PopFest Chicago Was Fantastic!

After missing the debut of PopFest Chicago in January because I was out of town, I heard so many great reviews. When PopFest Chicago held another event last Sunday, I made sure to attend.

Scattered powerful storms did not prevent my pal Tony and I taking our 30 minute drives to Naperville to meet for PopFest Chicago held at Naperville Yard Indoor Sports Complex. Upon entering the venue, we were immediately impressed. After opening on time, a rarity for such events, staffers quickly handled ticketholders. Of special note was a young girl who was extremely helpful, pleasant and professional.

Once inside the convention area, we saw more than 150 vendors offering all sorts of pop culture items. Funko Pops were the most abundant product and certainly the most popular. I picked up a couple and I don't even collect them. Tony found a Gossamer Funko Pop.

There were also a lot of Hot Wheels and other similar toy cars, along with LEGO mini-figures, posters and thousands of other pop culture items. It was a pop culture wonderland and everything was reasonably-priced.

In addition to the vendors, there was cosplay, gaming, giveaways and other fun activities. Olympic gold medalist Kurt Angle was the celebrity guest and he drew a huge crowd, well-managed by staffers.

The indoor field allowed for 40,000 square feet, giving plenty of room to maneuver despite the large crowd. The soft artificial turf also made it more comfortable walking the aisles all day. It's amazing the difference the softer surface made. Also, the spacing eliminated much of the stopping and starting when trying to get through the usually-tight aisles.

PopFest Chicago was awesome for attendees, but there was a great benefit to vendors, too. Joseph White started Whitney Collectibles online about a year ago, but just recently opened a store in nearby Glen Ellyn. Having a booth at PopFest exposed Whitney Collectibles to thousands of potential customer in a few hours. Tony was one of those customers and he now plans on visiting the Whitney Collectibles store.

Upon leaving, Tony and I agreed this was one of the best-run conventions we have attended and we have attended hundreds. When Angle was slightly delayed, announcements kept all updated. The lengthy line for Angle was position so as not to crowd vendors or those waiting to meet their idol. These may sound like small things or common sense, but such things are sadly lacking at too many events. PopFest had all covered extremely well.

I go to many similar conventions, but PopFest gets my praise on every level. There was no announcement for the next PopFest, but I will be there and am already looking forward to it.