Toy Con Toy Show celebrates 30 years
By Kelly White
Celebrating 30 years of toy shows this weekend was the Toy Con Toy Show.
The event, also known as Kaiju Days Special, was hosted by Terry Mannix and ChicagoLand Joes (’82 – ’94) at the Bridgeview Community Center, 7902 S. Oketo Ave., Bridgeview, on Sunday, May 15.
“I have been collecting for more than 20 years,” Jose Arrieta, of Lincolnwood and a private seller at the show, said. “It’s time to finally say goodbye.”
Costumes were encouraged as attendees browsed hundreds of collectibles at 60 dealer tables that featured action figures, superhero toys and dolls, non-sports cards, comics, TV and sci-fi toys, Japanese toys, and more, while also taking part in raffles and obtaining plenty of free gear.
Included in the fun this year was the annual Star Wars Celebration, offering games, prizes, giveaways and more.
“We are not like every other Toy Show, because we try to give back to our customers by having events such as our Star Wars celebration that we give so much stuff away to the kids and adults,” Terry Mannix, Toy Con Toy Show representative, said.
Toy Con is held annually in Bridgeview, however, the organization holds nine shows throughout the calendar year, with one being a large charity event in December that benefits pediatric cancer patients through the Pediatric Oncology Treasure Chest Foundation based out of Orland Park.
Aiming to provide financial relief towards pediatric cancer patients through the Pediatric Oncology Treasure Chest Foundation is something Toy Con Toy Show representatives are proud to be a part of for the past 25 years, Mannix said.
In July, Toy Con will also be having an anniversary event and show holders will be giving away over $1,000 worth of free stuff to people to celebrate its 30th anniversary.
An avid collector, Mannix said both the shows and the collectables hold a special place in his heart, particularly “Star Wars” memorabilia.
“I love everything about ‘Star Wars’ and I collect stuff from the ‘Empire Strikes Back’ movie,” Mannix said.
Mannix was not the only one to reflect on the past at the event and his love of collecting. Private collectable seller of Pure Piff Vintage, Chucky Morango, also reflected on his time throughout the years.
“I remember coming out to this show as a kid in the 1990s,” Morango, of Lemont, said. “I remember walking around here and shopping. It really brings back so many memories, just being here today.”
Morango, who has collected on and off since his early childhood, has been a part of the show for the past six years now.
“I look forward to it every year,” he said.
Attendees were just as impressed.
“I had so many of these toys as a kid, myself,” Roger Schweikert, of Palos Heights, said. “It’s incredible seeing all of them again, and most of them in mint condition. It’s like a walk down memory lane.”
The cost to attend was $5 per person, with children 10 and under free. Money raised from the event went directly to benefit the Pediatric Oncology Treasure Chest Foundation.
Local News
Obituaries for Jan. 6, 2022
Spread the loveMacARTHUR ANTIGUA MacArthur Antigua, 79, of Palos Hills, passed away on December 25. He was the beloved husband of Flordevilla Galinato Antigua, loving father of MacArthur Antigua, and Lora Lee Banzali; Cherished grandfather of Meera Antigua, Leela Antigua, Livy Banzali, Faryn Banzali, Zayla Banzali; devoted son of the late Marcial, Sr. and Paciencia…
Stepson charged in Evergreen Park murder
Spread the loveBy Bob Bong A 24-year-old Chicago man has been charged with first-degree murder in the New Year’s Eve shooting of his stepfather in Evergreen Park. Brandon K. Kizer, 24, of the 8100 block of South Loomis in Chicago, was charged Sunday with first-degree murder in the death of Anthony Young, 52, on the…
Richard A. Dolejs, owner of Dolejs Realty and Property Management dies
Spread the loveRichard A. “Dick” Dolejs, 81, of Burr Ridge, passed away suddenly on December 17. Mr. Dolejs was a well-known Realtor-property manager. He was born January 10, 1929 in Chicago to Andrew M. Dolejs and Marie Jungvirt. He attended Farragut High School, Millikin University, Northwestern and John Marshall Law School. He served in the…
Honored for service to business
Spread the loveFabis earns UBAM award By Dermot Connolly The United Business Association of Midway recently honored founding member Mary Fabis with a Lifetime Membership Award for Outstanding Service for her 35 years of work with the business organization she continues to serve as a board member. Fabis, now 92, has owned and operated Archer…
Fire and ice
Spread the love December was unseasonably dry and warm, but it was cold enough late in the month to form icicles on a Bedford Park Fire Department truck– even after it returned from a blaze that gutted a warehouse in the 6500 block of South Lavergne, just steps south of Clearing. The weather forecast for…
‘They made us look like fools’
Spread the loveParents furious over one-two stumble by CPS By Tim Hadac As Chicago Public Schools were set to re-open earlier this week, parents of CPS students were still fuming over what most seemed to see as a two-part stumble by district administrators. “We did exactly what they asked of us, and they made us…
Toasting 2022 with champagne and herring
