2023 Flashback Weekend Friday: Svengoolie with Joe Bob Briggs! (and MUCH more)!

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For the second time in about as many weeks, I headed up to the Hyatt Regency in Rosemont, Illinois for a convention. Whereas the previously covered G-FEST was a family affair, however, Flashback Weekend for me is all about friends and celebrating our mutual love of horror films and/or MeTV’s national horror host (and Flashback Weekend regular), Svengoolie. This year was even more momentous as it would feature my other favorite host, Shudder TV’s Joe Bob Briggs from The Last Drive-in show. This team-up alone sent my anticipation levels soaring while making the protracted journey to Flashback (courtesy of Illinois road construction) akin to torture.

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The 2023 Svengoolie/C2E2 Diaries Day 2 – Saturday!

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9:00 am: As soon as I walked onto the train station platform, I was greeted by a woman dressed as Princess Leia on Endor (holding a toddler dressed as an Ewok) and a sixty-something-year-old Brony. Clearly, I wasn’t the only one heading up to the Chicago Comics and Entertainment Expo (C2E2).  I was also happy to see my son’s girlfriend, Rachel, who’d be taking the train a little further than McCormick Place to her job at the John G. Shed aquarium. There’s nothing like good conversation to make a ride go faster.

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The 2023 Svengoolie/C2E2 Diaries Day 1 – Friday!

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On the morning of Friday, March, 31st, I hopped a train to McCormick Place to attend the Chicago Comics and Entertainment Expo (C2E2) armed with my camera and a printout schedule for MeTV’s National horror host, Svengoolie. In the past, I’ve covered this event, the cosplay, and celebrity guests but this year it was exclusively about Sven as his team graciously brought me in as a volunteer member of the crew. These next two blogs are a diary of that experience. 

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Sharing my Svengoolie Story on YouTube’s “Mr. C. Dives In!”

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Last October, I covered Svengoolie’s appearance at the Volo Auto Museum having no idea it’d lead to me taking a walk down memory lane via YouTube. One of the folks I photographed during that event, Chris Connolly, had been posing next to a Mego-style Svengoolie bat cave and reached out for permission to use the photos on his YouTube Channel, Mr. C. Dives In with his best buddy, Fanboy G. Our exchange led to his invitation to be interviewed on his show concerning my journey as a Son of Svengoolie & Svengoolie fan along with my experiences getting close to him and his crew over the course of my thirteen years as a blogger. This was to be in celebration of Rich Koz’s birthday which is the date I’m posting – March 12th. Although I’ve been doing a lot less content creation these days, it was nice having the opportunity to relive these amazing experiences. The following four videos were taped on two separate occasions. I’m no entertainer, but I do hope you enjoy them while supporting Mr. Connolly’s channel. Happy Birthday, Svengoolie!

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Svengoolie’s Volo Auto Museum Appearance Drives Him into Overtime!

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It’s a known fact that when MeTV’s national horror host, Svengoolie, makes an appearance near the Wisconsin border. It’s going to generate a record number of fans. Especially when you factor in temps in the ‘70s, that it’s his last appearance of the Halloween season and his first at Volo since 2019. This is why even a prolific Sven-stalker like me generally avoids this event; especially, since I’d just visited the museum with my friend, Jason, last August. However, when Svengoolie’s producer, Jim Roche, asked if I’d give them a hand, I couldn’t turn him down. I guess I was relieved they still wanted me around after sharing my displeasure with “Svengoolie Uncrypted” in a recent post. But now that the appearance is over, I’m wondering if this wasn’t retribution. 

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The Frightful Return of “Nightmare on Chicago Street!|

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Who’d of thought zombies terrorizing an Illinois city’s streets would inspire warm, cuddly feelings of life getting back to normal? That’s what happened last Saturday when I visited  “Nightmare on Chicago Street’ – the quintessential Halloween event that many feared would never happen again. Fortunately, a Global Pandemic proved no match for the Undead as I entered the Safe Zone of Elgin, Illinois smiling from ear to ear.  

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