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Rex B. Hamilton looks forward to meeting you at the 2007 TransWorld convention
February 19, 2007
Greetings, Fellow Haunters:
I hope to greet each and every one of you later this week at the 23rd annual Halloween, Costume and Party Show in Rosemont, Illinois. This year will be my eleventh visit in a row to “the big show” of the Halloween convention circuit. I’ll be there from Thursday afternoon until Sunday evening.
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If the roads are good and the weather cooperates, I’ll pull into the Crowne Plaza Hotel shortly after lunchtime on Thursday. As soon as Jeff “Samhain” Glatzer and I check in and unpack, we’ll stop by “Rickenbacker’s” (the hotel’s bar) and the “patio deli” area outside its front door. If there are other haunters present, I’ll order up a hearty adult beverage and join in the tale swapping. Look for a guy in a black sweatshirt with Lord Zargon sitting on his throne of skulls on the front, and my 2006 haunting itinerary on the back. The shirt was designed and hand-airbrushed by Raymond VanTilburg of OffWorld Designs in Chicago.
I’m going downtown on Thursday evening to take my nephew Jac out to dinner. He’s a fourth-year architecture major at Illinois Institute of Technology. His university is sandwiched between Comiskey Park and the Chinatown district on the near South side. There are a mountain of places to eat, drink and have fun in Chicago. I’m looking forward to the excursion.
Later that evening, you’ll find me floating around the bar at the Crowne Plaza.
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On Friday, I plan to see as much of the convention floor as possible. At some point that day, I’ll hop into my car and drive the two miles or so to the Fangoria convention for a quick visit. I’ve never been to a Fango show, so it will be interesting to see how it stacks up to the Cleveland horror movie/memorabilia conventions (there are 3 of them) held here each summer.
Since this year is the final season for the TransWorld Halloween show in Chicago, I’ll do my best to soak up everything haunted and spooky on the convention floor. Look for a guy in black velvet tuxedo with an sinister grin on his face - that would be me!
What to do on Friday night? I say “Let’s party some more at the Crowne Plaza!”
-------
Saturday will be my big day in Chicago. At 8:30 that morning, I’ll stroll into Stylemakers Hair Salon, right around the corner from the convention center on West Higgins. For the seventh year in a row, Jennifer (my newly-married stylist) will spend about 90 minutes yanking my hair into a mass of zany spikes and spray them with a rainbow of bizarre, iridescent colors. It’s the first step in creating my loony-tune Butch the Butcher character. He’s been making haunted customers shriek and gasp with wonder since I introduced him way back in 1984.
Back at the hotel, I’ll apply the rest of Butch’s make-up and costume. With luck, I’ll hit the convention floor around 11 AM.
From 2 until 4 PM, I’ll pull a shift at the IAHA booth on the second floor. Please take a moment to stop by and say hello. It would be my pleasure to pose with you for a photograph or two. I am the only person with a perfect record of manning the IAHA booth every year at TransWorld. Despite all its past faults and missteps, I still believe that the IAHA will one day be a force to be reckoned with in the world of haunting.
From 4:15 until 5 PM, the IAHA will conduct a fund-raising raffle and auction at the Haunters Pavilion on the convention center’s upper level. For the 5th year in a row, I will auction off my haunted services for a weekend. This year’s winning bidder will have me all to yourself at your haunt on the final weekend of October - the 26th and 27th. The entire proceeds of your bid will go directly to the IAHA. Please make sure you stop by and listen to the tall tales that celebrity auctioneers Rich “Horrormeister” Hanf and Chuck “Bubba Hotep” Williams concoct about my 32 seasons of scaring the pants off of people.
From 6 until 8 PM you’ll find me at the IAHA Annual Meeting on the first floor of the convention center’s meeting/banquet area. Anyone can attend this event. There is a modest admission charge, and a cash bar. If you’ve thought about joining the IAHA and would like to know more about the organization, this is your opportunity to meet us haunted nutcases in person and learn what we have planned for the Halloween industry’s future.
If you’re still awake (and reasonably sober), you’ll find me at the Crowne Center bar for the balance of Saturday night.
-------
At this point, I’m not sure if I’ll have the opportunity to attend any of TransWorld’s haunted seminars. This year, the seminars will take place on Friday and Saturday, during the convention hours themselves. Gone is the opportunity to spend the entire day on Thursday learning about new haunting techniques and socializing with those who are passionate about the science of fear. Truth to tell, I have strong opinions about where the educational outreach of TransWorld is headed. But I’ll wait a week or two after the convention to collect my thoughts and let you know my judgement on their efforts.
-------
Sunday can be the best day of them all at TransWorld. The crowds are much lighter than Friday and Saturday. If you want the opportunity to gab with vendors, gab with mastermind Greg Steliga from TransWorld, gab with the people at the IAHA booth, stare at the goings-on at the Haunters Pavilion on the upper level, take the time for a relaxing lunch and chat up complete strangers that you bump into on the convention floor - this is your day. I’ll see you then.
So many haunters to meet and laugh with, and so little time to do it in. Could it be anything other than TransWorld?
