Media Release -- CLEVELAND (June 30, 2009)—Next weekend Cleveland welcomes the Superman-themed Screaming Tiki Cleveland Super-Con event, taking place here July 10-12, held in conjunction with the fifth annual Ingenuity Festival Cleveland. This is the first major comic book show in Cleveland since 1991.
Well-known actors, writers and artists will headline the convention, and a special event will honor the memory of Superman's creators, Cleveland natives Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, the two Glenville teenagers who created Superman in the mid 1930s.
Ribbon-cutting ceremony at Jerry Siegel's restored childhood home
On the morning of July 11, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster's family members will host a public ribbon-cutting ceremony at the house at 16022 Kimberly Ave. in Glenville where Siegel grew up. Free parking will be available.
The privately owned home has just completed a yearlong restoration project with funds raised through an international comic book art auction planned by the Siegel and Shuster Society and best-selling author Brad Meltzer (Book of Lies, www.ordinarypeoplechange theworld.com). It was at this spot where the teenage Siegel and Shuster first developed the Superman character.
Kimberly Ave. will receive a commemorative street sign designating it as "Jerry Siegel Lane" and nearby Amor Avenue, where Joe Shuster grew up, will be named "Joe Shuster Lane." The adjoining Parkwood Ave. will be termed "Lois Lane" in honor of Siegel's wife Joanne, the original model for the intrepid girl reporter.
New public art fences also will be unveiled at the Siegel home as well as at the site of Joe Shuster's former apartment building at the corner of Amor and Parkwood. These fences have been designed and built by local artists.
Convention highlights
Actors Michael Rosenbaum, Sam Witwer and Helen Slater, who play Lex Luthor, Doomsday and Lara, respectively, on the CW television series "Smallville," will headline the three-day convention. Slater also played Supergirl in the 1984 film.
Additional comic book and fantasy actors who will appear include:
* Edward James Olmos: Admiral William Adama on television's "Battlestar Galactica"
* Ray Park: Darth Maul in "Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace" and Snake Eyes in the upcoming "G.I. Joe"
Noted comic book writers and artists at the convention include Gary Friedrich, Craig Rousseau, Todd DeZago, Mike San Giacomo and Mike Gustovich, who will sign autographs and do sketches.
The show floor features comic book, gaming and memorabilia dealers. A $20 daily ticket or a $30 weekend pass allows admission to both the Screaming Tiki Cleveland Super-Con and Ingenuity Festival.
A full convention schedule follows this press release. For updates to the schedule of events and speakers, visit www.screamingtikicon.com.
Superman Trolley Tour
Lolly the Trolley will become a rocket from Krypton, ferrying guests on a tour of historical Superman sites on Saturday from 1:30 - 5:00 and Sunday from 10:00 - 4:00 p.m.. Led by local historian Nate Arnold, these hour-and-a-half long tours will originate from the Tiki-Con and cost $10. Tickets may be purchased at the convention at the Siegel and Shuster Society booth. Tours begin outside the Halle Building on Euclid Avenue.
Historic Panel and Film
Last Son, a documentary film about Superman's origins by Brad Ricca, will show at 3 p.m. in the historic Hanna Theater. Following the film, members of the Siegel and Shuster families, including Jerry Siegel's widow, Joanne Siegel, and their daughter, Laura Siegel Larson, will talk to visitors about their memories of Jerry, Joe and Superman. This will be an open-question format narrated by Cleveland media personalities Mike Olszewski and Mike San Giacomo.
