Tarzan is swinging his way to the shoreline.
A convention of fans of “Tarzan” author Edgar Rice Burroughs, which has been held annually all over the country for decades, makes its first Connecticut appearance Thursday to Sunday, Aug. 20 to 23, at Andrews Memorial Town Hall, 54 E. Main St. in Clinton, featuring a Tarzan yell contest, a marathon of “Tarzan” movies, panel discussions, a concert and other family-friendly activities.
Peggy Adler, a Clinton resident and longtime member of Burroughs Bibliophiles, lured Dum Dum 2015 away from Chicago to her hometown, and she hopes that many people beyond the members of Burroughs Bibliophiles attend.
“We’re an aging group,” she said. “If we don’t invite the public, the group is going to die out. Tarzan is still very popular.”
The event begins Thursday with signups from noon to 6 p.m. for the Tarzan yell competition, and a “Beatles Forever” concert at 6:30 p.m. at the nearby Vece Gazebo. A documentary titled “The Many Faces of Tarzan” will be shown at 7:30 p.m.
On Friday, the movie marathon goes full swing, with screenings of “Tarzan Finds a Son” (1939) with Johnny Weissmuller at 9 a.m.; “Tarzan’s Magic Fountain” (1949) with Lex Barker at 10:30 a.m.; two episodes of the 1967 “Tarzan” TV series starring Ron Ely starting at 1 p.m.; and the 1999 Disney animated “Tarzan” movie at 3 p.m.
Meanwhile, more people can sign up for the yell contest and visit the Huckster Room, where merchandise dealers will gather. A panel discussion, “Tarzan’s Many Genres,” will be held at 4:30 p.m. and a video tribute to “Tarzan” actor Denny Miller, who died last September, will be held at 7:30 p.m.
On Saturday, “John Carter,” a 2012 film based on a story by Burroughs, will be shown at 9 a.m. Another panel discussion, “Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Influence on Modern Science Fiction,” will begin at 11:15 a.m.
The Tarzan Yell Contest will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday, and a screening of a documentary, “The Search for Sandy,” about animal trainer Bill Berloni, will be at 2 p.m. (Berloni is this year’s honoree.) A drawing, a memorabilia auction and a historic house walk will follow. Fireworks will go off at 9 p.m.
(A banquet honoring Berloni will be held Saturday night, but is almost sold out.)
On Sunday, the event will wrap up with a farewell breakfast on the Clinton Town Beach’s picnic pavilion.
Admission is free to all events, but merchandise and food cost extra. Organizers emphasize that children under the age of 14 must be accompanied by an adult.
For details about events, and a list of notables who will attend the events, visit tarzan.com/meets/.
