Convention celebrates collectors of all things retro in Irwin

Collin Scott’s passion for movie props began small.

He acquired his first movie prop, a replica of a revolver from the movie “Hellboy,” in 2008.

In the interim, the 31-year-old Penn Township man has gone onto bigger movie memorabilia. He’s built a replica of the famous “Ghostbusters” proton pack backpack used in the 1984 film and ultimately acquired a shiny silver DeLorean like the sleek 1982 sports car with the famous gull wings that became a time travel machine in 1985’s “Back to the Future.”

“I always liked to hold a piece of the movies,” Scott said, displaying his DeLorean on the streets of Irwin on Sunday at the inaugural CARLcon festival.

CARLcon, short for the Collectors and Retro Lover’s Convention, was the brain child of Mike Pochan of the Irwin Business and Professional Association.

Pochan, who collects comic books and Coca-Cola memorabilia, said he has enjoyed large collectors conventions in Pittsburgh and Monroeville and had a hunch collectors in and around Irwin might enjoy a smaller, local version of a similar event.

That hunch played out well. The event at the Irwin Masonic Hall on Sunday afternoon drew a diverse group of collectors and characters.

Local characters ranging from a pair of furries, a “Star Wars” Mandalorian, a superhero or two and a trio of high school students decked out as the Power­puff Girls of cartoon fame were among those who ventured out to take in the other sights on display at the CARLcon festival.

Some, like Rich Jovan of Irwin, jumped at the opportunity to display their collections. Jovan said he has been a “Star Wars” fan since his parents took him to the first movie in the famous series in 1977, when he was a mere toddler. He has been collecting figurines from the movies since he was 5 and said he now has more than 1,000 of them, ranging from R2D2 to more recent figures such as Baby Yoda.

Jovan said he is not ready to part with any of his collectibles but enjoys sharing his passion with others.

Like Jovan, Ed Sam of Greensburg was happy simply to share his passion with others. He was decked out for the occasion in a wig that mimicked the look of the Beatles in the early years when the Fab Four mounted their British Invasion on “The Ed Sullivan Show.” Sam, who has been collecting all things Beatles since 1964, proudly displayed a series of individual drawings of John, Paul, George and Ringo as well as original albums and even a couple of albums by Beatles wannabes.

While Sam and Jovan were happy just to share their collections and answer questions, April Morris had something more in mind. Morris, decked out in Harry Potter regalia, said she devoured J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series as a youngster, loved the movies and continues to have a soft spot for the boy wizard. She even decorated a bathroom in her home in a Potter theme.

The Westmoreland City woman was anxious to turn a little magic of her own, offering handmade magic wands for $6 as well as shiny $3 magic stones.

Pochan said organizers designed the event, which also featured a basket raffle, to be both a show and a sale.

The local software consultant smiled as costumed characters and festival customers who paid $5 a head for a chance to take it all in wandered the festival floor.

“This was a first for us. Because of space limitations, we could only sell 200 tickets,” he said midway through the show that ran from noon until 5 p.m. “We decided we’d be happy if we sold 100, and we’re right at about that now.”