G-Fest XVI ( and a couple of meals )

This past Saturday ( July 4th ), the sixteenth annual G-Fest, celebrating all things Godzilla, was held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Rosemont IL, just down the road from Chicago's O'Hare Airport. As I'm a lifelong fan of Japanese science-fiction films, this convention was a "must go" event for me, especially since this year's special guest was Kenji Sahara, the actor who has appeared in more of Toho Studio's sci-fi and monster epics than any other. 

Heading north through Chicago enroute to Rosemont at lunchtime, I decided to make a first-time visit to Wolfy's on Peterson Ave., but because of the holiday, I got "travelin-manned" and had to find an alternate. My next stop was Byron's Dog Haus on Irving Park Road; luckily this place was open.  

My Chicago-style hot dog was very good, but would have been even better, not to mention more authentic, if it had been served on a steamed poppy-seed bun. The fries were good too.

With lunch out of the way, I continued on to the Crowne Plaza Hotel, the site of G-Fest XVI...

Once inside, my first stop was the sign-in desk where I paid my twenty-five bucks for a one day attendence ticket.

Just before entering the crowded dealer's room, I encountered an attendee who was proudly showing off the big ( about two feet tall ) radio-controlled Godzilla figure that he had just paid five hundred and fifty dollars for.

As a life long Godzilla fan and junkie - "Oh, no, they say he's got to go, GO GO GODZILLA! Oh, No!  There goes Tokyo, GO GO GODZILLA!"

Seriously.  I grew up on Friday late night Creature Feature and Godzilla.

The dealer's room at G-Fest is always a wonderland of goodies for the kaiju fan with deep pockets ( "kaiju" is the Japanese word for monster. ) This year, there were eighteen dealers from all over the US selling merchandise, primarily toys, pertaining to Japan's cinematic behemoths. The vast majority of the items for sale were manufactured by Japanese companies.  

Here, Godzilla "poses" with his electrically-charged enemy Gabara.

I sure wish that I had bought one of these when I had the chance.  

Gamera posters for sale at a bargain price...

After I finished checking out the dealer's room ( where, I am proud to say, I resisted the temptation to spend any money ), I explored a number of display rooms. In the first one, I found the upper half of a homemade Mechagodzilla costume that was worn in the G-Fest costume contest a few years ago.

I grew up in Westchester Il outside of Chicago.  my Grandparents lived in town by the corner of Cicero and Diversey.  As a kid they couldnt get me to eat a hot dog.  I just couldnt stand them.  The sad tale was that in my parents house we would have been lucky to have a squirt bottle  of Frenchs' yellow mustard.  yes i was taught that a dog got only a squirt of catsup and an optional dab of pickalilly!
my Grandfolks were German immagrants.  Not only were ther 5-6 types of mustard but also fresh horseraddish..After my revalation I was hooked.  All around the area were luch counters as well as Vienna Sausage cart and a little shack on the corner.  The shack was awesome!15 cents for a poppy seed bun, tomato wedge, and pickle spear!  As a fat kid i could down 4 of them at 8 years old!  He also had a little pot of hot tamales on the counter.  Thanks, the picture of  the hot dog stand brought back great memories!

The next room that I entered was one that I was really looking forward to, the modelers display room. Many kaiju fans, both young and old, are talented model builders; some, like my longtime friend Bill, have the skill necessary to build incredibly detailed monster models from scratch. Others take commercially available kits, mostly imported from Japan, and customize them, creating an entirely new model.          

This diorama of urban destruction Godzilla-style is a real beauty; it's incredibly detailed. My only gripe with it is that the advertising signs are in Japanese, but the architecture of the buildings is strictly American.

Here is what I consider to be the jewel of this year's modelers contest. This diorama features all eleven of the giant monsters that "starred" in Toho's ultimate kaiju epic from 1968, "Destroy All Monsters".    

