Hallmarkies just got an early Christmas present! On May 3, 2024, the creators of Christmas Con — a three-day event for die-hard holiday movie fans — announced the names of 13 past and present Hallmark stars who plan to attend the 5th annual convention from December 13 to 15.
Lacey Chabert, often dubbed Hallmark’s “Queen of Christmas,” was named the official headliner of the event. Chabert’s just-announced holiday film with Kristoffer Polaha will mark her 15th Christmas movie on Hallmark Channel, per People.
News of the initial lineup prompted a rush on tickets, forcing event organizers to issue a “low ticket alert” for the event within hours of their announcement.
Christmas Con 2024 Reveals 13 Past & Present Hallmark Stars Who’ve Signed On to Attend
Heavy/Thats4EntertainmentFirst wave of celebrity announcements for Christmas Con 2024
Before the first wave of participating stars had been unveiled, tickets were already on sale for Christmas Con 2024, which will take place at the New Jersey Convention Center in Edison, New Jersey.
But fans made a mad dash for remaining spots after the announcement that Chabert will serve as the convention’s “official headliner” and that celebrities scheduled to appear include the stars of Hallmark’s “Three Wise Men and a Baby” and its upcoming sequel — Tyler Hynes, Andrew Walker, and Paul Campbell.
Within two hours of the announcement, organizers at Thats4Entertainment said VIP tickets had sold out and they issued a “low ticket alert” for weekend passes, with only 60 remaining by evening. Once those are sold out, they said, only single day tickets will remain.
In addition to Chabert, Hynes, Walker and Campbell, the first wave of celebrity attendees that Christmas Con announced also include:
Kimberley Sustad, fan-favorite actress and co-writer of the “Three Wise Men” movies with Campbell
Melissa Claire Egan of “The Young and the Restless,” who also starred in the 2019 Hallmark movie “Holiday for Heroes”
Jen Lilley, a Hallmark alum who signed a two-year contract with Great American Family in 2022
Rachel Skarsten, whose most recent Hallmark movie was 2023’s “Christmas Island” co-starring Walker
Michael Rady, who has starred in multiple Hallmark holiday films including 2023’s “Where Are You Christmas?”
David Haydn-Jones, whose Christmas movies have included starring opposite Nikki DeLoach in Hallmark’s “Five More Minutes”
Jessy Schram, whose many Hallmark Christmas movies include 2023’s “Mystic Christmas”
Stephen Huszar, who has also starred in lots of Hallmark holiday films, including 2023’s “Navigating Christmas”
Travis Van Winkle, who has appeared in multiple holiday flicks including 2021’s “‘Tis the Season to Be Merry” and 2017’s “Christmas Getaway”
Organizers plan to announce additional celebrity participants soon. Typically, events at Christmas Con include activities like a Christmas tree lighting and movie screening, photo ops with fan-favorites, panel discussions and silly games played onstage by the stars.
Christmas Con Has Become an Important Opportunity for Stars to Bond With Each Other & Their Fans
Christmas Con began in 2019 in New Jersey, attracting thousands of diehard holiday movie fans, according to New Jersey Community Magazine. Co-founders Christina Fligliola and Liliana Kligman live in New Jersey, which has made it the easiest location to be home base for the convention. Though summer versions of the convention have been held in the past, they decided in 2024 to shift to a one-time-a-year convention. The duo also runs 90sCon, featuring TV, movie and music stars from the 90s.
Christmas Con has become not only a popular event for Hallmark fans, but also for the stars who attend them. Many have talked about how cool it is to connect face-to-face with fans, hear their stories, celebrate the holidays and bond over their favorite movies.
During an Instagram Live session with fellow Hallmark star Benjamin Ayres in April 2023, DeLoach sang the praises of conventions like Christmas Con.
“I have found our audience to be the most generous, the most charitable,” she said, “and those moments you get to spend with everyone at the Christmas convention? It’s a game-changer when you get to meet the people that you’re making the movies for and you get to hear their stories.”
But events like Christmas Con also give the talent a chance to connect with each other. After attending a summer version of Christmas Con in 2023, longtime Hallmark star Jonathan Bennett wrote an emotional post about how special it is to come together as family of actors after mostly working separately throughout the year.
“I can’t even explain how magical this weekend was,” he wrote. “This group of people are not just the stars of @hallmarkchannel but they are incredible human beings. They surround you with unconditional love and support and I feel so lucky to be a part of this insanely special family we have created.”
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