Fun at Chicago Pop Culture Con 2019

Last weekend, I had a great time at the Chicago Pop Culture Con at the Pheasant Run Resort in St. Charles. Zurko Promotions put on another fantastic convention.

Chicago Pop Culture Con bills itself as “a multi-genre convention of Comics, Toys, Gaming, SCI-FI, Legos, Stars, #Anime, Horror Films, TV/Movie Memorabilia, Steampunk, Autographs, Super Heroes, Action Figures, Cosplay, Fantasy, Horror, Collectibles, #Sports Memorabilia, Non Sports Cards, Vintage Music Memorabilia, Publishers & Artist Convention – but open to anything fan-related!” As a regular attendee, I can decalre that Chicago Pop Culture Con delivers as promised.

Upon entering the hall, I first encountered Wesley Eure and Kathy Coleman, stars of tv's Land of the Lost. Originally airing in the mid-70s, LotL remains a cult classic series. Embracing their roles in tv history, Eure and Coleman are two the friendliest, most eager convention guests I have ever met. This time, they not only brought the raft for fun pictures, they also had the pylon and the matrix table. Celebrating the holiday season, they also had Santa hats.

The pair had a great supply of pictures for signing and Coleman brought her memoir, Run Holly, Run! It is such a great read. As I major fan of the series, it brought back so many great memories and added a lot of great firsthand info from Coleman.

Across from them was my friend, the multi-talented James Azrael of the Horror and SciFi Prop Preservation Association (HSPPA). James was promoting the HSPPA, as well as It's Just a Game, a fantastic movie produced by James and Daniel Emery Taylor. James had a lot of fantastic movie props at his booth, as well. His booth is always a fun place to visit at any convention.

Another highlight was former Chicago Bears legend Chris Zorich appearing courtesy of Chicagoland Sports Appearance Connection (CSAC). I surprised Zorich by wearing a tshirt from his former foundation. I talked for several minutes with Zorich about his career and also caught up with promoter Mark Childers who accompanied Zorich at his booth.

At a previous event, I interviewed video game designed Brian F. Colin. Better known for the wildly popular Rampage game, I was a huge fan of Arch-Rivals, a fantastic basketball arcade game. As enthusiastic as he is talented, Colin gladly discussed his games with the fans, even spending several minutes talking to me about my favorite game.

Indie filmmaker John Borowski was promoting his projects while educating people on true crimes. Borowski, as always, is working on several projects and I look forward to them. The incredibly talented Borowski continues to deliver insight and first-hand interviews.

There were so many more other talented creative folks, including vintage enthusiast Lila Lucy, author Racheal Blaze, horror host Deadgar Winter, The Age of the Geeks cosplay group, artist Terry Huddleston and more. Everywhere I looked, I saw awesome creativity in so many forms.

A newfound talent was Darren Marlar of the Weird Darkness podcast. Marlar is the perfect example of what you'll find at these conventions and the prefect example of why I love the cons. I honestly hadn't heard of Marlar or Weird Darkness prior to Chicago Pop Culture Con, but after talking to him, I gave the Weird Darkness podcast a listen. Actually, last night, I gave Weird Darkness several listens. The podcasts cover real stories of the supernatural, paranormal, mysterious, unsolved and the like. I was intrigued within the first few minutes and listened to several episodes while doing my writing over the last couple days.

There were a lot of other great events during the convention. Panels, discussions, Q&As, costume contests and more happened over the weekend. In addition to meeting the creative folks and checking out the vendors, there always seemed to be other fun stuff.

Zurko Promotions has many events during the year. Promoting flea markets and events for 49 years, Zurko Promotions has events St. Charles, Wheaton, Grayslake and other areas around Chicago. Their next event is again at the Pheasant Run Resort in January. Jackson Bostwick, star of tv's Shazam! has already been announced as a guest. It's going to be another fun Zurko Promotions events and a great way to start the new year.