Mid Atlantic Nostalgia Convention is Growing

The 2010 installment of the Mid Atlantic Nostalgia Convention in Hunt Valley, MD, showed that this convention has come a long way and expanded from its modest beginnings in Aberdeen, MD. There were seemingly more attendees and vendors. The guests were intriguing as ever.


TV’s Green Hornet star Van Williams had to bow out beforehand due to a health consideration, but there were still well known stars of TV including Roy Thinnes (cult show The Invaders), Ed Nelson (one of the busiest actors in movies and TV in the 1950’s, 60’s, and 70’s), Dawn Wells, and Mark Goddard among others.

Dawn Wells played Mary Ann in Gilligan’s Island from 1964-1967. She looked terrific and was just as spunky and energetic as her character. She noted my Shirt with The Wild Wild West and mentioned that she was a guest on that show (as was co-star Alan Hale Jr.). She also noted how her cousin was also named Clint. No surprise that her autograph line was the longest all day.

Having been a big fan of Irwin Allen’s Lost in Space, Mark Goddard (Major West) looked incredibly youthful for his age of 74. His favorite episode was “The Anti Matter Man”. He said he would hang out with series star Guy Williams at the track with their wives. He never really saw much of producer Allen who had several projects going at the time, and he marvelled at how the special effects relied on live action models rather than today's computer generated effects.

Everyone seemed to be having fun and sharing memories of their favorite TV or movie moments. This Hunt Valley hotel location was spacious and ideal for this growing event; it looks like this convention has found a home for next year.