First Midwest Christmas Con brings stars, fans of Hallmark Christmas movies to KC

Right before Memorial Day, actress Melissa Joan Hart — TV’s “Sabrina the Teenage Witch” — reminded her fans that she was headed to Kansas City soon to ring in the holidays.

By “soon” she meant this week. And the holiday she referenced was Christmas.

What? Haven’t you noticed all the snow out there?

“... let’s ring in the holiday with some Christmas fun in Kansas City in just a few weeks,” she wrote in a Facebook post. “Meet me and my friends there for some summer time eggnog and tree trimming.”

Hart and about two dozen other stars of the popular Hallmark Christmas movies are coming here for Kansas City’s first Christmas Con, a fan convention created for avid followers of the Hallmark Channel’s holiday films.

“We have constantly been asked to bring Christmas Con to the Midwest and what better place to host a Christmas convention than the birthplace of Hallmark, Kansas City,” organizers Christina Figliolia and Liliana Kligman said in a statement earlier this year.

The event, Friday through Sunday, has no connection to Hallmark, however.

If you’re familiar with Comic-Con, Christmas Con is sorta like that. Only at Christmas Con fans are more apt to wear ugly Christmas sweaters and Santa hats than Spider-Man tights and Wookiee wigs.

The Overland Park Convention Center is about to become one giant Christmas party; fake snow more than likely.

Activities include panel discussions where the stars share behind-the-scenes stories, photo sessions and autographs with the celebs, caroling, a tree-lighting ceremony and, of course, an appearance by Santa Claus.

Best friends Kligman and Figliolia from New Jersey founded That’s 4 Entertainment, a company that creates fan conventions. They stage Christmas Con, and 90s Con for people who love everything about the ‘90s and will pay money to see cast reunions of “Beverly Hills, 90210” and “Clueless.”

The women recognized the “massive following” for the Hallmark movies, but there was nowhere for fans to gather and meet the actors. The Christmas Con in Overland Park is their fourth holiday event.

If the first three events are the norm, most of the attendees will be women.

“Unlike conventions for comic books, sci-fi, and anime, Christmas Con caters to a less conspicuous type of geek: suburban moms,” the Christian Science Monitor noted a couple of years ago.

“The primary appeal of the genre is wholesome romance. But more than that, these tales center around families and communities that overcome differences and celebrate beloved traditions.

“They aren’t just a respite from day-to-day stress but also offer an aspirational ideal of seeing most people as fundamentally good-hearted. If that encapsulates the Christmas spirit, attendees have come here to commune with others who share that sensibility.”

Well, that. And apparently other “spirited” interests, too.

Holiday hunks

“Mean Girls” actor Jonathan Bennett will host. Hallmark Channel fans know him as the star of several Christmas movies, including last season’s “The Holiday Sitter,” Hallmark’s first Christmas movie centered on a gay couple.

On Saturday night, Christmas Con will host the red-carpet premiere of the Hallmark Channel movie, “Field Day,” starring Rachel Boston and Benjamin Ayres. People magazine senior editor Breanne Heldman will host a question-and-answer session. The movie debuts later this year.

The weekend’s celebrity lineup includes Danica McKellar, who played Winnie on “The Wonder Years” when she was younger. In the Hallmark Channel’s “Crown for Christmas,” she’s a struggling artist who inexplicably gets hired to be a nanny for a petulant young European princess and falls in love with her father, the king.

That is a popular story line for Hallmark Christmas flicks: Ordinary girl finds her prince.

Alicia Witt will appear too. In “A Very Merry Mix-Up,” she heads out to meet her fiance’s (obnoxious) family at the holidays and ends up at the wrong house with the wrong (yet loving) family — and the right guy to love.

Paul Campbell will be there, too, another Hallmark favorite and star of “Window Wonderland” in which he falls in love with his rival for a job as a department store window decorator.

The male stars of Hallmark Christmas movies enjoy their own devoted following. Organizers have hyped a unique group-photo opportunity at the Kansas event — “all of these gentlemen together in one photo with you!”

It’s called the “Hunks” photo op.

Ted Lasso: ‘Good with sound off’

Researchers at Brigham Young University recently identified three types of Hallmark Christmas movie fans: Season’s Greeters, Rudolphs and Carolers.

Season’s Greeters love all things Christmas and strongly associate the release of the channel’s holiday movies with the beginning of the season. Rudolphs are daydreamers looking to “fly away,” escape daily stress and feel happy.

Carolers are the most focused on the movie content. How will the main characters fall in love?

The study, published in the Journal of Popular Television, noted how “despite the tired narrative that the movies are too simplistic, super cheesy, and only enjoyed by people over 65, Christmas Hallmark movies stand the test of time.

“In fact, in 2021, Hallmark produced 41 new Christmas movies that attracted 85 million viewers.”

In fact, the movies have became a part of the Christmas zeitgeist, proven this year by none other than “Ted Lasso” himself, played by Kansas City’s Jason Sudeikis.

In a halftime pep talk during the recently completed Season 3, Lasso compares Richmond FC’s offensive skills to Hallmark Christmas movies.

“We can get one goal and we’re right back in this thing. But right now, we are being so un-offensive we might as well be a Hallmark Christmas movie,” Lasso said.

Off to the side he explained to the team’s confused manager: “Hallmark Christmas movies are films that feature women from the big city falling in love with their childhood crushes ...

“They suck, but they’re great, but they also mostly suck, but they’re also kinda great. They’re good with the sound off.”

What to expect: Long lines

The first rule of Christmas Con is expect to stand in long lines, very long lines, to get in and to meet the celebrities. So organizers recommend wearing comfortable shoes.

On Tuesday afternoon, organizers posted other tips on their Facebook page:

▪ You can line up 1.5 hours before the doors open, and people do that.

▪ There is food available. Organizers say: Make sure to eat. The days can be hectic. And stay hydrated.

▪ Candid photos and videos of the celebrities are prohibited.

▪ The meet-and-greet with the celebs — for selfies and autographs — are cash-only; there are ATMs available.

▪ Arrive at the celebrity panel discussions at least 30 minutes early to get a good seat.

Adult tickets range from $60 and $65 for single-day passes to $135 for all three days. Hours are 2 to 8 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.

For tickets and additional information, visit: https://www.thats4entertainment.com/CCKS2023.