It has been a long time since the last The Walking Dead related convention. The last one was the disastrous Walker Stalker Con in Atlanta. But over the weekend, Fandemic Tour erased all the bad memories from that show.
With Fandemic Tour, fans have been able to connect with The Walking Dead stars virtually for the past year and a half. The in person event has returned and fans can meet a multitude of celebrities from The Walking Dead, Fear The Walking Dead, World Beyond, Supernatural, and more. Every day I was there, it was packed.
Fandemic Tour’s floor layout was simple and smooth. I did hear conflicting stories about the crowd control of the lines as Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Melissa McBride’s lines were massive. Since they were part of the bigger names, it was expected. Fandemic Tour had more than opportunities to meet the talent. There were gaming areas, painting, panels, and more to keep the attendees engaged. Speaking of panels, I moderated two of them.
The first panel I had the chance to moderate was the Fear The Walking Dead panel. It was here that Austin Amelio, Christine Evangelista, and Jenna Elfman talked about the current season and what to expect when Fear returns in a few more weeks. You can check out the panel here and credit to Fandom Spotlite for recording the panel.
I also moderated Emily Swallow’s panel as we talked about The Mandalorian and her appearance on Supernatural. Emily was really surprised about the Star Wars fandom and told interesting stories about wearing the costumes for both shows. (This article will be updated once the panel is published.)
The organizers of Fandemic Tour went out of their way to accommodate all the attendees of their concerns. Norman Reedus was injured on the set which caused him to have to cancel his appearance. When it comes to transparently, Fandemic Tour quickly let the fans know that Norman was unable to attend. Reedus asked to reschedule for the next event, according to John Macaluso, the CEO of Fandemic Tour. Jon told Norman to get better and that he will let the attendees know that he cannot attend.
Transparency is important when you run shows like these in the convention industry. When asked about how much it means to him, Jon Macaluso said “I find that transparency is the greatest gift in life. I don’t want any secrets behind me or in front of me.” This is great to know since there are many in the convention scene that are not transparent with their paying audience.
Even though Norman Reedus could not make it, that did not stop the reunions between The Walking Dead fandom and the talent. Overall, it was a great weekend to see everyone come together and celebrate the fandom. The celebrations also took place around Georgia as a number of fans went to the filming locations of The Walking Dead and dined at Nic & Norman’s. Fandemic Tour is the place to go for The Walking Dead and pop-culture fans!