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Chicago has often been designated as one of the best convention cities in the United States because of its accessibility, services, and beauty. The Chicago Convention Bureau was founded in 1943 and has actively promoted Chicago as a tourist and convention location since. According to CVENT, Chicago has convention locations, rooms, and restaurants for a wide range of budgets to facilitate a variety of convention types and needs.

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Arthur Herbert Fonzarelli better known as ‘The Fonz’ or ‘Fonzie’ from the ABC sitcom Happy Days was portrayed by Henry Winkler. The show was wildly successful with 11 seasons produced over 10 years. Fonzie was known for his laid-back and calm demeanor as well as an avid rider of motorcycles. One episode even featured The Fonz attempting to jump a shark tank in a motorcycle daredevil stunt. This episode helped to coin the television trope “jumping the shark” to describe when a show becomes too ridiculous for the viewer to believe. 

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Time to Run, a Christian movie released in 1973, is a drama about a prodigal son that finds his way home and restores his relationship with his family and with God. It stars Ed Nelson, Randall Carver, and Barbara Sigel.

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The Incredible Hulk was a CBS television series that aired from 1978-1982, featuring the marvel character Bruce Banner and his alter-ego the Hulk, as the protagonist of the show. The show was a hit with fans, going on to produce 82 episodes over five seasons as well as three movies. The show saw a slight resurgence in 2003, years after broadcasting had ended, when Universal Studios released some episodes for purchase to promote Ang Lee’s Hulk set for release later that year. The show resonates with fans to this day, as evidenced by the current Marvel Cinematic Universe referencing the show with a cameo appearance by Hulk actor Lou Ferrigno, in Marvel’s The Incredible Hulk. Ferrigno is also credited for voicing the Hulk in both the Avengers and Avengers: Age of Ultron films. 

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Wilma Flintstone is a cartoon character from the animated series The Flintstones and wife of the main character Fred Flintstone. The show enjoyed a six year run with 166 episodes on the ABC network and became the first animated series to air during prime time. The Flintstones lengthy syndication run until the 1990s made it the most profitable network animated series for over three decades until being supplanted by The Simpsons. 

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Spaceballs is a science-fiction film that parodies the original Star Wars trilogy, Star Trek, and other famous science-fiction properties. It was released on on June 24, 1987 and created by Mel Brooks, known for the famous television show Get Smart and the popular parody movie Blazing Saddles. The film was a flop while in the box office, only drawing in about $15 million in profit, but grew to become a cult classic. “May The Schwartz Be With You” is a spoof of the iconic phrase “May the Force Be With You” from Star Wars.

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Labyrinth is a musical fantasy film directed by legendary puppeteer and filmmaker Jim Henson. It features actress Jennifer Connelly as 15-year-old Sarah, who must navigate a treacherous labyrinth in order to save her infant brother, Toby, from Jareth, the Goblin King, portrayed by the late David Bowie. Released in 1986, it was the final film directed by Jim Henson before his death in 1990 and featured hundreds of puppets created by Jim Henson's Creature Shop. Although it did poorly upon release, grossing $12.9 million against it's $25 million dollar budget, it has since gained a cult following. A comic sequel, Return to Labyrinth was published between 2006 and 2010, and in 2017 a sequel was announced, with Lisa Henson (Jim Henson's daughter) and Duncan Jones (David Bowie's son) acting as producers. 

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EPCOT (Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow) Center was opened at Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida on October 1, 1982. Although Walt Disney died well before the park's opening, it is based on his designs for a utopian city of the future and focuses on technological innovation and international culture. It is divided into Future World and World Showcase, which features eleven pavilions, each dedicated to a different foreign country. The park was renamed Epcot '94 and Epcot '95 in 1994 and 1995 respectively and today is simply referred to as Epcot. This button was released in the early to mid 1980s to celebrate the park's opening. 

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The 1985 Orion film, Desperately Seeking Susan, is a screwball comedy which features Rosanna Arquette and Madonna as two very different women -- a "bohemian drifter" and a "bored housewife" -- whose lives become entangled as a result of a series of personal ads posted in a New York newspaper. Madonna received much attention for her role as the character "Susan" and her soon-to-be legendary fashion sense and confident persona, which many young women of the 1980s attempted to emulate. Though Rosanna Arquette had the lead role as the character, "Roberta", and more screen time in the film, she won the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a "Supporting Role", further underlining the fact that all eyes were on Madonna as a rapidly-rising star. Though not officially on the film's commercially released soundtrack, the demo for Madonna's now iconic song, "Into the Groove", can be heard in a scene where Susan meets with Roberta's husband at the club, Danceteria -- which, incidentally, is the club where Madonna got her real-life start as a dancer and singer in New York's "new wave" music scene. 

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WDCS-FM was a classical music radio station that broadcasted out of Portland, Maine, from 1971-1980. The station was the result of an acquisition of the popular Top 40’s station WJBQ by Dirigo Communications Incorporation. Due to low ratings, WDCS was eventually moved to a smaller watt frequency station. The former incarnation WJBQ remains a popular hits station in Maine.