I scored a 50% off general admission ticket at Heroes and Villains Fan Fest! It was my first time to check out this event and I am not expecting a lot because I know there will be a lot of fans attending the entire weekend. I decided to go on Saturday since I want to rest on Sunday at home. For a single purchase ticket, it will allows you to access two events: Heroes & Villains Fan Fest and Walker Stalker Con. Both events were held at the Donald E Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, IL. Such a good deal for a newbie like me 🙂
Fans who love watching Superhero shows like The Arrow, Gotham, Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, Luke Cage, DareDevil, The Gifted and Zombie series like the Walking Dead – this is the perfect venue for you to meet some stars and have a chance to interact with them. Photos and Autograph sessions were sold separately in case you want to have both, you have to purchase a VIP pass. You have to order in advance because tickets are limited.
I set my alarm on Friday night to make sure I will wake up early morning on Saturday but the gate/door opens at 10:30 am so I decided to leave at 11am knowing that attendees will line up as early as 9am! I think my calculation was wrong because when I arrive on the venue, I saw a line outside entering the Convention Center. For security purposes, each person’s belongings will be manually check by a guard. If you are cosplaying, your stuff should be check as well especially if you carry a prototype weapon – strictly no swords or guns allowed.
The lines were slowly moving and I got inside around 11:30 am but I need to fall in line again to get my wrist band so I followed the line and waited. I saw the other lines were moving fast so I left and fall in line again, I got my wrist band after 20 mins! My first agenda is to get into the FanFest Live! Hall. The first guest I saw was Scott Wilson from Walking Dead.
I saw on the guest list that Nick Carter of Backstreet Boys is scheduled to be onstage at 12:30pm! So, most of the fans were thinking why he’s in Walker Stalker Con? The answer is – Dead7 was written by Nick Carter and He asked the rest of the Backstreet boys and other boybands like 98 degrees, O-Town, N Sync and All 4 One to join the post-apocalyptic zombie horror western film that was released in 2016 distributed by Syfy. Nick said He also loves watching Walking Dead and finally reveals that BSB is going to shoot their new single music video. YAYYYYY
After his short interview on live stage, I walked around the hall to check out the exhibits and merchandise. I didn’t find anything interesting (mostly prints, accessories, shirts and zombie souvenirs!) so I went to the autograph hall for Walker Stalker and saw some of the Walking Dead stars like Steven Yeun, Tom Payne, Scott Wilson and Norman Reedus. You can walk around the autograph hall but picture taking is strictly prohibited. You also need to pay for a selfie, hehe. Then, I went to the other side and saw some of my favorite superhero celebrities – Mike Colter (Luke Cage), John Barrowman (Arrow), Echo Kellum (Arrow), Robin Lord Taylor (Gotham), Drew Powell (Gotham), David Mazouz (Gotham, the young Bruce Wayne!), and Elodie Yung (Elektra, Daredevil). You can purchase autograph and selfies on their respective booths on a cash basis only so I saw many fans lining up on atm machine hahaha. I’ll try next year and make sure I have enough cash on my hand.
Watch my video:
There’s also an ongoing panel live on the other side so I went back and listen to musical interlude by the Harp Twins, and Katelyn Nacon. I also had a chance to watch John Barrowman and Steven Yeun‘s panel interview where fans got a chance to ask questions about everything to their favorite stars. Two things I’ve learned from them is: John Barrowman is a good singer! and Steven Yeun is a Chicago Cubs fan! 🙂
I was looking for souvenir to take home when I saw people holding stainless souvenir mug walking around and followed the line. I learned that the stainless mug barrel costs $20 and you’ll get an unlimited root beer refill for the entire day!
Overall, I enjoyed walking around seeing my favorite stars in person. I hope I can plan to attend next time on both weekends because I noticed that the schedule of panels and live interviews were different. Also, a note to myself to get up and prepare early so that I won’t be falling in line outside on a freezing cold temperature.