Spread the loveBy Joan Hadac Your correspondent in Clearing and Garfield Ridge (708) 496-0265 • joan.hadac@gmail.com Hello everyone. So, the holidays are over. How did you celebrate? I love Christmas because I get to see family, some of whom I haven’t laid eyes on since Christmas 2019. New Year’s is a much quieter celebration. I have…
Girls Basketball: Sandburg falls to LW Central in champ game of Holiday Tournament
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Correspondent Two years ago, a group of promising freshmen were bumped up to the varsity at Sandburg, joining an already stellar sophomore in Erin O’Connell. The team went through some growing pains in 2019-20 but flirted with 20 wins, finishing 19-12. Then there were some pains of playing an abbreviated…
Neighbors
After 9 months, state data begins to detail new pretrial detention system
By JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois jnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com Nine months after cash bail ended in Illinois, the state is taking its first steps in publishing the data that crafters of the bail reform law saw as essential to judging its effectiveness. The data shows that judges in the 75 counties served by the Illinois Supreme Court’s…
ILLINOIS LAWMAKERS: Pritzker keeps economic development at forefront in exclusive interview
By JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois jnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com With fiscal year 2025 slated to begin Monday, Gov. JB Pritzker continues to tout available state tax incentives and promote Illinois as a site for business development. On the season finale of “Illinois Lawmakers” this week, Pritzker pointed to a pair of developments in East Alton and Normal…
Pritzker calls SCOTUS emergency abortion ruling ‘small respite’ as state protections await his signature
By ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois aadams@capitolnewsillinois.com Abortion remains legal as an emergency medical procedure in Idaho, for now, after a Thursday U.S. Supreme Court ruling, while a bill that would cement those protections in Illinois law awaits Gov. JB Pritzker’s signature. The 6-3 decision saw the three liberal justices concur with the order. Three…
‘We don’t really know what we’re voting on,’ top Dem says of Pritzker’s prison plan
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com LINCOLN – On the eve of a scheduled vote to advise Gov. JB Pritzker’s administration on plans to close and rebuild a pair of dilapidated state prisons, hundreds filed into a junior high school gymnasium Thursday evening clad in matching green T-shirts. Printed on the shirts was a…
SCOTUS ruling could upend federal corruption cases for Madigan, allies
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday narrowed the scope of a federal bribery law prosecutors have relied on in their cases against former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan and several of his allies convicted of bribing him. A jury last spring found those allies – former lobbyists and…
Quantum technology companies set for big tax incentives under new law
By ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois aadams@capitolnewsillinois.com CHICAGO – Gov. JB Pritzker on Wednesday gave final approval to a plan to bolster the state’s tech industry, including an incentives package – backed by $500 million in the state budget – aimed at making Illinois the nation’s leader in quantum computing. The package also expands tax…
Illinois child tax credit: who gets it, how much is it?
By ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois aadams@capitolnewsillinois.com In the final hours of their spring legislative session, Illinois lawmakers approved a tax credit of up to about $300 for families with young children. The credit is available to Illinoisans with children under age 12 who qualify for the federal Earned Income Tax Credit, or EITC. Although…
Illinois’ ban on ‘bump stocks’ remains in place despite U.S. Supreme Court decision
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – An Illinois law banning the sale and use of “bump stocks” and other devices that increase the firing power of semiautomatic weapons remains in place, at least for now, despite a U.S. Supreme Court decision Friday striking down a federal ban on such items. “Illinois law…
Another Choate Mental Health Center employee indicted for abuse of resident
By BETH HUNDSDORFER Capitol News Illinois bhundsdorfer@capitolnewsillinois.com Another caregiver at Choate Mental Health and Developmental Center in Anna is facing charges for abusing a patient. A grand jury indicted Joseph A. Clark, 24, of Grand Chain, on a felony charge of aggravated battery and a misdemeanor charge of battery. Clark pinned a Choate resident to…
State highway shootings decline as critics sue over ‘dragnet surveillance’
By JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois jnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com Illinois State Police say an automated license plate reader program has helped the agency identify witnesses or suspects in 82 percent of highway shooting cases this year, including all eight that resulted in a death. But as the state looks to further expand its network of more than…