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Stars of yesteryear coming to Aberdeen
Got a hankering for the good ole days? Hanker no more. The 4th Annual Mid-Atlantic Nostalgia Convention is coming to the Clarion Hotel in Aberdeen Aug. 27-29, with pre-convention activities on the 26th. The event brings to town vintage collectables dealers and stars from days gone by to mingle and sign autographs, as well as movies, television shows, cartoons and news coverage that haven’t gotten air time in decades. There’s also a drive in movie planned for the hotel’s parking lot Friday night, and an auction to benefit the St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital. That’s not all that comes to town, according to organizer Martin Grams, who, with his wife Michelle, founded the event. “People come from all over the country for this. It gets bigger each year,” he said. In fact, the event’s Web site, www.midatlanticnostalgiaconvention.com, advises attendees to book rooms in advance because, in 2008, the Clarion and three surrounding hotels were booked to capacity. This year’s biggest celebrity draw is academy award winner Celeste Holm, who starred in All About Eve, Gentleman’s Agreement and Tom Sawyer. Grams said, “She’s 92 and can’t fly. They are driving her here from California. She hasn’t been on the east coast in 15 years.” Also slated to appear are James Best, of Dukes of Hazzard fame, Patty McCormack, best known from her Academy Award nomination for The Bad Seed, Johnny Whitaker from Family Affair, Bob Hastings from McHale’s Navy and Lee Meriwether, who played Catwoman on Batman. Other stars are likely to attend, Grams said. Attendance for the drive in movie will not be monitored, according to Grams, but people without wrist bans will be denied entry into events inside the hotel. Scheduled to show outside the Clarion at sunset on Friday are It Conquered the World (1956), with Peter Graves, Lee Van Cleef and Beverly Garland, and Batman (1966), which features convention guest Lee Meriwether as Catwoman and Adam West in the Title role. Tickets are available online at www.midatlanticnostalgiaconvention.com as well as at the door. Daily admission is $15 per person, with children under 10 free, with a buffet dinner with the stars an additional $35 in advance. Starts will sign autographs Thursday and Friday 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and Saturday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Other events begin at 9 a.m. each day. The charity auction is at 4 p.m. Friday.
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