Guests of Spa-Con IV should come prepared to do the time warp again as Barry Bostwick, star of "The Rocky Horror Picture Show," joins this year's lineup.
Bostwick, who portrayed Brad Majors opposite Susan Sarandon's Janet Weiss, will make a guest appearance at a screening of the cult classic movie on Sept. 21.
Bill Solleder, marketing director of Visit Hot Springs, said in a news release that "Rocky Horror" is an "iconic touchstone to the pop culture of the 1970s, and Barry Bostwick is still a fan favorite for his role as Brad Majors in that classic movie."
Solleder told The Sentinel-Record Bostwick will be on hand for a "Rocky Horror Picture Show" question-and-answer session at noon, a photo session with fans at 1 p.m., the VIP pass holder meet and greet at 2 p.m., and to introduce a special screening of the movie at Bank OZK Arena at 9:30 p.m.
"He came to Hot Springs about three years ago to the Doc Fest ... just asking around, I think this audience, the convention audience, and then the Doc Fest audience are a little different," Solleder said. "So I sit on the board of the Doc Fest, I asked all of them what they thought of him and they were like 'Oh my gosh, we would love to hang out with him again.' He apparently is a very gracious guest. And that probably is a lot of why he agreed to come back -- because he had such a great time at Doc Fest."
Spa-Con IV will take place Sept. 20-22 at the Hot Springs Convention Center. Early bird tickets are available at http://www.spa-con.org. Weekend passes good for the entire convention are $25; day passes are $20, and VIP passes are $100. Ticket prices will increase Sept. 1.
The multi-genre comics and pop culture convention annually attracts more than 5,000 fans to Hot Springs.
According to a biography provided by Visit Hot Springs, after winning Golden Globe, Tony and Peabody awards for a long and multifaceted career, Bostwick continues to work in all genres, with recently released films including "The Incredibles 2," "Grand Daddy Day Care," "Bigger Fatter Liar," "A Mermaids Tale" and "Three Days in August."
He also has starred in recent TV offerings on "Will and Grace," "Girlfriends Guide to Divorce," "Still The King," "Signed Sealed and Delivered" for Hallmark and "Great Performances" on PBS, it said.
Probably best known for playing Brad Majors in "The Rocky Horror Picture Show," and Mayor Randall Winston in the long-running sitcom "Spin City," he also created the role of Danny Zuko in the original Broadway production of "Grease," the release said.
Solleder said just two months out from the convention, there will probably be one more big guest announcement for fans to keep an eye out for.
"Most of the website is all there, but there's still some schedule stuff that we're holding back that will start leaking out after (today)," he said Thursday. "We've been actively announcing via social (media) guests almost every other day. Now we're into the events and activities that, I think, really define Spa-Con. It's more for people to do when they're visiting besides just getting autographs that has really set Spa-Con apart from the rest of the conventions.
"Spa-Con is also a great time for the convention center staff to show off what we have -- audio, video, lights, projection, that sort of thing."
According to the release, robotic rock 'n' roll band Cybertronic Spree will kick off Spa-Con IV with a free concert on Sept. 20. Solleder said the convention has inadvertently taken on a robotic theme again featuring a return engagement by Bumblebee, which according to the release is the "spectacular 12-foot tall cosplay character who helped Spa-Con reap an award from the Arkansas Festival and Events Association."
In addition, for "Stranger Things" fans still reeling from the Netflix series' third season, a special raffle giveaway will be taking place during the closing ceremonies Sept. 22.
"The 'Stranger Things' bike which Max rides in season three ... We just got it in and we're working on a little time-lapse video of Jake (Meredith) from Northwoods assembling it," he said of the replica bike. "We're going to raffle it off so everybody that buys a pass to the convention will be automatically entered into it and you can buy additional raffle tickets during the convention and we will raffle it off during our closing ceremony Spacademy Awards."
In the release, Solleder said Spa-Con is a celebration of pop culture and comics that "brings together a diverse audience that loves everything from Batman to 'Stranger Things,' Pac-Man to Mario Smash Bros, Dungeons and Dragons to Pokemon and everything in between."
Solleder said Spa-Con provides "possibly the best people-watching fun in the state. It has hosted celebrities from 'Star Trek,' 'Twin Peaks,' 'Battlestar Galactica,' and 'Stranger Things,' not to mention, NASA scientists and 12-foot-tall robots."
Local on 07/21/2019