Schedule Highlights
* For an updated convention schedule, visit www.screamingtikicon.com
FRIDAY, JULY 10
4pm - Screaming Tiki Convention Floor Opens
5pm Wolfpack Entertainment's Tribute to Jerry & Joe Video
6pm - Super-Toons! (A Look at Superman In Animation and his Impersonators)
7pm - DC Comics Panel (Mike Gustovich / Craig Rousseau / Eddy Newell)
8pm - Screaming Tiki Convention Floor Closes
8pm - Joe Shuster/ Superman Birthday Cake Cutting TBA
9pm - Tiki Fan Appreciation Gathering TBA
SATURDAY, JULY 11
10am - Screaming Tiki Convention Floor Opens
10am - Ribbon Cutting Ceremony at Siegel House
12pm - Superman the Original Movies Trivia Contest (With Hosts Jim Bowers and John Field)
12pm - Lolly the Trolley Super Tours Begin
1:30pm - Edward James Olmos panel
3pm - Last Son Movie Screening (Hanna Theater)
4pm - Siegel Shuster Family Panel (Hanna Theater)
5pm - From the Perhapanauts and Beyond (Todd Dezago / Craig Rousseau)
6pm - Star Wars Panel (Ray Park and Daniel Logan)
7pm - Screaming Tiki Convention Floor Closes
SUNDAY, JULY 12
10am - Screaming Tiki Convention Floor Opens
10am - Movie Premiere of Heroic Ambition
11am - Star Wars Kids Lunch (Lower level of Halle Building)
12pm - Name That Movie! (John Field Video Trivia Contest)
1pm - Smallville Panel (Michael Rosenbaum, Sam Witwer and Helen Slater)
2pm - 70 years of Marvel (Gary Friedrich / Mike Gustovich)
3pm - From Sci-Fi to Super Heroes (Steve Stanley / Mark McHaley)
4pm - Superman - The All American Hero Video (1941-78)
5pm - Screaming Tiki Convention Floor Closes
About the Siegel & Shuster Society
The Siegel & Shuster Society is a non-profit organization dedicated to commemorating and celebrating the creation of Superman in Cleveland, Ohio by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The Society will, in a manner consistent with the rights of DC Comics, create events and activities which celebrate Cleveland as the "Birthplace of Superman" and the importance of that to our community today and in the future. The Society will also work with other organizations that are celebrating Superman in a manner consistent with the goals of the Society. For more information visit www.supermanland.com or Facebook: siegel shuster society.
About Ingenuity Festival Cleveland
The Ingenuity Festival returns with a weekend-long celebration of art and technology, designed for audiences of any age and experience, staged in the center of Downtown Cleveland. Prominent international masters present original works alongside the finest of Northeast Ohio's performing and visual artists. High technology firms and major colleges and universities are presented alongside acclaimed artists to create a dazzling display of exciting and immersive new work! Ingenuity pushes boundaries, creating a unique festival experience that draws and celebrates diversity, and involves the audience as both spectator and participant! For more information visit www.ingenuitycleveland.com
Complete Event Contact List
Siegel & Shuster Society
Richard Pace, Chairperson, Cumberland Development
rpace@cumberland-development.com
Jeanne McMaster, Cumberland Development
jmcmaster@cumberland-development.com, 216-407-7580
Screaming Tiki Cleveland Comic-Con
Peter Smith: screamingtikistudios@gmail.com
Jamie Reigle: sales@supercollectibles.com, 440-263-7290
www.screamingtikicon.com
Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony
Tracey Kirksey, Glenville Development Corp.
TKirksey@glenvilledev.org, 216-851-8724 x15
Fences
Steve Presser, Owner, Big Fun Toys
bigfunstoys@yahoo.com, 216-371-4386
Ingenuity Festival Cleveland
Brooke Willis, Director of PR and Media
brookewillis@earthlink.net
www.ingenuitycleveland.com
Last Son
Brad Ricca, Writer/Director
brad.ricca@case.edu, 440-503-8267
www.lastson.com
Lolly the Trolley Tours
Leigh Goldie, Educator
ellbee22@aol.com, 440-248-6158
Siegel and Shuster Family Panel
Mike Olszewski, Radio Personality, Writer
jannmike@roadrunner.com, 330-562-5539
Siegel and Shuster Society logo design by Chip Kidd
