Fans of “The Office” must travel to Scranton to meet their favorite Dunder Mifflin Paper Company employees.
“FALSE!” as Dwight Schrute would say.
Schrute, who was played by Rainn Wilson, and other main cast members will be heading to Chicago in April to take part in a fan convention for the hit sitcom called “The Reunion.”
“If ‘The Office’ is your favorite show, this is the place to be,” said Arnold Cuervo, co-founder of the event. “This is your Disney World.”
The two-day event will be held on April 22 and April 23 at the Navy Pier Festival Hall to celebrate the show, which aired on NBC from 2005 to 2013 and is now streaming on Peacock.
Fans will be able to get autographs and take photos with up to nearly 30 cast members, including Brian Baumgartner (Kevin Malone), Kate Flannery (Meredith Palmer), Creed Bratton (Creed Bratton), Oscar Nunez (Oscar Martinez), Paul Lieberstein (Toby Flenderson), Andy Buckley (David Wallace) and many more.
Professional photo ops include a group picture with the main cast members in attendance. Immersive photos give fans the opportunity to take a picture with Wilson alongside Dwight’s car, a maroon Pontiac Firebird Trans Am. No word on if Mose will make a cameo.
Entertainment News
Fans can also pose for photos while recreating memorable scenes from the show, like when Michael Scott hit Meredith with his car (with the fan sitting in the driver’s seat and Kate Flannery sprawled across the hood of a PT Cruiser), and a “Suck It!” music session with David Wallace (featuring a drum set, keyboard and Andy Buckley wearing his branded yellow sweatshirt used in the show).
Cosplay is encouraged, giving fans the opportunity to dress up as their favorite character. But remember, identity theft is a crime.
Feeling out of the loop? We'll catch you up on the Chicago news you need to know. Sign up for the weekly> Chicago Catch-Up newsletter.
A Dundie Awards ceremony will be held to give out trophies for best cosplay and other categories. Fans can take part in an Office-style mockumentary interview with a recreated conference-room backdrop, compete in events from the “Beach Games” episode like a sumo suit battle and even take a seat at Michael Scott’s desk while holding a “World’s Best Boss” mug.
The centerpiece of the convention area will be a 625-square foot inflatable replica of the Dunder Mifflin office building. There will also be panel discussions, a trivia contest and a Saturday night comedy show. Tickets for admission, autographs and photos are available at Reunioncon.com.
“Some of the best moments from the show will come to life,“ Cuervo said.
Cuervo, who runs the Instagram account @theofficefunkopops, has held private autograph signings with cast members of the show but wanted to give fellow fans the opportunity to have their own meet-and-greets.
“It’s kind of like having a Ferrari and not being able to have someone in the passenger seat. What’s the point?” Cuervo said. “All these fans I’ve talked to for years wanted to meet the cast members themselves, and I was able to put that together for them.”
Cuervo co-founded the convention with Jesse Cohen, who has helped organize other title-specific fan conventions like SopranosCon. They held their first convention for “The Office” last August in New Jersey under the name “Dunder Con.”
The success of that event, along with “The Office” reunion atmosphere that united 22 former cast members led to the convention’s new name.
Even more cast members are reuniting at the upcoming convention. Other guest stars from the show who are scheduled to appear include David Koechner (Todd Packer), Catherine Tate (Nellie Bertram), Bobby Ray Shafer (Bob Vance, Vance Refrigeration), Kelen Coleman (Isabel Poreba) and Blake Robbins and Tug Coker (the Halpert brothers).
“I know a lot of people don’t want to meet their heroes,” Cuervo said. “But I can tell you from experience that everyone on ‘The Office’ that I’ve met thus far has been absolutely worth meeting.”
Fans traveled from as far Australia to meet the stars of the show at the previous convention in New Jersey, many of whom have put a stapler inside a Jell-O mold or often repeated the line “Bears, Beets, Battlestar Galactica.” While Cuervo admits Scranton would be an ideal setting for “The Reunion,” he said the area lacks the infrastructure needed to support a crowd of this magnitude.
Instead, the largest reunion of Dunder Mifflin Paper Company employees will take place in Chicago.
“FACT!” as Dwight Schrute would say.
“I know how many ‘The Office’ fans are in that area, and it’s a very central, easy-to-get-to area,” Cuervo said of Chicago. “People make the drive for ‘The Office.’ It’s exciting to see the love and adoration that people have for the show.”
