During the summer of 2007, it was announced there would be a 30th Anniversary Convention celebrating the Halloween franchise. Thus began a year's long countdown with frequent guest and event announcements. The 25th Anniversary Convention (2003) set the bar pretty high. Fans were anxious to see what they would be treated to this time around.
30 Years of Terror officially kicked off on October 31, 2008 with a five hour filming location tour. Fans boarded luxury coach buses this time around and were allowed to get off at each location to explore as an added bonus. I'm still not convinced my bus driver had his license. There were some wide turns and close calls straight out of Speed (1994)...
A re-inactment from Halloween: Resurrection (2002)...
I couldn't resist...
Some new additions to the tour were locations from Rob Zombie's Halloween (2007)...
We invaded a Halloween festival at Kersting Court in Sierra Madre when it came time to hit locations from Halloween Halloween II (1981) and Halloween III (1982)...
Due to time constraints, we didn't make it to Hollywood to visit the Doyle and Wallace houses.
Tapping off the evening was a midnight screening of Halloween with a lively crowd...
After the screening, I ventured back to The Myers House...
Fans anxiously gathered outside The Pasadena Convention Center...
The Convention Intinerary...
...which was condensed for the VIP lanyards...
My camera failed me at this convention for some of the panel discussion shots. Many photos are seen through the eyes of Ben Tramer...
The future was so dark, no shades were needed. In less than a year Halloween fans would be traumatized with treated to Rob Zombie's Halloween II (2009)...
Another cool addition to this convention was composer Alan Howarth, performing many of his classic scores from the Halloween sequels...
For some reason, I didn't take any photos of the Sunday panel discussions. But I did some wandering around like Smith's Grove patients and looked at some cool stuff...
Some behind the scenes photos from Halloween II...
I HATE having my picture taken, which is why you rarely see me in any location photos. I just don't photograph well and usually end up looking like a deer in headlights. But I'll make an exception for taking pictures with Halloween celebrities, which was seriously lacking from my 25th Anniversary Convention (2003) experience...
Some VIP goody bag items...
Overall, 30 Years of Terror was a great convention with some new and improved additions. It was nice to be held up for a few days with hundreds of people who share the same passion for the Halloween franchise as I do. I was a bit disappointed there was no "Be An Extra in Halloween 10" contest as I had been honing my craft the last five years working background on various tv shows and movies. But since the next sequel ended up being a continuation of Rob Zombie's vision, the disappointment quickly faded. When the convention withdrawal wore off, I began to wonder if there would be one to celebrate the 35th Anniversary...
Related Locations:
Halloween (1978), Halloween II (1981), Halloween III: Season of The Witch (1982), Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988), Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers (1989), Halloween 6: The Curse of Michael Myers (1995), Halloween H20: Twenty Years Later (1998), Halloween (2007), Halloween II (2009), Halloween (2018), Halloween Kills (2021), Halloween Ends (2022), Halloween: 25 Years of Terror Convention (2003), Halloween: 35 Years of Terror (2013), Halloween: 40 Years of Terror (2018), Jamie Lee Curtis HorrorHound Weekend (2012), Halloween: 45 Years of Terror Convention (2023)
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