(Pre) Con-Man: BotCon

I know I've been busy lately but that's no excuse for me not knowing that a frigging Transformers convention is happening in my backyard this weekend!  That's right, BotCon will be celebrating 30 years of the Robots In Disguise this weekend in Pasadena.  Sponsored by toy giant Hasbro, BotCon is being held at the Convention Center and touts special guests, panels and seminars, an exhibit hall with over 200 tables of merchandise and swag, a film festival, local tours, autographs, contests and much more!  It was a bummer to hear the He-Man and She-Ra centric Power-Con was heading to NY this year but here's another fine toy/animation franchise show to take it's place.  Perusing the site, there will be panels and seminars covering collecting, voice actor spotlight, official updates from Hasbro and I'm sure a sneak peek at the new film hitting theaters next week.  The organizers have done a terrific job of engaging patrons coming from out of town and state as they've arranged group outings to Six Flags Magic Mountain, Universal Studios for the Transformers Experience as well as a tour highlighting local Los Angeles landmarks like The Chinese Theatre, Santa Monica Pier and everything inbetween.

Since I wasn't aware of the show, I missed out on special ticket packages that include Convention exclusive toys and swag, early entry and a whole lot more but no biggie, General Admission is available at the door for the low, low price of only $20 bucks!  Looking forward to seeing all the sweet toys, models, merchandise, tee shirts etc of all the greats like Optimus Prime, Jazz, Hot Rod and Wheelie.  I love these genre/brand specific conventions like BotCon, Power-Con and G.I. Joe Con.  BotCon got it's start in 1994 in Fort Wayne, Indiana and has since been held all over the country in Ohio, California, Kentucky, Rhode Island, Texas and Florida with international versions popping up in Japan and the United Kingdom!  Recent years have had actors and writers from the cartoon series and live action movies in attendance as well as 1985 soundtrack rock n' rollers Vince DiCola and Stan Bush on deck to play the hits.  So Dare and remember, You Got the Touch!  I want those guys to play my birthday party...

Getting excited now...