Next ‘Fest: October 24-25, 2020 | 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 31st 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 2020 GUESTS
Click their names to read about them.
SUZIE PLAKSON
Actress, Star Trek: TNG, Star Trek Voyager, Enterprise, Mad About You, Everybody Loves Raymond, Dinosaurs
CHARLIE BAILEY
Legendary ILM Model Maker: Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, Back to the Future trilogy, Galaxy Quest
FRANK DIETZ
Actor, Writer, Animator, Producer, Director: Creepshow, I Hate Kids, Mary Poppins Returns
PLAN YOUR WEEKEND
Click an icon to learn more.
Tickets
Sold at the door only.
Adults: $33 for 1-day, $48 for 2-days.
Ages 4 to 12: $12 for 1-day, $18 for 2-days
Age 3 and under free.
Ticket booth hours…
Hotel & Restaurant
Special WonderFest room rates at the Crowne: $128 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, Oct. 24th, 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 823 entries in 2019, it took up the entire ballroom and featured some of the best modeling we’ve ever seen.
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…
THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS
They help make this event possible!
HIGHLIGHTS FROM WONDERFEST 2018
Click image to open a slideshow.
WONDERFEST LATEST NEWS
From our Facebook feed...
Hello all. This is Dave Hodge with you again. I’ve seen a lot of posts about folks expressing their sadness that we are not having our annual gathering.
Believe me I feel your pain as I miss seeing so many of you and the happiness that you have at our show. Every post I see reminds me of how this is important to you, and how much the hobby means to so many. As many of you have shown in support there was just no way that we could do the show at this time. I do not know the course that this present nightmare will take, but I am in hopes that perhaps by the end of October I will see many of your smiling faces again. Mainly I wanted to express my sincere humbleness at the support that so many are showing for the show and it’s continuance. I will tell you now that even if October doesn’t happen (we are going to do everything we can to make it go and safely) I have already contracted with the hotel for the following June in our regular slot. This is because of the love and support so many of you have expressed in both public and private. After seeing this how could I not?  We shall persevere, we will gather again, sooner or later, but we will! Stay healthy and safe all!
Comment on Facebook 211585008915512_3917574131649896
Better safe than sorry. Hopefully October will work out.
My phone reminded me that tomorrow I should be in Louisville. Bummed that I had to tell it no.
See you in October, Dave
Hope to see everyone in October, I would be leaving tomorrow with stops at the Armstrong Museum and the Museum of the Air Force in Ohio. Stay strong, stay healthy, stay alive!!
Make WF a full week next year to make up for this year.
Will miss all the fun b hopefully October will happen with a bang!!
Maybe in the Fall. I really appreciate the sensitivity and thoughtfulness that the W'Fest organizers have shown as the pandemic rages. Stay safe and thoughtful out there!
Onward and upward, Dave. We'll support WF no matter when it happens. But I'm just gonna go ahead and say see you in October.
I look forward to this trip every year, I cannot wait for the entire Wonderfest crew to be back together again. Thanks for the update Dave.
Well Dave all I can say is I’m there with you buddy no matter what!! It’ll just give me more time to get some Playset/ Dios together! Stay safe my friend and all the Wonderfesters out there! Oh what a good time we’ll have when we do get together!!⚓️🇺🇸
I am so very sad but hopeful. But yeah SUPER sad.
Stay safe Dave! See you in October!
Drove by today and saw the venue from work... Missing it for this weekend
In honor of where I'd be this weekend, I'm spending this time actually building and painting models! I haven't done this in many years, but having a blast with the old Aurora kits. I don't have an option to post a photo here, but you can go to my page and see how I expressed my love for WF!
I literally plan my year around Wonderfest. I keep thinking today that I'd be with my friend Steve somewhere in Illinois right now (probably at a Steak n Shake) on the drive to Louisville. I desperately hope I can make it in October. I'll definitely be parked in front of my computer all weekend for want a fest. And have my zoom meeting background all picked out.
Looking forward to whatever comes our way Dave.
David Hodge, you have our full support!! Thanks for all you do!!
I can’t wait! See you in October!
I always, half seriously, half jokingly, that I plan my year around Wonderfest. But I really find myself missing the rush of getting ready for the show, and experiencing the "Wondefest Blur." So, there is a bit of a gap right now. But I know it is going to make the October event memorable and 2021 even better. I'm going to do my damndest to slow down a little, chat a little more, and be grateful when we do come together. Thanks to Dave and to all the Wonderfest staff for bringing the hobbiests of the world together. We are a big family. See you soon.
