Florida Hotel and Conference Center – Analog Artist Digital World

The Sunburst Celebrity Impersonator Showcase is always a great sketch opportunity for me. As I entered the Florida Hotel and Conference Center (1500 Sand Lake Road, Orlando, 32809) I saw Colonel Sanders in the lobby with an ice cream cone. Jack Sparrow was wearing a Captain America costume. He must have been a celebrity impersonator impersonating another celebrity. Marylin Monroe was putting out buttons on her marketing table. The Queen posed with James Bond, as Donald Trump was adjusting his suit’s shoulder pads for the best effect. He has our lunatic POTUS’s mannerisms down pat. Across the room Breaking Bad‘s Heisenberg was talking to Grateful Dead’s Jerry Garcia. Sheriff Rosco from Dukes of Hazard took some interest in the fact that a sketch artist was in the room. For me, this is an annual ritual to sketch the stars in their element.

Celebrity impersonators of legendary actors, singers, comedians, politicians, and sports figures perform, delight, and entertain the masses. Guests can also get their picture taken with their favorite “celebrity” during intermission and following the showcases.

Each year, over 100 of the world’s best professional celebrity impersonators, lookalikes, and tribute artists fly, drive, and cruise into Orlando for the Sunburst Convention to gather, mingle, network, educate themselves, and have an unforgettable time. They are joined by numerous talent buyers, talent agents, producers, and meeting planners from all over the country who are invited to watch the imitators perform live and make a lasting impression.

Sunburst features performance showcases, themed parties, an awards banquet, promotional room, and tons of photo opportunities. The general public is also invited to attend and rub elbows with the “Just About Famous” stars, and with special public access again this year, now even more spectators can enjoy the unique, fun and one-of-a-kind entertainment Sunburst has to offer.

Join the 17th Annual Sunburst Convention and Showcase of Celebrity Impersonators on Saturday, August 31. For more information and to purchase public showcase tickets online, visit www.SunburstShowcase.com.

Tickets range from $15 to $25.

I went to the Welcome Party at the Sunburst Convention For Professional Celebrity Impersonators, Tribute Artists and Look Alikes at the Florida Hotel and Conference Center (1500 Sand Lake Rd, Orlando, FL). The hotel was right in the Florida Mall so it took me some time to locate the place. I asked the concierge where I could find the Celebrity Convention and he said, “All the celebrities are down the hall to the right. There was a large empty room and I was about to look around some more to search other rooms. Paula Dean walked in and asked where everyone was. Just then we both heard laughter from behind a door. Inside people were watching a documentary titled “Just About Famous” about celebrity look alikes. “When fans cannot get close to the real thing, these professionals step
in to fill the void. As the old adage goes, ‘imitation is the sincerest
form of flattery.’ From a celebrity impersonator convention to their
lives across the country, JUST ABOUT FAMOUS chronicles the few who have
had the fortune, or curse, of looking like the most recognizable people
on the planet.”

This wasn’t a great sketch opportunity, but I began to realize that I as surrounded by celebrity look alikes. Right next to me was Gene Simmons, a band member from Kiss. What do you do when you discover you are sitting next to Gene Simmons? You sketch him of course. Also in the room was Johnny Depp, Barack Obama, and George Bush. Only a few were in full costume, but it was fun trying to figure out which celebrities I might be sketching. The film turned out to be much longer than expected so I had plenty of time to sketch. I was pleased to see that a local pink haired actress who I only know as Barbie Rhinestone, had a prominent role in the film which is now on Netflix. It turns out she can become Marilyn Monroe and Katy Perry. She probably had the funniest moment in the film when she demonstrated a voice warm up exercise in which she screeched and flexed her fingers like cat talons. She made a cupcake bra for her Katie Perry persona that is hilarious. In the film she pointed out that she sort of hoped people would be impersonating her, but this was the next best thing.

Celebrity impersonators discussed how people react when they think they are in the presence of a celebrity. For some reason people feel the need to reach out and touch. One celebrity Look alike at the conference had a stalker. The guy drove four hours to cause trouble. Greg, one of the organizers of the event asked the trouble maker to step outside and the guy was escorted out of the hotel for trespassing. This is a community of people who look after each other. It also became clear from the documentary that this was a fun group of people to be around. The convention runs through Sunday September 27th.