Batman, Incredible Hulk, Darth Vader at Niagara Falls Comic Con; Wet and wild in Niagara; Fleetwood Country Cruize-In

   One-Tank Trip for June 1/13

   (c) By Jim Fox

   Niagara Falls will be the venue for some time-honoured cliches next weekend.

   To name a few: “To the Batmobile; Don't make me angry; The force is with you; I'm not just pussyfooting around this time, Batman; and No soup for you.”

Adam West, TV’s Batman, will be at Niagara Falls Comic Con with a replica of the Batmobile.

   In town for the Niagara Falls Comic Con, June 8 and 9 – in order of their famous sayings – will be Adam West, TV’s classic Batman; Lou Ferrigno, the Incredible Hulk; Darth Vader from Star Wars; Lee Meriwether, Catwoman from the Batman TV series; and Larry Thomas, Seinfeld’s Soup Nazi.

   Chris Dabrowski, show manager for Niagara Falls Comic Con, said this is a two-day “celebration of pop culture, nostalgia, celebrities, comics and more.”

Crowds get their kicks at the Comic Con in Niagara Falls last year. (Photo by Janek Dabrowski)

   Saying there is “no other event like this show in Niagara Falls,” it takes place at the Scotiabank Convention Centre (6815 Stanley Ave.) near the Falls.

   Also on the guest list are Corey Feldman of The Goonies, Gremlins, The Lost Boys and Stand by Me; David Prowse, Jeremy Bulloch and Bob Fett, of Star Wars; Tim Russ, Commander Tuvok in Star Trek: Voyager; Kane Hodder and Jason Voorhees in Friday the 13th; and Sam J. Jones, Flash Gordon.

   Joey Jeremiah and Pat Mastroianni will be there from Degrassi High along with WWE wrestlers Mick Foley and Ted DiBiase, the “Million Dollar Man”; Kaya Jones of The Pussycat Dolls; special effects horror legend Tom Savini; and Madison Lintz from The Walking Dead.

Darth Vader from Star Wars

   “Fans will also have a chance to get their picture taken inside the original screen-used Batcopter from the original Batman film as well as a replica of the original 1966 classic Batmobile,” Dabrowski said.

   Comic Con will feature more than 9,290 square metres (100,000 square feet) of exhibitors and include movie screenings, workshops, seminars, a video gaming arena, the first-ever Falls Horror Fest presented by Fangoria, celebrities, movie cars and helicopters.

   Hours are June 8, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., and June 9, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $20 each day or $30 for a weekend pass, with children to age 10 no charge. NFComicCon.com

   Wet and wild

   Down Niagara way, they’re riding the white-water waves again for the 21st year on the Whirlpool Jet Boat Tours.

   Tour president John Kinney said the jet boats give “tens of thousands of visitors an experience they can’t get anywhere else in the world.”

   The boats take passengers for thrilling rides from the mouth of the Niagara River in Niagara-on-the-Lake, through the Class 5 Devil’s Hole Rapids to just below the incredibly powerful Niagara Whirlpool.

Whirlpool Jet Boat Tours offer wet-and-wild, white-water trips on the Niagara River.

   The fleet of eight 54-passenger boats has taken more than 1.5-million visitors for unforgettable rides through the turbulent waters over those years.

   You can go wet and wild or stay dry.

   Guests in open-topped jet boats are guaranteed to return to the dock soaking wet, doused with water while their boat pilot powers them through the rapids at high speed and spins them through the chop in a 360-degree turn.

   Passengers in the covered Jet Dome get the same thrill ride, minus the splash, and return as dry as they were at the outset.

   Trips embark from three locations: Niagara-on-the-Lake, Niagara Falls, Ont. (shuttle bus from Spanish Aero Car check-in to Queenston dock) and Lewiston, N.Y. whirlpooljet.com; 1-888-438-4444

   Cruising crazy

   Dig those crazy wheels – some 3,000 plus vintage cars, rods and customs, and specialty vehicles will be on display at the London-area Fleetwood Country Cruize-In.

   It takes place from June 7 to 9 on Steve Plunkett’s estate (9282 Elviage Drive) that includes a 31-car showroom full of memorabilia and a huge Cadillac Salon reminiscent of the grand showrooms of the 1930s.

Vintage cars such as this 1931 Cadillac Fleetwood Sport Phaeton will be on display at the Fleetwood Country Cruize-In. (Jim Fox photo)

   Over the weekend, some 25,000 people, some of them the rich and famous, will visit the estate for the country’s largest outdoor car show and attend the evening entertainment.

   Performing the night of June 7 are Paul Revere’s Raiders, Mary Wilson of the Supremes, the Association and Mitch Ryder, with tickets costing $59.

   The car shows are from 7 a.m. on June 8 and 9, costing $10 a person, while the June 8 dinner and dance, from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m., features a Bobby Vinton concert ($89 a person).

   Calling it a “Concours d’Elegance-calibre event,” Plunkett said after this eighth show about $1 million will have been raised for area charities. fleetwoodcountrycruizein.com; (519) 657-9040

-30-

Jim Fox can be reached at onetanktrips@hotmail.com

For more One-Tank Trips: http://1tanktrips.blogspot.ca