Is October off?? I hadn’t heard?? I rebooked the Hotel already
Alex says he will be there even if he has to wear my old chem gear. 😉
It’s just weird being this time of year and no WF
Will Eric Chu be debuting a new sculpt in October? The world wants to know!
can we get another update, if you have any??
Greetings everyone. Dave Hodge with you again. Just wanted to get the word out that the scamming world is doing its best to capitalize on anything it can. Some of you may have gotten an email saying that a room block is open now for Wonderfest. But while it initially says it’s from the Crowne it actually advertises the block at the Hilton. And its price is higher than our actual room block. Remember, anything authentic will either come from me here or on our website only. The group that put this out are known “hotel poachers”. It’s a scam. i’m sorry to have to keep putting stuff like this out but I don’t want any of you to lose your money. Stay healthy stay safe. See you in October.
Comment on Facebook 211585008915512_3836685016405475
Yep - almost happened to me when I was making reservations for Thursday night. The link I clicked took me to a 3rd party site that wanted $50 more per night! Be Careful Out There!
Wow
Yes we got the email I ignored it . As it didnt look right.
I got the same email this morning on my JPG Productions email. Seems like they got my email through the vendor page. I spammed it right away.
How did they get our email addresses?
Those Klingon Bastards!
Hey WonderFesters! Are you feeling blue because we can't get together in-person later this month? Well, our friend George "Black Heart" Stephenson has banded together a group of our best vendors and supporters to create Want-A-Fest, an online event and model contest. So get on over to their page and join the fun!
www.facebook.com/groups/245813096539829/?hc_location=group
Comment on Facebook Hey WonderFesters! ...
Andrew Boush Sara Brielmaier Daniel Keith John Steinman Cullen Patrick Rob Mattison
We here at Wonderfest wish to note the passing of Bill Early. Bill was a wonderful and enthusiastic supporter of the show. His spirit was always very strong and often very inspiring. He was responsible for many of the wonderful costumes you saw people in at the show and was a member of the 501st
Legion. If you knew Bill then you knew what kind of great guy he was. If not I can assure you that he will be missed. Bill said that he wanted to make it to the show again as he had these past several years even in his fight against cancer. He was also quite a modeler. As a pilot, I say to you Bill , fair skies and a good tailwind good sir.
Comment on Facebook 211585008915512_3789300221143955
Well R.I.P. ya ol Sci Fi nut....Bill You will be missed.
It would be great to have a memorial of some kind for him in October.
Thank you for the kind words and he loved you all like family. And wonderfest was always a favorite time of year for him and always excited to go and see everyone
This warms my heart that the community he found back in ‘95 is celebrating him today, after all these years. I’ll do my best to make the show in October, it was always the one time a year we knew we’d always get together, a family ritual. ❤️
Bill Early ignited my fire for the 501st
So very very sad to hear this. My heart goes out to Denise and his family.
I didn't know this was Bill, but he was quite the swell guy willing to ham it up with some stranger who wanted a photo of him in his awesome Gorn costume! www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10152529606301566&set=t.512581565&type=3&theater
Oh no! No no no! I went to go reach out to Bill for our “catch up call” and find out my friend passed away. I’m truly saddened today to hear of his passing. Our last phone call to catch up was like 2 hours long. We always had a lot to talk about. I will truly miss those moments.
Greetings everyone. Dave Hodge here with you again. Just a very quick note about our current times. One of our dealers received an email saying that Wonderfest was canceled but that they could provide the names of our registered participants ( um, we don’t do pre-sale ticketing, so we don’t have a list like that) so that they could provide that information in case a given dealer would like to reach out to them personally for sales etc. All they need is your personal information about your business. Well, of course you know this is a scam. Any official information will come from here and here alone. Sadly, in times of crisis the worst among us try to take advantage any way they can. So if you get something like this and it’s not from me, it’s crap. Stay healthy and safe everyone. 
Comment on Facebook 211585008915512_3782126678527976
Must of been my X wife😆
Thank you
Yikes
I’ve got this great bridge for sale...
Good job, David. Hope you and your family are well and staying safe.
Thanks Dave! You guys are the best!!
Thanks Dave!
Thanks Dave!
Yep, I got that e-mail. I saw your posting first, but even so, it wasn't from you or anyone else I recognized, so I would have deleted it anyway.