12:30 pm – After carefully packing our sushi in a cooler, we drive over to the historic Pickwick Theater in Park Ridge, Illinois. Today kicks off this year’s G-FEST film festival with two double features. Starting at 1 pm was the first featuring Ebirah Horror of the Deep (a.k.a.Godzilla vs the Sea Monster) and Gamera vs Barugon (a.k.a. War of the Monsters), both of which are celebrating their 60^th Anniversaries. Tonight, the Pickwick would have its second Thursday double bill with King Kong (1976) and Gamera vs Zigra (1971). 

As a side note, there are numerous YouTube videos on how to prepare for G-FEST (bring cash, pack snacks, review the schedule in advance, etc.). I would add that if you really want to get fired up for this event, you should watch as many Godzilla and Kaiju-related films as you can leading up to it. After I returned from my New Jersey trip, I pulled out all my Japanese Godzilla/science fiction physical media (DVD, Blu-ray, and 4K) and went on a 52-movie marathon. These included all but one Godzilla film (including American entries) and a whole lot more. I kicked it off with 1954’s Gojira (the best Godzilla movie) and ended with Godzilla Minus One (the other best). The only Godzilla flick I deliberately didn’t watch was this movie since I knew we’d be seeing it on the big screen.

Movies would be playing throughout the weekend, and at past events, the kids and I would try to see as many as we could. This convention is so enormous, there’s no way I’ll risk losing my hotel parking space once I’m settled in, going out to see films I already own. Consequently, we didn’t stay for the second movie so we could check in to the hotel and would not return. The theater, for their part, went all out, selling T-shirts and offering photo opportunities for its patrons.

Later, I’d receive a text from Chris Connolly from the Mr. C Dives In YouTube channel saying he was on his way to the Pickwick to see the 1976 King Kong movie. At his screening, they had a guy dressed as a gorilla for selfies.

I wish I knew he was going, as I’d have begged him to pick me up so I could see it with him. My kids love King Kong but detest this movie because Skull Island has no other monsters outside a giant, rubber snake, and they cringe at some of the questionable moments between Kong and Jessica Lange. In contrast, I really enjoy it. It’s got a stellar cast and score, and I remember seeing it in theaters back in its day. I even had all the Burger King glasses, which I later gave to my friend, Jason Schoolcraft, as it’s one of his all-time favorite movies (I still kept all my STAR WARS ones, of course). I would have loved to join Chris at the theater for this film, but, like I said, once parked, that was it.

2:40 pm – Godzilla vs the Sea Monster ends, and we leave for the Hyatt Regency O’Hare in nearby Rosemont, Illinois.

3 pm – We find a great parking spot on the same floor as the tunnel connecting the parking garage to the hotel. We grab what we can, and my sons hang in the lobby while I check in. The room is in the premier tower and is better than previous stays (though all the rooms there I’ve stayed in have been nice).  The only other time I’ve been to this wing of the hotel was at Flashback Weekend when they had a reserved room for Svengoolie and his crew’s equipment.

4 pm – We grab the rest of our stuff and eat sushi while watching one of the house channels. Every year, G-FEST features two TV stations that play nonstop Kaiju-related TV shows and movies throughout the weekend. This year featured a lot of Gomera stuff, but I remember one year when they played a marathon of “The Space Giants,” which was one of my favorite shows as a kid. I used to watch it via an old Chicago UHF station, and it was really hard for me to leave my room that G-FEST weekend. We also watched G-FEST influencers on YouTube through the hotel’s TV.

5 pm – We go downstairs to registration to get our passes. I decided to start G-FEST on a Thursday because Fridays are insane, and apparently, I wasn’t alone. At past G-FESTs at the Hyatt, there was a registration desk you could casually stroll up to and get your pass. This was always on the street level of the hotel and the same place where Flashback Weekend conducts its registration. This year, it was different and on the lobby floor instead. I was in a room I’d never been in before, located directly opposite the hotel’s check-in desks. The room was in a beautiful glass foyer with a line out to the lobby.  This was quite a shock considering the event didn’t start until Friday.

Shortly after securing our spot in line, we watched it continuously grow behind us. One surreal moment came when one of the influencers we had just watched on YouTube casually stopped over to say hello to the guy standing in front of us. Everyone was nice, and I snapped photos of some of the fun Godzilla shirts and other items they brought.

