BEST…CONVENTION…EVER!! Words heard uttered from many mouths this convention.  With attendance numbers soaring to over 500 conventioneers, by far the biggest convention yet, many turned out to honor the beloved Jimmy Nelson who has taught, encouraged and inspired hundreds upon hundreds within our community.  Conventioneers were treated to special free premiums as part of the celebration which included a free tote bag with the Celebration logo, a poster, four buttons of each of Jimmy’s characters: Danny O’Day, Farfel, Humphrey Higsby, and Fatateeta, and a book that included dozens of photos, a detailed biography, and tributes from countless admirers, created by our own Tom Ladshaw.   Instead of each conventioneer receiving one button of each of the four characters, conventioneers received four buttons of the same character and then were able to find others with whom to trade. This fun game created an ice breaker and enabled people to meet other attendees where they might not have before.  No worries for the more shy people in the crowd (hard to believe in a group of ventriloquists, I know), but if anyone didn’t want to trade, they could come switch out their pins at the Vent Haven Museum table.