Very truly yours,
Rex B. Hamilton
13939 Clifton Boulevard
Lakewood, Ohio 44107-1462
216.226.7764 (home)
216.973.0050 (cell)
EvilLordZargon@msn.com
February 19, 2007
Greetings, Fellow Haunters:
I hope to greet each and every one of you later this week at the 23rd annual Halloween, Costume and Party Show in Rosemont, Illinois. This year will be my eleventh visit in a row to “the big show” of the Halloween convention circuit. I’ll be there from Thursday afternoon until Sunday evening.
-------
If the roads are good and the weather cooperates, I’ll pull into the Crowne Plaza Hotel shortly after lunchtime on Thursday. As soon as Jeff “Samhain” Glatzer and I check in and unpack, we’ll stop by “Rickenbacker’s” (the hotel’s bar) and the “patio deli” area outside its front door. If there are other haunters present, I’ll order up a hearty adult beverage and join in the tale swapping. Look for a guy in a black sweatshirt with Lord Zargon sitting on his throne of skulls on the front, and my 2006 haunting itinerary on the back. The shirt was designed and hand-airbrushed by Raymond VanTilburg of OffWorld Designs in Chicago.
I’m going downtown on Thursday evening to take my nephew Jac out to dinner. He’s a fourth-year architecture major at Illinois Institute of Technology. His university is sandwiched between Comiskey Park and the Chinatown district on the near South side. There are a mountain of places to eat, drink and have fun in Chicago. I’m looking forward to the excursion.
Later that evening, you’ll find me floating around the bar at the Crowne Plaza.
-------
On Friday, I plan to see as much of the convention floor as possible. At some point that day, I’ll hop into my car and drive the two miles or so to the Fangoria convention for a quick visit. I’ve never been to a Fango show, so it will be interesting to see how it stacks up to the Cleveland horror movie/memorabilia conventions (there are 3 of them) held here each summer.
Since this year is the final season for the TransWorld Halloween show in Chicago, I’ll do my best to soak up everything haunted and spooky on the convention floor. Look for a guy in black velvet tuxedo with an sinister grin on his face - that would be me!
What to do on Friday night? I say “Let’s party some more at the Crowne Plaza!”
-------
Saturday will be my big day in Chicago. At 8:30 that morning, I’ll stroll into Stylemakers Hair Salon, right around the corner from the convention center on West Higgins. For the seventh year in a row, Jennifer (my newly-married stylist) will spend about 90 minutes yanking my hair into a mass of zany spikes and spray them with a rainbow of bizarre, iridescent colors. It’s the first step in creating my loony-tune Butch the Butcher character. He’s been making haunted customers shriek and gasp with wonder since I introduced him way back in 1984.
Back at the hotel, I’ll apply the rest of Butch’s make-up and costume. With luck, I’ll hit the convention floor around 11 AM.
From 2 until 4 PM, I’ll pull a shift at the IAHA booth on the second floor. Please take a moment to stop by and say hello. It would be my pleasure to pose with you for a photograph or two. I am the only person with a perfect record of manning the IAHA booth every year at TransWorld. Despite all its past faults and missteps, I still believe that the IAHA will one day be a force to be reckoned with in the world of haunting.
From 4:15 until 5 PM, the IAHA will conduct a fund-raising raffle and auction at the Haunters Pavilion on the convention center’s upper level. For the 5th year in a row, I will auction off my haunted services for a weekend. This year’s winning bidder will have me all to yourself at your haunt on the final weekend of October - the 26th and 27th. The entire proceeds of your bid will go directly to the IAHA. Please make sure you stop by and listen to the tall tales that celebrity auctioneers Rich “Horrormeister” Hanf and Chuck “Bubba Hotep” Williams concoct about my 32 seasons of scaring the pants off of people.
From 6 until 8 PM you’ll find me at the IAHA Annual Meeting on the first floor of the convention center’s meeting/banquet area. Anyone can attend this event. There is a modest admission charge, and a cash bar. If you’ve thought about joining the IAHA and would like to know more about the organization, this is your opportunity to meet us haunted nutcases in person and learn what we have planned for the Halloween industry’s future.
If you’re still awake (and reasonably sober), you’ll find me at the Crowne Center bar for the balance of Saturday night.
-------
At this point, I’m not sure if I’ll have the opportunity to attend any of TransWorld’s haunted seminars. This year, the seminars will take place on Friday and Saturday, during the convention hours themselves. Gone is the opportunity to spend the entire day on Thursday learning about new haunting techniques and socializing with those who are passionate about the science of fear. Truth to tell, I have strong opinions about where the educational outreach of TransWorld is headed. But I’ll wait a week or two after the convention to collect my thoughts and let you know my judgement on their efforts.
-------
Sunday can be the best day of them all at TransWorld. The crowds are much lighter than Friday and Saturday. If you want the opportunity to gab with vendors, gab with mastermind Greg Steliga from TransWorld, gab with the people at the IAHA booth, stare at the goings-on at the Haunters Pavilion on the upper level, take the time for a relaxing lunch and chat up complete strangers that you bump into on the convention floor - this is your day. I’ll see you then.
So many haunters to meet and laugh with, and so little time to do it in. Could it be anything other than TransWorld?
Very truly yours,
Rex B. Hamilton
13939 Clifton Boulevard
Lakewood, Ohio 44107-1462
216.226.7764 (home)
216.973.0050 (cell)
EvilLordZargon@msn.com
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