I finally saw the founder of this event, J.D. Lees, working at the registration desk with his family. I started taking my kids to G-FEST when they were little. Our first was in 2004 when Alex was 6 years old, and Luke was just 6 months old. Back then, it was a laid-back, niche event. Shortly after the success of the Legendary films, however, G-FEST has become a giant monster in its own right.

Since then, poor J.D. has become something of an anathema to the younger Gen Z fans who didn’t grow up at this event as mine did. I don’t think they understand that he’s not part of some corporation, but a Canadian school teacher whose love of Godzilla went from a “meet up” with like-minded friends to this mammoth event that some G-fans revolve their entire calendar year around. I remember one of my kids telling me, when they were little, that they looked forward to G-FEST more than to Christmas (and I was a generous Santa Claus). Sure, most of J.D.’s old friends have disappeared over the years, like in an Agatha Christie novel. And maybe his politics don’t gel with a lot of young folks these days (he refused to come to his own event in 2022 due to mask regulations and pondered in G-FAN magazine if “cancel culture” was going to come after “King Kong vs Godzilla”), but I’ll always be grateful to him. Aside from the priceless family time his event has given (and continues to give), I’ve written a couple of articles for his G-FAN Magazine myself and hosted a “Horror Hosts and Godzilla” panel at a past G-FEST, which Svengoolie even joined for a bit. J.D. was nothing but gracious whenever I dealt with him, and I kind of hate the way he’s been villainized, though he hasn’t always helped matters in that regard.

Things got heated this past April when he got into an online argument with critics/trolls and threatened to shut down “Artist Alley” (a popular room for young G-fans that had been absent in the previous few years) as punishment.

I’m guessing this may have led to his family essentially “taking away daddy’s car keys” as he’s since become as quiet as a church mouse, letting others handle G-FEST social media. I’ve heard they’ve even reinstated accounts he’d blocked over the years. Love him or hate him, J.D. Lees helped create one of the most amazing fan events in pop culture history. This year was no exception and possibly one of the best on record.

Included with our registration was a beautiful pass with lanyard and full-color program – a G-FEST first. A few years back, they did away with the programs in favor of an online schedule, which was a disaster considering how poor the Internet service gets in large gatherings such as these. The year after that, they offered physical programs again, but for an extra fee. This year, everyone who registered received a program. I assume the additional costs were simply rolled into the admission fees, but I was grateful to get one and, honestly, it was the best way to go.

After we received our passes, I could not believe how long the registration line had gotten.

We decided to walk around to see if any other changes had been made to the overall layout. We had no trouble finding the Dealer’s Room, as there were already people in line, prepared to sleep on the floor overnight. The G-FEST dealer room is the thing of legend, and you’ll be hearing a LOT more on this subject as these blogs continue.

The event hadn’t started but the cosplayers sure did. We met up with “Gigan” in the hotel lobby. This guy deserves a big kudos for making himself available for photos throughout the event.

That infamous “Artists Alley” was located in the Hyatt’s lower level and directly across from the Model Room. We were surprised to see a man sitting at a table of artwork in front of the locked room. On his table were some amazing sketches, one of which was a framed drawing of the villainous plant monster, Biollante, from Godzilla vs Biollante (1989). I’m a big fan of Godzilla’s Heisei era (1984-1995), which featured continuity along with imaginative new monsters such as this one. The man who created it said his name was Dan, that it took him 40 hours to complete, and that he was selling it for $200.

He also had a lot of classic Universal monster drawings, including my favorite, The Creature from the Black Lagoon. When Dan saw me admiring it, he mentioned how it had been damaged and said if I wanted, I could have it for free. Of course, I was floored by his generosity.

One thing we noticed was that the hotel wasn’t hosting any other events in conjunction with G-FEST and dedicated almost the entire hotel to the King of Monsters. We noticed signage at the hotel lounge and their Perks Coffee Shop, all dedicated to Godzilla, and throughout the weekend, hotel staff wore Godzilla T-shirts. Unfortunately, the signage sort of backfired as people complained on social media that G-FEST was full of “AI slop.” G-FEST was quick to respond that the hotel did this on its own and that they planned to speak with them about it.

6 pm – Alex takes a train back to his apartment. He’ll be coming back to G-FEST tomorrow with his girlfriend, Jadelyn. Luke will be getting his own hotel room tomorrow, but is crashing in my room tonight. Everyone had their own agendas at G-FEST, but one thing we all had in common was a busy, activity-filled Friday.

Coming Up…The Dealer Room vs G-FEST!

Dave~