Boston Super Megafest or SMF is the largest gathering of celebrities, fans and memorabilia dealers in the New England area. This weekend event, which took place on Nov 21 & 22, 2009 at the Sheraton in Framingham, MA is lots of fun for only $20.
The people attending are often more interesting than the celebrities. People come dressed in all kinds of elaborate costumes and really get into the fantasy of being a super hero or sci-fi character. The most popular costumes tend to be from Star Wars and Star Trek, but Batman and the Joker are also popular.
Parked outside the hotel was the Batmobile from the original TV show. I was a big fan of the TV show when I was a kid. It is so funny to watch those episodes now. If you are too young to remember the show, there are lots of episodes and clips on youtube.
The vast majority of people who attend these events are geeks, nerds, and dorks, with a few typical folks along to ‘people watch’ the geeks, nerds and dorks. All together it’s a nice bunch of folks just having a good time. For me, it’s a fun escape from everyday life; add that to the nostalgia thrown in and it’s a blast!
The highlight of this years event for me was meeting Brent Spiner (Data from Star Trek: TNG). OK, so I’m a bit of a Star Trek geek. I’ve enjoyed the TV shows and movies since the original, but my favorite Star Trek is the Next Generation (TNG). For movies, Star Trek IV has always been my favorite, but the new 2009 movie, is pretty darn good. Brent Spiner is a friendly guy and very funny.
I also got to meet Larry Storch (Corporal Agarn on F Troop). F Troop was another of my favorite shows in the 60’s and Larry still looks pretty darn good in his 80’s!
Also at the Megafest were two of the Monkees, Micky Dolenz and Peter Tork. I met both of them and saw them preform on Saturday night. Peter played “Day Dream Believer” solo with his guitar, which I really enjoyed. Micky is still quite an entertainer.
There was a whole lot more going on at the Megafest, but these were a few of my favorites. More photos on Flickr.
It may not be my pretty pretty monkeys as the wicked witch said in OZ but Rock and Roll Forever. The Monkeys were my fav. also.
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Hi Cindy!!! Framingham resident here looking to bring some of my western mass friends to supermegafest 2010 for some celebrity watching! Seeing that you are now an experienced veteran on the subject, can you tell me about how much the autographs are as well as having a picture taken with them? I shouldn’t be so naive as to think that the 20 buck admission price will be enough to hob-nob with the stars…otherwise, what would be the payoff for them? Please do not be afraid to go into detail with your experience as I will relay the info to 6 other people and I don’t want them to come after me with torches and pitchforks if we get there and there’s a nice little 40 buck surcharge to everything. And on supermegafest’s website it says ordering tickets online will get you in one hour before those waiting in line at the Shearaton that morning. Have you tried this and is it true?
Any info will be appreciated…..thanks!!!
Freddy
Nice to meet you Freddy, virtually anyway. Maybe we will run into you in Framingham. We had a fun time last year and hope to make it again this year. These things are definitely a hoot to go to. As you guessed, the admission fee only gets you inside, there are lots of other ways to spend your money once you are inside. Lots of vendors and stuff you can buy. But you don’t have to spend any money. It’s just fun walking around. There are lots of people who go all dressed up and you can get your picture taken with them. In fact, they seem to love this kind of attention. But for the celebrities there is always a price. The prices vary a lot depending on the person and how famous they are, and if you also buy a photo for them to autograph. If you bring something to sign, you can usually save a few bucks. For autographed photos, the prices typically run between $20-$50. They will usually let you take a photo if you pay for the autograph, although I have run into 1 or 2 who say “no photos”.
We haven’t tried to get in early, so not sure about that. It can get rather crowded at these events, but that’s part of the fun. You usually don’t have to wait too long in lines, except for the really popular celebrities and the lines get shorter at different times of the day. We’ve never not made it to someone we’ve wanted to see.
Hope this helps. If you happen to see a family with teen-aged twins with one in a wheelchair, stop and say “hi”. We are pretty easy to spot with Eric’s chair:-)