Nostalgia Returns to Maryland
Aberdeen, Maryland — Home of the Cal Ripken Stadium and the Mid-Atlantic Nostalgia Convention. What began as a daring venture three years ago has expanded into a successful occurrence and fans flock from out of state to attend MANC (the term used by attendees to characterize the annual event) by the hundreds. One reason for attending might be the chance to meet movie stars they idolize and have their photograph taken with the stars and get their autographs. Another reason might be the vendor room where dealers offer a variety of goods from movie posters, glossy photo stills, vintage comic books, DVDs, VHD videos, old-time radio shows, magazines and retro collectibles. Fans have come from Canada and Florida, California and England.
Maybe it is the movie room that screens nostalgic films 24 hours a day — and hard to find films, too. From television wrestling grudge matches of the fifties to Tom Mix cowboy westerns, there is a little bit of everything for everyone. Last year home movie footage of the 1939 New York World’s Fair was presented. Blooper reels and outtakes from You Bet Your Life featuring Groucho Marx was standing room only. Many expressed the desire to view the 1954 Egyptian version of Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein. From silent movies to early talkies, television programs featuring the weekend guests . . . It’s all here! This year’s event includes an episode of The Price is Right from the early sixties. Jayne Mansfield’s screen debut in Female Jungle (1955). The unaired television pilot for Meet Me in St. Louis. Operation Kid Brother (the 1967 movie with Sean Connery’s brother playing the role of James Bond’s brother!). A full hour of World War II cartoons are going to be featured uncensored and uncut. Friday night offers the highlight of the event: a drive-in movie theater set up outside the hotel. Locals display their hot rod cars from the fifties on the hotel parking lot before the screening starts at sunset. This year’s showing includes It Conquered the World with Beverly Garland and Peter Graves.
Seminars are held almost every hour on the hour throughout the convention. Terry Salomonson of Audio Classics (from Howell, Michigan) will offer a history of Sergeant Preston of the Yukon. Michael Hayde (from Virginia) will offer a presentation about folk music of the fifties and sixties. Author Martin Grams will present a fascinating look at Alfred Hitchcock, the famous director. Author Linda Alexander will present a biography about actor Robert Taylor. Plenty of authors are there to sign copies of the books they wrote.
Neal Ellis of Sounds Like Yesterday will broadcast live throughout the weekend. Anyone who wants to tune in as the happenings are “live” on the radio needs only to visit www.YesterdayUSA.com to get details. A charity auction Friday afternoon will benefit the St. Jude Children’s Hospital. Old-Time Radio recreations are performed on stage. A buffet dinner banquet is held Saturday evening at the close of the convention. Live stage performances include a magic act, more radio dramas and an awards ceremony.
The Solar Guard fan club offers a display reproducing the cockpit from the classic fifties science fiction programs Tom Corbett and Space Patrol. A binder with photographs on display contain retro galaxy advertisements and restoration of the original Space Patrol Mobile in private collector hands.
The weekend would not be complete without the celebrities. In the past such luminaries as Erin Gray, David Hedison, Jon Provost and Lana Wood have put in appearances. This year’s guests include Lee Meriwether (Catwoman on Batman, Time Tunnel, Barnaby Jones), Celeste Holm (Academy Award winning actress), James Best (Roscoe P. Coltrane on Dukes of Hazzard, Forbidden Planet, The Andy Griffith Show), Bob Hastings (Lt. Carpenter on McHale’s Navy), Rosemary Rice (Katrin on I Remember Mama), Patty McCormack (star of The Bad Seed, The Sopranos), Diane Sowle (Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory) and Johnny Whitaker (Family Affair and Tom Sawyer). Joel Blumberg of “Silver Screen Audio” will also be on hand to interview the stars on stage.
The event offers a little bit of everything. Fun for the whole family. If it is considered nostalgic, you can find it at the convention. The event began in September of 2006 and every year the attendance has grown in size. Major publishing companies have jumped on board to promote the event. Hollywood celebrities submit autographs and memorabilia for the charity auction. Rumor has it the event is going to move to a bigger hotel next year to accommodate the size of the crowd. Within two weeks of the event every hotel and motel within 20 minutes driving distance of the convention is booked solid and attendees find it difficult to get a room when they wait till the last minute. In short, this convention has everything going for it. Samples of the interviews and presentations are on YouTube, posted by attendees of the event. Fans post their photos on blogs and web-sites. And every sign points the way to growth in the coming years.
This year’s event is being held August 27 to 29, 2009. The Clarion Hotel, 980 Hospitality Way, Aberdeen, MD, 21001. The convention web-site is http://www.MidAtlanticNostalgiaConvention.com. A complete schedule of events, movie room schedule and celebrity photos and biographies are available on the web-site. The convention phone number is 443-286-6821.