On the morning of Saturday July 15th, my son, Luke, and I arrived at the Crowne Plaza in Rosemont, Illinois wondering what to do first. This was the 24th G-FEST (Godzilla Festival) and my 15th. For me, it’s never been just a convention but more a family tradition. Luke’s been to just about every one since he was born (he’s 13 now) and my four kids together have participated in every G-FEST activity imaginable. We’ve submitted models, participated in the costume contest, Luke won first place in the video game room last year and Alex (my eldest) got the blue ribbon in a Kaiju poetry contest when he was six. My kids and I were so entwined with G-FEST that it was actually painful covering it for this site during the years Alex had outgrown Godzilla, as indicative of the three-hanky sob-fest I posted HERE. Apparently my kids, themselves, weren’t immune to it either. My daughter, Jade, who was more or less dragged to these events growing up said that when she saw the end credit scene of Skull Island (where the existence of Rodan, King Ghidorah, and Mothra were revealed) she was flooded with nostalgia over G-FEST.
We still have our old G-FEST programs
As for Alex, his love of Japanese giant monsters would return with a vengeance (or should I say Resurgence?) last year. This would coincide with Japan’s Shin Godzilla which was also the underlying theme of this convention.
Because I devoted a whole weekend to Days of the Dead and had an upcoming road trip planned, I could only do a single day of G-FEST. Thanks to my buddy, Don Johnston, we were hooked up with passes and free parking which made doing a single day an affordable option. Our first stop was the model room located downstairs…
Tune in for more coverage of G-FEST XXIV!
Dave Fuentes~
Terror from Beyond the Dave 