G-FEST XXIX Write-Up

Above, inside the G-FEST Dealers Room. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

An email came my way this morning with some news articles pertaining to Godzilla. One of them was about G-FEST that took place last week.

This came from Journal & Topics.

The article starts out with:

Since G-FEST XVIII last year, it’s been the biggest year for Godzilla since his 50th anniversary in 2004.

“Godzilla Minus One” from the original Japanese film studio was released in late 2023 and won Best Visual Effects at the 96th Academy Awards. Hollywood’s “Godzilla X Kong The New Empire” came out this year as one of the highest-grossing films, making Legendary Pictures’ “Monsterverse” a billion-dollar film series.

On top of all that, this year marks the 70th anniversary since the first Godzilla movie was released in 1954.

G-FEST XXIX was held this past weekend from July 12-14 at the Hyatt Regency O’Hare to mark these milestones, as well as continue what is now a tradition in Rosemont and the foremost  out.meeting of Godzilla, Gamera, King Kong, Ultraman, and other monsters’ fans in North America. G-FEST continues to be independently held by Daikaiju Enterprises Ltd. — the Lees family from Manitoba.

Previous G-FEST attendance was reported to be more than 3,500. This year, around 5,000 made it out.

It was my guess that 7,000 attended. But since the reporter spoke with J. D. Lees, I would say he would be the one with more accurate data.

To read the full article, go here. 

Crater Lake National Park Braces For Busy Summer

Above, Crater Lake's Wizard Island is seen through a smoky haze in 2017. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Part of my Great American Eclipse trip of 2017 included a visit to Crater Lake National Park. That was my third visit there. The only thing that kind of spoiled it were the fires near the crater. The smoke from them settled inside the crater. At least this year (so far), there's no fires.

Crater Lake National Park in Oregon is bracing for another busy summer season.

Record numbers showed up last year despite the coronavirus and park officials are expecting much the same this year.

Oregon Live (from The Oregonian) tells readers what to expect.

They begin with:

Crater Lake National Park officials are bracing for possibly record-breaking visitation this summer as COVID restrictions ease and Americans once again head out on vacation.

“All indications are this summer’s visitation is going to be very, very high,” said Superintendent Craig Ackerman.

Last year, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, record numbers of visitors were recorded in July, August and December. Numbers that high could once again spell problems for visitors and result in delays in entering the park and, once in, finding parking near Rim Village.

To read more, go here.