Pop Culture Convention coming to Wooster April 16
Operation: Fandom owner Josh Lehman, a Dalton High alum, said that there will be something of interest for just about everyone at the inaugural Operation: Fandom 2023 Pop Culture Convention on April 16 at the Wayne County Fairgrounds Event Center. Lehman is pictured holding a box of Pokemon cards and a 1963 Topps Mickey Mantle card, which are examples of some of the countless items that could be available from dealers at the show.
A piece of Hollywood is coming to Wooster this spring.
The inaugural Operation: Fandom 2023 Pop Culture Convention will be held April 16 from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. at the Wayne County Fairgrounds Event Center, which is located at 199 Vanover Street.
The convention will feature toys, collectibles, trading cards, gaming and Cosplay. Dealers will set up approximately 100 tables in the 20,000-square foot event center.
Headlining the Pop Culture Convention are three stars from the classic movie “The Sandlot,” which is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year.
Coming to Wooster to meet fans, pose for photos and sign autographs will be Sandlot actors Tom Guiry (portrayed Smalls), Chauncey Leopardi (Squints) and Marty York (Yeah-Yeah).
Also appearing as special autograph guests will be Daniel Logan (Boba Fett) from the Star Wars universe, Ari Lehman (The first Jason from the original “Friday the 13th”) and Jim Swearingen (Kenner Star Wars designer and “The Toys That Made Us”).
Convention organizer Josh Lehman owns and operates the Operation: Fandom and Blackbird Records stores located in Wooster, along with combo stores in Medina and Mansfield.
Lehman said that bringing the Pop Culture Convention to Wooster has been a labor of love several years in the making. Once Lehman was able to finalize the contracts with the Sandlot stars to appear, everything fell into place.
“We’ve met a lot of these guys through having different store signings before,” said Lehman, a 1994 Dalton graduate. “We’ve kept wanting to have the Sandlot guys in Ohio at some point, but when COVID-19 hit it just got delayed.
“We kept thinking, ‘People have to go to Columbus, Cleveland, or out of state for a big convention. Why don’t we put one on here in Wooster in the event center on the fairgrounds?’”
Lehman broke into the collectibles business when he co-owned Grand Slam Collectibles in Orrville with his dad, Larry Lehman, who passed away in 2021.
The Pop Culture Convention is a major undertaking, with lots of space and something of interest for just about everyone.
“Just like with our stores, we aren’t doing just one category,” Lehman said. “We kind of hit on everything from the toys, the cards, cosplay, autographs and the gaming.
“We’re really going after all those different collectors and categories and bringing it to Wooster, which is pretty cool.”
JSA will be at the show to offer its renowned autograph authentication service.
Lehman will set up “Autograph Row” where fans can meet the stars in attendance and pay to get autographs. Fans can bring their own items to get autographed, or purchase things like bats, balls or pictures at the show to get signed.
The collectibles industry is as popular as ever coming off of the pandemic.
“As we get into our 40s and 50s or older, it’s fun reminiscing about what we had — or missed — growing up,” Lehman said. “We saw a huge need or upswing in the interest in that stuff during COVID.
“It was really important that we were open as much as we could. There were a lot of mental health issues and people wanted to come in and buy something and escape all that in Operation: Fandom and the record store, too.”
Holding a pop culture convention is a way to expand on the popularity of Lehman’s stores, while also giving a wide variety of vendors the chance to display their collections locally for sale or possible trades.
“We want to bring more fun and that kind of joy to the area,” Lehman said. “It takes people back to a simpler time, good memories with their parents or something with friends.”
There’s no better time to bring Smalls, Squints and Ya-Ya to Wooster. This year marks three decades since the release of the iconic coming of age sports movie about a group of boys growing up in the summer of 1962.
“They played The Sandlot at my junior prom in 1993,” Lehman said. “We’ve been playing it all month long in our stores.
“People tie in good memories with some of the characters or movies they grew up with, like Star Wars and The Sandlot.”
The Sandlot is a true family movie, which anyone from kids to grandparents enjoy watching, Lehman said.
“Most boys at some point were ornery, got into things or lost things and we all know the trouble you can get in,” he said. “The Sandlot really portrays that and it’s a fun throwback (to the early 1960s) with great characters.”
Rubber City Cosplay from Akron will also be out in full force at the convention, with characters dressed in costumes, a costume contest and a lounge area.
Check out the Operation: Fandom Facebook page for information on ticket and autograph prices, along with times.
For more information on the show, email Operationfandomevents@gmail.com.
Aaron Dorksen can be emailed at aarondorksen24@gmail.com.