There is no clearer sign of that than the many theatrical films and pop-cultural conventions that are taking place throughout the summer and our nation. If you’re a denizen of Philadelphia, you don’t have to wait for summer block-buster conventions like the San Diego Comic-Con or Atlanta’s Dragon Con in August and September. Philadelphia hosts its own Fan Expo Convention this June 2 -4th (Friday, Saturday and Sunday). Last year’s attendees will recall this as the Philadelphia Wizard World Convention which was taken over by Fan Expo- a Toronto-based entertainment company that began running Philadelphia’s pop-cultural event as well as five other previous Wizard World venues since 2022.
The convention attracts some 50,000 attendees across the three-day weekend and if past history is any guide, it will fill the Pennsylvania Convention Center at 1101 Arch Street in the center city of Philadelphia. The city’s SEPTA trains and buses all make good connections to the convention center. If you drive, allow for extra time to find the best parking spots. An attendee’s pass for all three days of the convention will cost you about $100.00, while individual day passes average $52-$62.00 per day based on the days you attend.
The stand-out stars who will be in attendance at this year’s Philadelphia Fan Expo will be major cast members of the Back to the Future trilogy of films. Michael J. Fox (Marty McFly), Christopher Lloyd (Doc. Emmett Brown), and Tom Wilson (Biff Tannen). But, there will also be plenty of other major guests to delight the film or super-hero fan, (young or old) in attendance. If you’re a fan of dystopic science fiction, Peter Weller, who portrayed the futuristic “Robocop” will be on hand as will Zachary Levi who was Captain Marvel in the recent Shazam movies and Sean Astin of the Lord of the Rings trilogy of films. There are meet-and-greet opportunities as well as autographs and photos you can purchase with the actors for additional fees that vary. For a full list of guests and a schedule of prices for admission and the scheduled times to see your favorite performers, go to, http://www.fanexpohq.com. Click on “Events” and choose Philadelphia.
With the crowds that these conventions can draw, it’s exciting as well as a little daunting to spend the day. If you go, you can count on lots of entertainment and unusual experiences. But if you’re at home and want to celebrate in your own way, most of the film and television productions these actors made famous are available to watch on Amazon Prime, Netflix and cable networks. This year also marks the 50th anniversary of the Roddenberry TV film, Genesis II. The time travel in Genesis II (1973), did not involve a sleek DeLorean Car as in the Back to the Future trilogy, rather a NASA scientist’s experiment in suspended animation ran afoul and he is revived in the year 2133. The film has lots of interesting special effects and themes for the time in which it was made- including a high-speed underground hyperloop train. Sadly, most of the actors from Genesis II and other films from the 1970s have passed on by this time. But the films and the sequels they spawned are still highly accessible for viewing.
If you do go to Fan Expo Philadelphia, you may run into some of your favorite TV stars too!. Tom Welling, Kristin Kreuk and Michael Rosenbaum, who headed up the cast of Warner Bros. Smallville, will be on and as well. It promises to be an opportune day to enjoy oneself and delight the family.
(Ted Rickles is a local resident of the Philadelphia area and writes from time to time on science fiction films and television. Most recently he authored Catching Lameds: Reflections on an Unconventional Life” (2023) available for purchase from Amazon.com or Barnes Noble.com booksellers.)
