I attended my first horror con over the weekend! The sixth annual Scares that Care Charity Weekend was held in Williamsburg, VA. Simply put: I found my people. I make my living as a professional fundraiser for a nonprofit organization, so going to a horror convention that gives back to charity truly made my heart happy.
If they ever decide to hire people, I will be applying for the Director of Development position. But, they’re proud of the fact that Scares that Care is an all volunteer organization. And they should be proud. They’re doing amazing things for a lot of children and families. In the mean time, I can raise money for them on my own time. Which I plan to do next year!
We drove to Williamsburg on Friday night and after a fancy Taco Bell dinner we made our way to the Double Tree Hotel. After getting over my initial giddiness of seeing a horror themed silent auction, we trekked over to the first stop: the hotel bar. Obviously. They had spooky shooters and scary cocktails! I WAS IN HEAVEN. We ordered two zombies and a booberry shooter and took it to our next destination: HOW REDNECKS SAVED HOLLYWOOD HOSTED BY THE ONE AND ONLY MR. JOE BOB BRIGGS!
Listening to Joe Bob Briggs speak for two hours about the history of rednecks on film and their contributions to Hollywood was an absolute highlight of my year. He is so damn entertaining, knowledgeable and no-frills. I loved that he had no stage theatrics or set decorations. He is the show. All he needs is a podium and a projector screen. I learned so much, most importantly that I am a Sling Blade person and not a Forrest Gump person. My favorite clip was from the Lil Abner musical in 1958, where the town of Dogpatch pokes fun at the fictional confederate general, Jubilation T. Cornpone. A reminder that there was a time when confederate monuments were lampooned.
Joe Bob could talk about anything and we’d all sit there for hours without getting up to use the bathroom or glancing at our phones. He’s that magnetic. Thanks, Joe Bob, for coming to Virginia: where you don’t have to explain “Appalachia” to the audience because we live it. Congrats to Scares that Care for landing such an awesome event. It was fantastic. PS: Darcy was there too and I love her!
On Saturday, we headed back to the convention to check out the huge selection of vendors and the celebrity room. The vendors were so much fun. I picked up an Elivra tank, a Freddy glove necklace, some Predator themed period panties, and two crochet dolls from one of my favorite local horror creators, “Horror Knots”. Then we walked into the celebrity room and Sid Haig was just sitting there with no one in line to talk to him. I couldn’t believe it. I was star struck. Our buddy got an autograph and photo with Tom Noonan, which was awesome. And I got to experience the ins-and-outs of celebrity autograph culture.
I can’t wait to go back next year. I plan to stay at the host hotel and attend more of the conference events, including readings, film screenings, Q&A sessions, and more. For a charity horror convention just 45 min from where I live, it’s well worth an annual trip.
NERDCROPOLIS 