Having spent my youth in the Midlands of the United States (including summers in a small town of 1200), I understand the desire to experience the world just over the horizon,. With Broadway tours and rock concerts somewhat repulsed by the local venues, we had to actively invite geek celebrities to visit.
So I was intrigued when Wizard World announced a show in Des Moines, Iowa for June 2015. C2E2 draws a wide regional audience of cosplayers and comics fans, but I wasn’t sure DM and Iowa would draw enough interest. (Of course, it’s only two hours from Omaha, but for some, the Missouri is an ocean.)
How well did Wizard World do at the Iowa Events Center (Des Moines’ convention center) last weekend? The Des Moines Register reports:
Thousands of con-goers — most donning an article or two that displayed their geekery, but some dressed completely as their favorite comic characters — flooded the inaugural Wizard World held over the weekend at the Iowa Events Center. Three-day passes for the popular event sold out weeks before Wizard World arrived, while Saturday admission sold out in the days leading up to the convention.
(Note: this hasn’t happened for this weekend’s Sacramento show. VIP tickets are still available.)
There was also some geek royalty there (who is also a superhero in real life!):
Miss Iowa Autumn Weaver-Nigro, 24, posed for endless pictures and played with young comic fans while dressed as Wonder Woman. Deaf since birth, Weaver-Nigro said going to cons and participating in cosplay (a term for the hobby of making and wearing your own costumes) helped her gain self-confidence and come to terms with the bullying she endured in school.
She also visits children’s hospitals in costume!
And what I said about Nebraska…
[Jeff] Schipman, who drove in from Omaha, said he has heard a bit of jealousy in Nebraska that Des Moines got Wizard World and Omaha didn’t. “I don’t mind,” he said. “I drove here, I’m fine.”
(Hey, Lance, Omaha’s got a nice new convention center downtown, lots of great food and drink nearby, plus the College World Series just blocks away…)
How happy were the vendors?
Many exhibitors and vendors said business was good throughout the weekend.
“It’s been phenomenal, way better than I expected,” said Cam Adams, 28, an artist selling prints and on-demand drawings. “I am selling a lot more than I anticipated. I’ve sold about a dozen original drawings, which is great. I never sell that many originals.”
“The foot traffic has just been amazing,” said Andrew Smith, 31, who was working the Iowa Ghostbusters booth. (The Iowa Ghostbusters are a “Ghostbusters” fan group.) “We brought a ton of promotional materials and fliers, and we were wiped out a day and a half into the convention.”
The final word, from the WW CEO:
“We had very high expectations for Wizard World Comic Con Des Moines, but somehow the fans exceeded those,” said Wizard World CEO John Macaluso. “Attendees, exhibitors, artists and celebrities agree that this was a fabulous first show, and we’re excited about coming back next May.”
Decatur: De Kaytr? Or DECKA tur?
I can't even say Des Moines in a way that DOESN'T have some kind of tiny dipthongesque swing to it. De Mwah... Des Mwahs? Di Mwah? I used to hate speaking aloud when I was a kid because I would invariably loft a few SAT words into the conversation (just because I loved words), and they would invariably be horribly mangled. Until I spoke an unfamiliar/new word, I never knew if I was massacring the pronunciation or not. The family still laughs hard about my eldest sisters DeVILED Eggs pronunciation. Those poor eggs.
This poor kid!
What a great poem about embracing American culture in all of its prickly contradictions.
I'm seriously tempted by the Halloween edition of Poetry Friday, but I know what my teacher life's like at that time of the year. So I'm holding out for a Christmas Break Friday!
What a great poem. I had no idea about Ne VAY dah. When I was little, I used to laugh at tourists mispronouncing Hawaiian place names. The tables can surely turn with an island girl moving to the Midwest . . .
They say "ni-VAY-da" there? Really? Wild.
Off to read the poem now. I just kinda had to stop there, though, and wonder and ask. I've never, ever heard that. Dialects are endlessly interesting. I want to be a linguist in another life.
Tanita: The first one--although DECKA-tur is funnier :)
And, I'm sorry, but deviled eggs ARE de-VILED. I'm with your sister on that one!
Mary Lee: Duly noted. Remind me if I forget!!
Jama: It's so true :)
Jules: Isn't it a wonderful poem? I know you guys have some interesting pronunciations where you live too!
Don't forget Monticello (Mon-i-sell-o) or What Cheer (wa-cheer)!
Uh oh, Des Moines rhymes with coins? I've always left off the final s.
In Michigan, Charlotte is pronounced Shar-LOT, and in Pennsylvania there's Du Bois (Doo Boys). I think they do it just to be contrary.
What a great poem. The way he mixes views and scents of home with history and first love.
I am like TadMack, always trying to use the vocabulary I read but don't know how to pronounce. I guess she doesn't do it anymore, being well educated, but I still do sometimes. I'll never forget being laughed at by friends when I said Bo-GOT-a for Bogota.
In Kentucky, there's Versailles... ver-SALES.
I was about to say the same thing as Lisa -- I don't pronounce the the s in Des Moines either.
Then again, we Illinois people don't pronounce the s in Illinois either.
Jim D
How do you host a poetry Friday? Is it as easy as posting about poems on your blog? I might be interested in doing Oct. 31, if the task isn't too intimidating.
Let me know, thanks!
Karen
Love your poem choice. And the image of that kid with his forehead on Des Moines.
I spent seven years in DSM, and never heard anyone pronounce the final S. It was always "d'MOYN."