Next ‘Fest: June 1-2, 2019 | Crowne Plaza Louisville Hotel
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WHAT IS WONDERFEST?
A weekend of wonder in Louisville!
WonderFest is a weekend of hobby escape that’s held every Summer in Louisville, Kentucky USA!
Now in its 30th year, WonderFest features movie special effects guests, the largest model contest in the U.S. for sci-fi, horror & comics-related subjects, model and toy dealers galore, and seminars to entertain and improve hobbyists of all ages!
It’s always held at our mothership, the Crowne Plaza Louisville Airport Hotel, 830 Phillips Lane, Louisville, KY 40209.
MEET THE 2019 GUESTS
Click their names to read about them.
PLAN YOUR WEEKEND
Click an icon to learn more.
Tickets
Sold at the door only.
Adults: $30 for 1-day, $45 for 2-days.
Ages 4 to 12: $10 for 1-day, $15 for 2-days
Age 3 and under free.
Ticket booth hours…
Hotel & Restaurant
Special WonderFest room rates at the Crowne: $124 per night for up to 4 people! It’s convenient to stay in the show hotel with an award-winning restaurant
Reserve a room online…
Louisville Attractions
Bring your family and take extra time to visit exciting tourism sites in and around Louisville. Go exploring the Bourbon Trails and more.
Fun in Louisville…
THE AMAZING MODEL CONTEST
Greatest in the World for Imaginative Modelers!
The WonderFest “Amazing” Model Contest is focused on all types of science-fiction, horror and comics models. It’s the biggest contest of its type in America, and it’s fun to look at even if you don’t build models yourself!
The contest is sponsored by Amazing Figure Modeler magazine, which is providing a special $300 award for the Most Amazing Figure!
Entry Hours: Saturday, June 1st, from 8 a.m. ’til Noon
- $10.00 per first 2 models for adults, up to 8 additional entries free
- $8.00 per first 2 models for teens, up to 8 add’l entries free (ages 13-19)
- Free for ages 12 & under
With over 700 entries in 2018, it took up the entire ballroom and featured some of the best modeling we’ve ever seen.
WEEKEND SCHEDULE (TENTATIVE)
MAY 31 & JUNE 1-2, 2019
| # | Session | Time | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Amazing Figure Modeler's Model Boot Camp | 9A-5P | TBA |
| 2 | Badger / Black Heart Model Finishing Class | 10A-4P | TBA |
| 3 | Garage Kits.US Colors Paintfest | 9A-4P | TBA |
| 4 | TAG Team / Iwata Sci-Fi Modeling School | 9A-4P | TBA |
| 5 | Friday Night Welcome Party | 7P-9P | Main Hallway |
| 6 | Friday Night Frights | 9P-11P | Theater B |
| # | Session | Time | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | DEALER ROOMS OPEN | 10A-5P | Dealer A & B |
| 2 | HOW-TO DEMOS | 11A-5P | Elliott, Franklin, Grant |
| 3 | GUEST TALKS | 10A-4:30P | Theaters A & B |
| 4 | CONTEST ENTRIES | 8A-Noon | Coronet |
| 5 | CONTEST VIEWING | Noon-5P | Coronet |
| 6 | RONDO AWARDS | 5P-7P | Theater A |
| 7 | CHILLER CINEMA LIVE | 7P-11P | Theater B |
| 8 | Wicked WonderFest Hallway Cosplay Contest | 1PM-5PM | Main Hallway |
| 9 | RobotWorks at WonderFest | 9AM-5PM | Grant Room |
| # | Session | Time | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | DEALER ROOMS OPEN | 10A-5P | Dealer A & B |
| 2 | HOW-TO DEMOS | 10A-2P | Elliott, Franklin, Grant |
| 3 | CONTEST VIEWING | 10A-3P | Coronet |
| 4 | GUEST TALKS | 10A-3P | Theaters A & B |
| 5 | CONTEST AWARDS CEREMONY | 3P-4P | Theater B |
| 6 | ROBOTWORKS AT WONDERFEST | 9AM-5PM | Grant Room |
| 7 | WONDERFEST WRAP PARTY | 7:30P | Theater A |
MUST-SEE PROGRAMMING
Click an icon to learn more.
