America’s Strangest Conventions

For the terminal 3 years , American lensman Arthur Drooker has been to a dozen conventions across the dry soil , photographing about of the quirkiest gatherings such every bit mermaids , clowns , Santas , fetishists together with Lincoln look-alikes. Yet , he has barely begun. According to 1 guess , America olds a staggering 1.8 meg conventions , conferences , together with merchandise shows every year. That’s nearly five ,000 conventions every day! These odd gatherings permit like-minded people to congregate , bond , together with limited themselves.

“Regardless of what they’re well-nigh , where they’re held or who attends them , all conventions satisfy a basic human urge: a longing for belonging ,” says Arthur Drooker. “At conventions , people who portion similar interests , fifty-fifty obsessions , come upward together to bond together with to endure themselves without fearfulness , apology or explanation. The exterior globe doesn’t matter. In fact , for the weekend duration of most conventions , the exterior globe doesn’t fifty-fifty exist.”

conventional-wisdom-arthur-drooker-5 Association of Lincoln Presenters , the get-go convention he attended. Drooker would sometimes pay multiple view to the same convention to assemble valuable insight into the feel of community that brings participants dorsum twelvemonth later year.

“At to the lowest degree 50 per centum of me was really eager to provide to these conventions because there’s a genuine buzz that takes house at that spot , together with I missed that ,” the lensman confessed.

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