This year, under the sponsorship of The Robert E. Howard Foundation and Project Pride of Cross Plains, with assistance from the Robert E. Howard United Press Association, our “theme” is all about Howard History. 2011 marks four unique anniversaries upon which will will devote our festivities. Cross Plains, Texas is already celebrating it’s 100th anniversary as an incorporated town (you can follow this on Facebook right now), it’s the 75th year of honoring the Legacy of REH, it’s the 50th anniversary of Glenn Lord’s benchmark Howard publication, The Howard Collector, and it’s the 25th anniversary of the very first Robert E. Howard Days.
Lest we forget another very important anniversary: the first anniversary of the Scottish Invasion of Cross Plains! (I kid, I kid, ho ho ho)
Keeping that history angle in mind, we’ve chosen two Legendary REH publishers to be our Co-Guests of Honor this year: Damon Sasser and Dennis McHaney. Those of you familiar with Howard Fandom will of course recognize Damon and Dennis and we’re happy to have them at Howard Days to talk and be available to their legions of fans. Damon is the publisher of REH: Two-Gun Raconteur (“The definitive Howard Fanzine”) and runs the REH: TGR blog, and Dennis’ The Howard Review is his ultimate claim to fame (among others) in a nearly 40 year career as as a REH publisher. Dennis also runs the biggest REH message board at rehinnercircle.com.
I had the pleasure of meeting Dennis at Howard Days, though it was not without some trepidation: he'd been rather critical of The Cimmerian's post-Leo Grin run (not that the Grin regime was exempt from his criticisms), but I was so awed by the man's work for Howardom that I felt compelled to introduce myself all the same. He was a thoroughly pleasant and erudite gentleman, and I'm very glad to have talked with him. I didn't, unfortunately, spend much time talking to Damon Sasser: this will undoubtedly be rectified this year.
There’s lots more info to come here on the REHupa site, plus there’ll be info at the REH Foundation site, Damon’s TGR blog and Conan.com. We’re in the process of setting up the scheduling for Howard Days, plus there’ll be some truly fantastic events happening if everything falls into place this year. All of the familiar fan-friendly events are still happening: House & Town tours, Banquet & Silent Auction, Swap Meet, Postal Cancellation, Saturday BBQ plus a plethora of interesting panels & hopefully some special events.
Ok, if that’s not enough enticement, keep your radio dial tuned here for updates and more detailed information. In the meantime, shouldn’t you be making your plans to get to Howard Days this year? We’ll be looking for you! Y’all come!
Woohoo! I have the hotel booked, tickets bought, and working on how best to keep cool. I'm thinking a Bedouin suit - thawb, sirwal, kafiya - but combined with my beard, I'd probably give the locals a bit of the heeby-jeebies. I could always pretend I'm dressed up as Kirby O'Donnell. Or T.E. Lawrence after a few years not shaving.
DAAAAAH daaaaah... daah-duuuuh-daaah-daaah-DAAAAAH daaaaah....
The end bit made my day.
ReplyDeleteWhat Hotel are you staying at, Al? I'm thinking of coming out this year for REH Days too and need to find a place to stay. You can email me at crrut101@gmail.com if you'd rather not post the answer here and undermine the return of the Scots by giving away their position.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure it will be a barrel of laughs, but alas I doubt very much I will ever make it to a Howard Days ... the chances of getting me to voluntarily travel to some place with higher temperatures than Georgia has in June are slim to none..
ReplyDeleteWell, as a fellow resident of Georgia, Rex, I can identify. I will say that when I visited Santa Fe NM that the heat was easier to stand because of the lack of humidity. I'm hoping Texas will be the same.
ReplyDeleteThe end bit made my day.
ReplyDeleteGlad to oblige, Andy!
What Hotel are you staying at, Al?
Let's just say that the 36 West Motel in Cross Plains is filling up fast.
I'm sure it will be a barrel of laughs, but alas I doubt very much I will ever make it to a Howard Days ... the chances of getting me to voluntarily travel to some place with higher temperatures than Georgia has in June are slim to none..
Well, you'll be there in spirit, Lagomorph!
God, the heat, the heat. I hate it and I was born and raised in Texas. And June is the MILD summer month.
ReplyDeleteI swear between that and climbing Caddo Peak I thought I was gonna DIE.
Fat and sick is no way to go thru life.
But I'll do it again. It's so close with so many diverse people sharing a love for one man and his works it's well worth it. I used to delight in telling anyone who would listen that the creator of Conan was a Texan who lived just up the road a few hours.
Looking forward to seeing you, Blackstorme!
ReplyDelete