I would like to pose a question that may not be easy to answer. What qualifies an event to be a convention? Whenever I think about this subject, I come up with some generalized elements which seemed to be characteristic about what an individual would see at any convention on any given weekend. Typically, most conventions have a dealer’s room, panel room, costume contest, and media guests. While this seems to be the most basic definition of a convention, there are some that have stretched that definition while providing flashes of what a traditional convention would offer.

One such show was the St. Tammany Collectors Con held in Mandeville, Louisiana. This one-day event brought together individuals who were looking to purchase merchandise and collectibles from some of their favorite fandoms. In addition, this event offered a panel room and costume contest as well as featured a couple of media guests including John Morton from Star Wars the Empire Strikes Back. I was greatly impressed with the level of professionalism of the staff of this event and really saw the potential of such an event to become a full-blown convention.
On the exact opposite side of the convention spectrum was an event held in Holden, Louisiana at the home of actor John Schneider.

Courtesy: Eric Leblanc
Bo’s Extravaganza 2020
The event is called Bo’s Extravaganza, which has become a celebration of the Dukes of Hazard along with that of John Schneider’s birthday. At this event it was way different than that of a traditional convention but still had some of the elements to add flavor.
Bo’s Extravaganza is an outdoor event where John Schneider invites participants to meet celebrities, view a great car show, and even participate in one of his indie film projects. event participants become background actors while a stunt professional performs a daring maneuver to provide a suspenseful element to the movie.
Now that we have moved on from the global pandemic back to a world with some sense of normalcy it’s great to see that these types of events are still happening. I have really enjoyed the opportunity to go to events that are not conventions, but still have those flavors that make it feel like I’m in a convention setting. hats off to the organizers of these types of events that happen all over the world. if we look at the definition of a convention and we analyze what it means to go to these events we will see that both are sometimes actually the same thing.
Justin Toney
Managing Editor
www.FandomAppearances.com