THE FIRST GOLLIWOG CONVENTION

GollyFest I
We are proud to announce that next year the Golliwog will be honored with his very first convention, which will be held at the Hilton Hotel in Toledo, Ohio, on Thursday, July 10th, 1997, the day before The Toy Store's 'Festival of Steiff XII'.

How this came about......
I guess its not surprising that I found many members of the I.G.C.C. present at the Festival of Steiff in Toledo last July, as Beth Savino had once again persuaded Steiff to make a Golly for the Festival. This time the Golly was a girl, a first for Steiff, so she is sure to become a much sought after collectible.

With so many Golly enthusiasts under one roof, it seemed inevitable that we would eventually start talking about the possibility of holding our own Golly Convention. Thus, a group of I.G.C.C. members have now formed a 'Golly Convention Committee', and we are very exited about holding our own one-day Convention next year. The I.G.C.C. and The Toy Store will be sponsoring the event.

GollyFest I will be a one day affair, with scheduled events to include a luncheon, 'Golly social hour', guest speakers, a 'Golly Swap R Sale', a Golly Auction (or Raffle) and Afternoon Tea.

A special 'Event Golly', called 'Yankee Jack', made by English artist, Gill Cousins, will be available for conventioneers to purchase. For future GollyFest events, Bill Boyd suggested that we run a competition. So we are inviting Golly Artists, to submit a prototype Golly for judging at the first GollyFest next July. Conventioneers will each vote for their favorite Golly, and the 1998 GollyFest II event Golliwog will be chosen by the winning vote. If you are interested in creating a Golliwog for this event please contact Terri Kovac at 216-338-8066 or FAX 216-338-3490 after 6 p.m.

More details about GollyFest I, and a registration form will be available with the next I.G.C.C. Newsletter next February.