This story takes place at the most recent convention I went to at Chattanooga Comic Con 2024. For those who read the review this was the event that that I had the incredible opportunity to help with and here is the full story of the incredible pizza party that took place as a result of that collaboration. While it was called Ming’s Pizza Night it ended up being a party featuring a good number of guests from the convention.

The party begins the moment we enter the venue Goodfella’s Pizza. It took me a second to find the stairs to get to the basement but when I got there the party was well underway. While there were a good amount of attendees the venue was never crowded. Plenty of empty seats and full of people chatting and having fun. It doesn’t take long for me to find Ming and upon seeing me he immediately starts telling the story of the Trolley Pub from 2023 to the people he was with. Naturally I’m chiming in and we’re having a blast remembering such a fun moment.

After a quick recap Ming is talking about this bitter drink that he’s recommending everyone try at least once and so here he is buying multiple people a drink, including me. He bought so many the bar had to get a second bottle. So I chugged the drink and thought it wasn’t bad, till Ming said to wait for the aftertaste. Then it hit and wow was it bitter. Still good but I didn’t want to keep that aftertaste for long. After that a few more fans went to talk to Ming and I went to get another drink.

Turns out the venue had a special peach drink just for the party. Now anytime I hear exclusive it gets my attention so I’m set on trying that drink out. I tried it and it actually ended up being exactly what I needed it was sweet, delicious and quickly got rid of the bitter aftertaste.

So now I’m holding a drink and walking around finding a lot of familiar faces to talk to. Just walking around I got to mingle a bit with Steve Cardenas from Power Rangers and some of the voice actors Phil Weber and Greg Dulcie. Guests who decided to join in the party and take time out of their day to chat with fans like myself while enjoying delicious food and drinks.

I ended up running into most of the crew from the Trolley Pub and it was so much fun to see all of them again. There was immediate recognition and we had a mini reunion telling everyone around us how much fun it was and how great it was to see each other again. Honestly right here was where I realized by going to this convention year after year and doing the special events it has to offer I’m making very genuine friendships with many of my fellow attendees. I’ve done a lot of conventions, many of them I’ve done consecutive trips to year after year, but I have never formed a circle of friends specific to a convention like I am here.

Then comes the pizza and I was expecting good pizza at the size you see from most widespread pizza chains. What we got were huge pizzas where one slice takes up an entire plate. I’m getting a slice for my wife and I and it’s taking me two plates just to be able to carry them. Now I’m not picky on eating pizza but I am picky about what I call a great slice of pizza. I need it to be cheesy. The kind that has strings of cheese hanging down because gravity is pulling on them as you lift the slice up. That’s exactly what we got and it was undeniably a good pizza. I had two slices myself and I was full.

After eating some food I’m back on my feet and just walking around coming across a good number of friends sitting at a nearby table. Some of you know I’m friends with the amazing people behind Anime Enthusiasts United, an agency that the convention used to bring voice actors including the ones I mentioned earlier. This was where I got to have a conversation with Phil Weber who was in a show I reviewed awhile back. Here I am as a fan sitting down and getting this rare opportunity to talk to a voice actor that I have been a huge fan for some time.

As much as I was enjoying myself I’m also like a kid in a candy store here. I can’t really stay put for too long from the excitement so after a few minutes I back on my feet walking around. I end up hanging out with Ming and a few friends from the convention. He’s signing T-shirts and badges left and right and we end up taking a group photo. I’m chatting with random people and it hits me, I’m now talking with Scott Innes the voice of Scooby-Doo. It takes a second for me to process that I’m just casually hanging out with yet another talented individual that I’ve been a fan of for years.

Few more minutes pass and we’re close to the end of the party but I’m having too much fun to leave so I made a point to stay the whole time. Next up I end up walking over and just striking a conversation with Steve Cardenas the second Mighty Morphin Red Ranger and who recently appeared in Power Rangers Once and Always. Power Rangers was part of my childhood and I started with Mighty Morphin making this a very memorable encounter.

After the conversation I find out some friends have called an uber back to the hotel and offered my wife and I a chance to head back with them. I felt like I definitely kept my wife out a lot to an event that was primarily for me so I took them up on that to save her some walking. After all happy spouse happy house and she puts up with so many of my random adventures so naturally I need to make sure I think of her.

So this was a night that was a lot to process but for all the right reasons. I’ve gone to over 90 conventions and sure there are times I’ve made lifelong friends but they’ve always been people who travel nationwide to various events like myself. For the first time ever I’m feeling like I’m part of a circle of friends exclusively as part of the Chattanooga Comic Con experience and it adds another layer of excitement to the convention. The Pizza Party ended up being one of my favorite moments all year. How can I not appreciate the opportunity this had to offer. I got to just sit down and have extended casual conversations with celebrities. Some of them I’ve been a fan of for decades. I also can’t help but get a sense of pride knowing I had some level of input to help bring this event to life, but that’s just me feeding my ego. It goes great with the pizza. I am going to have very fond memories of this weekend and I couldn’t be more grateful.