The Mid-Atlantic Nostalgia Convention is held annually in Maryland. The founders of the non-profit event, define nostalgia as "anything you long for since the days of your youth that is no longer available." The first four years (2006-09) were held at the Clarion Hotel in Aberdeen, Maryland.
Past topics and events have included Dragnet spoofs, radio's female detectives, The Green Hornet, The Adventures of Superman, collecting OTR, Have Gun-Will Travel, The Adventures of Sam Spade, Orson Welles' magic career, Lassie, World War II cartoons, James Bond, Harry Houdini, drive-in movie theaters, Alias Smith and Jones, Frank Tashlin, baseball on radio, and silent serials. Vintage films are shown 24 hours a day. Every year a drive-in movie theater is set up outside the hotel on Friday night.
In 2006, author Michael Hayde presented a history of the Grand Ole Opry. Also that year, Lana Wood, David Hedison, W. Watts Biggers (co-creator of Underdog), Marta Kristen, Kenny Miller, Conrad Brooks and Richard Herd were guests.
In 2007, Erin Gray, Denny Miller of Wagon Train fame, Annette Andre, Arthur Weingarden, Virginia Davis and radio show host Ed Walker were featured at the annual convention. Admission money from the 2007 event was donated to the Johns Hopkins Comprehensive Cancer Center. Also that same year author Ed Hulse discussed the cultural history of pulp magazines, historian Terry Salomonson discussed the radio program The Lone Ranger, and author Martin Grams offered a presentation about The Twilight Zone.
The 2008 event featured Edd Byrnes of 77 Sunset Strip fame, Margaret Kerry (of the Little Rascals and model for Disney's Tinkerbell), Larry Storch of F-Troop, Kathleen Hughes from It Came From Outer Space and Jon Provost. Events included a charity auction and presentations on glass slides used during the silent movie era, The Phantom comics, P.G. Wodehouse films, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, Orson Welles' The War of the Worlds and Edward R. Murrow. Films included the 1934 Buck Rogers film short shown at the Chicago World's Fair, vaudeville film shorts, Sky King and the 1954 Egyptian remake of Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein.
Guests at the 2009 convention included Lee Meriwether, James Best, Celeste Holm, Diana Sowle, Johnny Whitaker, Patty McCormack and Bob Hastings. The event will include a charity auction to benefit St. Jude's Children Hospital and a drive-in movie theater outside the hotel, plus presentations on Sergeant Preston of the Yukon, Alfred Hitchcock and Charlie Chaplin. Author Jim Rosin will discuss TV's Adventures in Paradise.
The 2010 event is scheduled for September 23-25. The 2010 event will be at the Hunt Valley Marriott in Hunt Valley, Maryland. According to event co-ordinators, the move is a response to complaints about the event previously being too crowded.
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