The film features all of Toho's big name mon-stars ( Godzilla, Rodan, Mothra and King Ghidorah ) as well as many of their lesser known beasties ( Varan, Spiga, Gorosaurus, Manda, etc. )    

Very interesting.  As I said on another thread, Bob.  You take me to places I've never seen.  And in this case, to an event that I never even knew existed.

nocarolina -

Jus' sayin'

Yeah, Travelin Man, I'm one of those. Ya wanna make somethin' out of it ?  ;~) 
And wait until "Godzilla Vs. Triumph" hits the theaters next year. Boy, are YOU gonna feel stupid!!!     

Please let me know when the ceremonial banging of the plastic toys begins.

Who would win an epic clash between Godzilla and Andy Griffith?
 
Brad

As it was time for the autograph session with Toho kaiju star Kenji Sahara to begin, I headed over to the area where Mr. Sahara would be greeting fans ( with the aid of his interpreter. ) The convention people passed out numbered slips to the attendees that determined in what order people got to meet the veteran actor, who has more than twenty science-fiction film credits to his name. Mr. Sahara's sci-fi film career began with an unbilled bit part in the first Godzilla film, "Godzilla, King of the Monsters" ( "Gojira" in Japan ) in 1954, followed by the lead in "Rodan" in 1957. He stayed busy from the late '50s to well into the '70s in such films as "The H-Man", "Godzilla vs. The Thing" ( aka "Godzilla vs. Mothra" ), "The Mysterians", "Son of Godzilla", "Destroy All Monsters", "Yog - Monster from Space" and " Godzilla's Revenge". In the '90s, he had cameo roles in some of the more recent Godzilla films, such as "Godzilla Vs. Space Godzilla" in 1994. The slip that I was issued was #245, which meant that I had a long wait ahead of me, but eventually I arrived at the head of the line...

Back in 2001, I attended a movie and TV nostalgia convention in New Jersey where one of the guest celebrities was retired actor/stuntman Haruo Nakajima. Wearing a rubber and foam suit weighing well over a hundred pounds, Mr. Nakajima "portrayed" Godzilla in the first nine films in the series ( 1954 through 1972. ) Other Toho monsters that he's played over the years include Rodan, Magma, Varan, Mogura and Gaila. I made the trip to NJ solely to meet Mr. Nakajima, and it was one of the most exciting events of my life. Meeting Mr. Sahara and being photographed with him was equally as thrilling.

TTM - Apparently, you're trying to make a point, but I can't begin to guess what that might be.  :-o      Brad - Andy would surely beat Godzilla because, from what I've heard down in Mount Airy, Andy is a helluva lot meaner!    

Great report, nocarolina. My friend introduced me to "The Mysterians" and "Destroy All Monsters" last year. Both very FUN movies.

I actually got to see the original, Raymond Burr-less Godzilla on the big screen a few years back. Very good movie.

improviser, I'm always glad to learn of another roadfooder who appreciates these silly ( but fun ) movies. Of course, silly and fun certainly don't describe 1954's "Gojira" ( "Godzilla, King of the Monsters" to those of us on this side of the Pacific Ocean. ) Godzilla's first film is a dark, somber and intense movie that is, to my knowledge, the only giant monster film to ever show the grim aftermath of a monster's attack on a city; an overcrowded hospital filled with the dying victims of Godzilla's fury, their screams of agony punctuated by the sounds of children crying for their dead parents as Akira Ifukube's haunting musical score is heard. It's too bad that the Godzilla movies eventually evolved into a series of 'monster versus monster' films that were aimed at a juvenile audience ( I still love them though. ) I've been lucky enough to see the uncut and undubbed version of "Gojira" ( pronounced GO-zhee-rah ) in a theater twice, and have just recently added it to my DVD collection.    

As much as I hated to miss the costume contest that evening ( homemade outfits of everything from Godzilla to Ultraman ), I left G-Fest to meet up with a group of my fellow kaiju fans for dinner. Our destination was the Chicago Kalbi Restaurant on Lawrence Ave., on the city's northwest side.