.” Pretty gutsy, as it takes talent to nail the two apocalyptic crescendos that occur in the song. But he did it. Others, like my friend and I, bring ourselves and look at all the neat stuff we could buy if we had thousands to drop on say, a trip to Liverpool and London to see where the Beatles lived and played; or photographs by Astrid Kirchherr, who took the first photographs of the Fab Four, who were not so fab at the time and consisted of five members, not four. There’s also tons of Beatle merchandise which is “new,” that is, if you weren’t lucky enough to get your hands on a plastic Beatles wallet, you might be able to find a Beatle purse. During a smoke break, I accompanied my friend outside where we struck up a conversation with a woman who had the coolest Beatle item we’d seen that day. She had a purse -- made out of magazines with Beatle pictures. It was fascinating because the craftsmanship was amazing. Even though the purse was essentially made of magazine paper, the texture was that of fine leather that had worn with usage. The woman said she’d had it out in the rain and the purse stayed intact. Purchased through the Internet, she’d forgotten the website where she originally purchased it. As we were exclaiming over how neat the purse was and the monetary offers the woman had received since she had bought it, her husband, Dan, was alternating between trying to sell it for $150 and asking us if we knew what kept the purse from becoming dog-eared. My friend and I were baffled as we touched the purse; it felt like good leather, but wondered what type of finish was on the paper. My friend suggested it was perhaps a mixture of two different finishes; I thought maybe it was a spray-on sealant commonly used on leather. The woman said no, that couldn’t be it, because the sealant eventually cracks. All four of us were stumped. Dan was eager to find the magic elixir that kept the bag intact; because according to him, they had several magazines at home with pictures of Jimi Hendrix and other rock notables. Encouraged by the $150 offer one of his wife’s co-workers had made for the bag, Dan, a big man from Kansas City, told us, “I want to go home and make some purses.” Now that’s something you don’t hear every day. ------------ About the author: Gloria Diaz is an opinionated citizen of Generation X (member since 1967) who occupies herself by dabbling in photography, writing and as a written communications processing specialist for the government. She has written for several diverse publications including Scram, Spleen, The Fort Wayne Free Press, and for the Huntington County TAB. Email Gloria Diaz: Scoop5767@aol.com Comment on this column in the forum. Tell a friend about this site! ------------ |
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