ELKHART — The planners of the first Hall of Heroes Comic Con knew they could draw a weekend crowd of 3,000. They were overjoyed when that number had been doubled by Saturday afternoon.

“It had gone beyond all of our expectations,” Elkhart Mayor Tim Neese said as the show restarted Sunday morning at the Lerner Theater. “We had approximately 6,400 come through here, which is the largest attendance since the Lerner has been in existence.

“There was one point where we had to close it down for about 20 minutes because there were too many people because it created a fire concern. Then it was opened up.”

The show was continuing Sunday.

It took a committee of many to plan the event during the last nine months, according to Neese, and the committee expected the show to draw about 3,000 people.

Neese and Allen Stewart, owner of the Hall of Heroes museum and show sponsor, both said they are already thinking about seeking a larger venue for next year’s comic con.

“It is crazy, it is like a wild roller coaster ride,” Stewart said while backstage at the show Sunday morning. “We had very positive expectations, but we exceeded far beyond even what we thought we would. … We doubled our weekend attendance the first day.”

Stewart said his next tasks are to begin planning for next year’s show and also seek $200,000 for relocating the museum, perhaps to the Northpointe area at the Indiana Toll Road exchange so it can draw more tourists.

Source: Goshen News