You won’t have to wait too much longer to see Eleven and her friends back in Hawkins, Indiana.
No, the release date of the highly anticipated final season of “Stranger Things” has not been announced. But fans soon will be able to meet the cast in one of the cities where the show is filmed.
Yes, of course, it’s true. Friends don’t lie!
The Upside Down -- a fan convention dedicated to the hit Netflix series -- will be held on Oct. 19 and 20 in Jackson, Georgia. The area is best known to viewers as the filming location of downtown Hawkins.
“They are turning the town into Hawkins for the convention weekend,” said Alexis Arnold, co-owner of Epic Cons, which organized the event. “So, kind of everything that you see on the show, it’s going to be decorated that way, which will be really neat.”
There will also be many familiar faces in the neighborhood, and perhaps even some demogorgons.
Headlining the convention will be Millie Bobby Brown (Eleven), who will be in attendance on Saturday and Sunday to sign autographs, take photo ops and conduct panels. She’ll be joined by most of her on-screen besties, including Noah Schnapp (Will), Caleb McLaughlin (Lucas), Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin), Natalia Dyer (Nancy), Joe Keery (Steve), Charlie Heaton (Jonathan) and Maya Hawke (Robin).
And also by her greatest enemy: Vecna himself, Jamie Campbell Bower.
Other cast members attending include Matthew Modine (Dr. Brenner/Papa), Dacre Montgomery (Billy), Gabriella Pizzolo (Suzie), Cara Buono (Mrs. Wheeler) and more, with additional announcements still to come.
“They are an ensemble cast, they’re very well known, very talented and are doing many other projects other than ‘Stranger Things,’” said Imani Craig, Epic Con’s director of media. “So, for them to take the time for a whole weekend to come and join us is really going to be great.”
Tickets can be purchased at epiccons.com, with daily admission costing $165.75.
In addition to autographs and photo ops, fans have the option to purchase themed meet-and-greets. A group of 15 to 20 fans can spend up to an hour with a cast member, with some of the sessions conducted at a filming location or setting from the show.
“Our events are more boutique, so they are a lot smaller than the bigger conventions that you see,” Arnold said. “And it’s also on location. There’s no other event that you can go to that offers the experience that we provide with meeting cast members at your favorite filming locations.”
These convention experiences became a reality after Arnold, fellow Epic Cons co-owner Anna Owen, Craig and six additional women from various parts of the country first met in 2019 while attending a convention in North Carolina. Their group began to form as they bonded over their shared fandom for the CW series “The Vampire Diaries.” They began discussing the possibility of having a convention for the show in Covington, Georgia where it was filmed.
The group went on to launch Epic Cons and held their first convention in 2022, reuniting members of “The Vampire Diaries” on location.
“We are fan girls at heart,” Craig said. ‘We decided to start doing this because we wanted to be able to do conventions for some of our favorite shows that weren’t really out there yet.”
Added Arnold: “We instantly clicked once we all got together, and we all work so well together. We’re a tight-knit crew.”
That crew is now giving fans the opportunity to meet -- not only the cast of “Stranger Things” -- but people from around the country who traveled to “Hawkins” for the same reason. There they will enter the Upside Down, step into another dimension filled with likeminded individuals and build friendships of their own -- perhaps forming a bond like the one shared by the Epic Con founders.
And by Eleven, Will, Mike, Lucas, Dustin and Max.
“My piece of advice that I always give to people is make sure when you’re standing in line that you say hi to those around you,” Craig said. “Strike up a conversation with them because, you never know, you might be meeting your new best friend.”
