G-Fest

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G-Fest is an annual convention devoted to the kaiju film genre and sponsored by Daikaiju Enterprises, Ltd. It regularly features panels, contests, and screenings of giant monster movies at the 1,000-seat Pickwick Theatre. G-Fest is presently held in Rosemont, Illinois, formerly at the Crowne Plaza O’Hare Hotel, and currently at the Hyatt Regency O'Hare Hotel.

Actors, directors, and special effects technicians who worked on kaiju films in Japan are frequent guests at G-Fest. Since 1999, one guest per year has been honored with the "Mangled Skyscraper Award," sculpted by Gene Rizzardi, for their lasting contributions to the kaiju genre. Consistent features of G-Fest are a Dealers' Room full of kaiju memorabilia, video game tournaments, a 24/7 broadcast of kaiju and tokusatsu content on hotel room television sets, and contests in art, film, modeling, and cosplay. In recent years, it has also introduced a large Artists' Alley and film festival for independent kaiju productions.

G-Fest was founded by G-FAN magazine editor and publisher J. D. Lees, a Canadian high school teacher. Persons assisting Lees in organizing G-Fest include Jeff Horne, Brett Homenick, Armand Vaquer, Stan Hyde, and Dawn McKechnie. Actor Robert Scott Field regularly attends G-Fest as a celebrity guest and translator.

Conventions

Convention Location Guests
  • MSA recipient(s)
Screenings Notes
Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
Friends of G-FAN[note 1]
(September 3-4, 1994)
Howard Johnson Addison
O'Hare Airport,
Addison, Illinois
N/A Small gathering of G-FAN's publisher, editors, and contributors, along with Chicago-area kaiju fans.
G-Con '95[note 2]
(August 18-20, 1995)
Radisson Hotel,
Arlington Heights, Illinois
N/A N/A First formal kaiju convention outside of Japan. Opened to the public on the 20th.
G-Con '96[note 3]
(August 16-18, 1996)
Radisson Hotel,
Arlington Heights, Illinois
G-Fest '97
(August 1-3, 1997)
Wyndham Hotel,
Chicago, Illinois
  • Don Glut
  • Marc Cerasini
  • Bob Eggleton
  • Stuart Galbraith IV
  • David Kalat
  • Steve Ryfle
G-Fest '98
(July 31-August 8, 1998)
Wyndham Hotel,
Chicago, Illinois
  • William Stout
  • Mike Fredericks
  • Yoshikazu Ishii
  • Gene Rizzardi
Collaboration with The Prehistoric Times, a dinosaur magazine. Four additional movies played on August 1, but their titles are unknown.
G-Fest '99
(July 23-25, 1999)
Hilton Hotel, Burbank, California First G-Fest to book a film in a theater, with Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris playing at the Egyptian Theatre in Los Angeles.
G-Fest 2000
(July 14–16, 2000)
Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel,
Los Angeles, California
N/A
G-Fest '01
(July 13–15, 2001)
Radisson Hotel,
Arlington Heights, Illinois
N/A
G-Fest '02
(July 12–14, 2002)
Radisson Hotel,
Arlington Heights, Illinois
N/A N/A
G-Fest X
(July 18–20, 2003)
Radisson Hotel,
Arlington Heights, Illinois
N/A N/A
G-Fest XI
(July 9–11, 2004)
Holiday Inn O’Hare
International Hotel,
Rosemont, Illinois
N/A N/A
G-Fest XII
(July 8–10, 2005)
Crowne Plaza
Chicago O'Hare Hotel,
Rosemont, Illinois
N/A N/A
G-Fest XIII
(July 7–9, 2006)
Crowne Plaza
Chicago O'Hare Hotel,
Rosemont, Illinois
N/A N/A
G-Fest XIV
(July 6–8, 2007)
Crowne Plaza
Chicago O'Hare Hotel,
Rosemont, Illinois
  • Don Glut
  • Rhodes Reason
  • Shelley Sweeney
  • Robert Scott Field
N/A N/A
Saturday performance by:
  • Rieko Wada
  • Tomomi Matsumura
  • Shetoshi Yamada
  • Marcus Dunleavy
G-Fest XV
(July 4–6, 2008)
Crowne Plaza
Chicago O'Hare Hotel,
Rosemont, Illinois
N/A
G-Fest XVI
(July 3–5, 2009)
Crowne Plaza
Chicago O'Hare Hotel,
Rosemont, Illinois
N/A
G-Fest XVII
(July 9–11, 2010)
Donald E. Stephens
Convention Center,
Rosemont, Illinois
  • Akira Takarada
  • Bob Eggleton
  • Robert Scott Field
  • William M. Tsutsui
  • David Kalat
  • Damon Foster
N/A
G-Fest XVIII
(July 15–17, 2011)
Crowne Plaza
Chicago O'Hare Hotel,
Rosemont, Illinois
  • Ultraman Gaia:
    The Battle in Hyperspace
N/A
G-Fest XIX
(July 13-15, 2012)
Crowne Plaza
Chicago O'Hare Hotel,
Rosemont, Illinois
N/A
G-Fest XX
(July 12-14, 2013)
Crowne Plaza
Chicago O'Hare Hotel,
Rosemont, Illinois
N/A
G-Fest XXI
(July 11-13, 2014)
Crowne Plaza
Chicago O'Hare Hotel,
Rosemont, Illinois
N/A
G-Fest XXII
(July 10-12, 2015)
Crowne Plaza
Chicago O'Hare Hotel,
Rosemont, Illinois
N/A
G-Fest XXIII
(July 15-17, 2016)
Crowne Plaza
Chicago O'Hare Hotel,
Rosemont, Illinois
N/A
G-Fest XXIV: Shin G-Fest
(July 14-16, 2017)
Crowne Plaza
Chicago O'Hare Hotel,
Rosemont, Illinois
N/A
G-Fest XXV
(July 13-15, 2018)
Crowne Plaza
Chicago O'Hare Hotel,
Rosemont, Illinois
N/A
G-Fest XXVI
(July 12-14, 2019)
Crowne Plaza
Chicago O'Hare Hotel,
Rosemont, Illinois
N/A
G-Fest XXVII
(July 15-17, 2022)
Hyatt Regency
O'Hare Chicago,
Rosemont, Illinois
N/A Hiroyuki Kawase and Brian Rogers were announced as guests in 2020 before the event was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally scheduled for July 10-12, 2020, at the Crowne Plaza, then July 9-11, 2021, at the Hyatt Regency O'Hare. Don Frye was also booked as a guest, but forced to cancel his appearance less than a week before the convention due to injury.[1]
G-Fest XXVIII
(July 14-16, 2023)
Hyatt Regency
O'Hare Chicago,
Rosemont, Illinois
Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla Godzilla (2014) N/A

Gallery

External links

Notes

  1. Retroactively referred to as G-Fest '94.
  2. Retroactively referred to as G-Fest '95.
  3. Retroactively referred to as G-Fest '96.

References

This is a list of references for G-Fest. These citations are used to identify the reliable sources on which this article is based. These references appear inside articles in the form of superscript numbers, which look like this: [1]

  1. G-Fest (11 July 2022). ""We are sad to report that Don Frye has been hospitalized for back problems. He has to cancel his appearance at G-FEST. At this late date there will not be replacement guests arranged. We apologize for the disappointment."". Facebook.
  2. "G-FEST IS EXCITED TO ANNOUNCE TJ STORM AS OUR FIRST GUEST FOR 2023". Twitter. 19 February 2023.

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