How-To Demos
All weekend! Learn techniques from other great modelers! Demos last from 30 minutes to an hour. Become a better modeler!
More info…
Iron Modeler
Teams are given a “base model,” a big pile of parts, and 4 hours to build the craziest model with only what they’ve got. Best model & presentation wins!
More info…
The Rondo Awards
5pm Saturday! Fandom’s only classic horror awards—decided by fans. Recognize the best in print, film, web, art, media, toys and models!
More info…
Sunday Wrap Party
Sunday night at 7:30 celebrate the end of the show with exclusive programming! Optional a la carte food and cash bar.
More info…
HIGHLIGHTS FROM WONDERFEST 2018
Click image to open a slideshow.
THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS
They help make this event possible!
WONDERFEST LATEST NEWS
From our Facebook feed...
LOL
Counting the days!
Too funny and too true in a way.
"Those decals are really hard to put on without ripping."
Still funny!
Seats are going fast for Badger and Black Heart's Airbrushing & Model Finishing Class. It'll be held on Friday May 31st from 10am to 4pm. This year’s class will again be headlined by Gordon Oberman and Jeff Camp and will feature the debut of Black Heart’s 1:2 scale Nyarlathotep (aka N’hotep) wall-hanger sculpted by Greg Onychuk. This 16-inches-tall bust is inspired by the H.P. Lovecraft poem/short story of the same name. Spend a day learning to paint on this fantastic work of art, thanks to Badger Airbrush and Black Heart!
Learn more at wonderfest.com/upcoming-show/activities/friday-class/
NEW GUEST ANNOUNCEMENT: Jay Leisten is a Louisville-based comic artist who has become a rising star in his field—and a WonderFest favorite! Jay recently finished working on a 3-year run with Greg Land on Uncanny X-men, a year on Iron Man, Monsters Unleashed, Astonishing X-Men and more. His work is also featured in Moon Knight with Jerome Opena, Nightwing with Don Kramer, Outsiders with Fernando Pasarin, Captain Britain & Dark X-men with Leonard Kirk, Death of Wolverine, Secret Empire, Monsters Unleashed and more with Steve McNiven—as well as several other Marvel projects.
Currently Jay is working on a Spider-Man project, Return of Wolverine, and a creator-owned project.
Find all the WonderFest details at: www.wonderfest.com
NEW GUEST ANNOUNCEMENT: WonderFest is pleased to announce first time guest Don Frye. Don first came on the scene as a champion dominant fighter in the world of mixed martial arts for six years. He parlayed that success into movie roles including THE ANT BULLY, MIAMI VICE, and PUBLIC ENEMIES with Johnny Depp.But for Kaiju fans Don will be forever enshrined as the intrepid Captain Douglas Gordon in GODZILLA: FINAL WARS.
Don is a big guy with a big personality. Come meet him at WonderFest on June 1 & 2!
Find all the WonderFest details at: www.wonderfest.com
We've just posted a list of our dealers so far for June 2-3, 2019. Dealer Room A is SOLD OUT, but there's still room in Dealer Room B. Dealers, please let us know of any corrections!
wonderfest.com/upcoming-show/dealers/
List of Dealers – WonderFest USA
wonderfest.com
The variety of dealers just gets better every year! Besides the fantastic kit vendors, we usually have airbrush companies, tool companies and molding & casting material companies. Spaceship modelers will be especially pleased to see more vendors of their interest.
Emailed ya'll!~ <gurgle!~>
Looking forward to being at Wonderfest USA...
Wohoo!! Now if only it was time... And no more govt shutdown threats around that time