Superman Celebration: Metropolis, Illinois

With all the super hero hype going on right now, it’s not hard to find an event or two revolving around one famous comic book character or another. One town in Illinois, a town by the name of Metropolis, seemed fated to dedicate themselves to all-things Superman, and they went with this destiny willingly. In addition to having the country’s only Superman museum, they organize the Superman Celebration in early June of each year and if you’re a fan of Superman, it’s not to be missed.

As the tales go, back in 1972 the town officially proclaimed itself the hometown of Superman.  They soon afterwards began work on the SupermanMuseum.  And to further prove their devotion, the town spent more than $100,000 to put up a 12-foot stall bronze Superman statue.  Eventually, the festival would organize and this small town of just over 7000 people now brings in tens-of-thousands of visitors to celebrate the iconic super hero’s legacy.

The festival brings together anyone and everyone associated with Superman and willing to take part. Comic books artists, writers and actors and actresses that have played roles in the various Superman movies and television shows over the years all show up to meet with fans.  There are theater productions of former Superman television episodes, costume contests and the showing of both fan films and proper Superman flicks. This year, the celebration plans on trying to grab up the world record for most people dressed up as Superman gathered in the same location (seriously, there’s a Guinness World Record for that…).

This year, Superman Celebration takes place over four days, from June 6-9.  It also happens to be Superman’s 75^th birthday this year, so no doubt the festival will be even more elaborate and even more crowded than usual. If you love the man in red and blue, swing by and check it out.  For more information on the festivities, check out the official web page.

Superman cosplay photo courtesy of J F Willis via Wikicommons