Chicago KISSfest
September 8, 2002, Elgin, Illinois
The Chicago Kissfest was held on September 8, 2002 in Elgin, Illinois at the Hemmens Cultural Center. The Kissfest was very well organized and the Hemmens Cultural Center was a perfect location to hold the event. When you entered the building you could see the vendors set up in the lobby. At the far end of the lobby was a Kiss casket. They had it roped off and for $3.00 they would take your picture with it. We did not pay, we brought our own cameras.
It was great to hangout with Wendy, Micki, Paulsrose2001, Goddess of Thunder and her friends. I was also able to meet other friends for the first time after having known them from Kissonline.com: Daveace, Michael Brandvold (KOL), Kissinpaul, Sasbaby, Marti and her husband J.D.
A reporter from the Courier Newspaper was doing an article on Kissfest and interviewed us. She was surprised that so many people showed up and how far we had flown for the event.
Downstairs there was a separate area for question and answer sessions, food, bar and additional vendors. Kiss karaoke was also available. Mike Brandvold had a Kissonline booth set up. He was selling Kiss shirts from the farewell tour along with other style Kiss shirts. I have to admit they were good prices, $5-$10. Mike also had a container filled with free Kiss condoms. Mike was very humble and talked to a lot of the attendees.
Michael Brandvold from Kissonline.com held a question and answer session. He talked about how he became involved with Kissonline.com and how much involvement Kiss has with the website. He also answered questions about fans who go to Kissonline.com. It was very interesting to hear how Mike got started doing Kissonline.com.
Eric Singer arrived and also held a question and answer session. Eric answered questions regarding him playing drums for Alice Cooper, the future of Kiss and the possibility of an upcoming Kiss tour. Jamie made Eric a Kiss sweatshirt and gave it to him during the question and answer session. Eric seemed very appreciative. He looked at the catman logo, which has a square design to it, and asked if he had a square head like the cartoon character "Sponge Bob Square Pants." Everybody laughed and Eric thanked Jamie for the sweatshirt.
After the question and answers, Eric held an autograph session. He would sign anything that you wanted and was very personable. He posed for pictures and seemed to enjoy talking to the fans. I designed a collage of pictures of Eric from the Australian tour to have him sign.
I do not know if it was Keith from Kiss Shop giving great deals or if it was Micki talking him down in price but there were some good deals at his booth (thanks Keith). Some of the other venders were a little pricey, however, if you looked hard you could find some good deals.
