Hot Wheels® fans light another fire in Chicago this April when the 8th Annual Hot Wheels® Collectors Nationals return to the windy city! This year is the 40th anniversary of the hottest die-cast brand on the planet, so don’t blow your chance to feel the heat.

If you haven’t checked in for one of these gigantic collector events, this is a great place to start. The room-to-room selling and trading, open only to ticket holders, can’t be beat for finding some great and rare Hot Wheels® cars almost around the clock. Not only will there be an entire hotel full of open rooms with piles of Hot Wheels® cars, but there will be a variety of awesome souvenir cars made especially for the show! And if you can’t get enough cars with all the factory-produced pieces, you’ll have to check out the drool-worthy customs which are entered by superb collector talents in the Custom Car Contest!

Need a break from room-to-room car swapping? Stop by one of the multiple daily autograph sessions with legendary Hot Wheels® designers Larry Wood, Phil Riehlman, Paul and Alec Tam, Mike McClone and Roman Cortez! This is a very rare appearance for Paul Tam, who will fly in all the way from South Africa to join the festivities. Eagle-eyed collectors might even catch a glimpse of other Mattel and HWC™ staff cruising the convention, as well.

You can also relax and pick up some tips and info at informative Seminars, such as the Mattel Designers Seminar, the New HWC™ Hot Wheels® Collection Checklist Overview, Custom Car Seminar, Redlines® Collecting Seminar and more!

Bring the kids, too. There will be Downhill Racing, Sizzlers® Racing, and other kids’ activities, such as a scavenger hunt and a coloring contest. The fun is for the whole family -- and yes, dads can race, too.

You can expect even more very special events, of course. Nationals ticket holders will have access to the following:

• Red Line Club™ Party - Mattel-hosted event, but you must also be a member of the online Red Line Club™ to be admitted. The exclusive party cars from these gatherings are legendary. Plus door prizes -- try not to leave without one!
• Annual Charity Auction - Not only is there always great stuff to bid on, but your purchase is for a worthy cause -- it benefits the Children's Miracle Network.
• Saturday Night Finale - Make sure you bring your Nationals ticket to receive the free Hot Wheels® Convention Finale souvenir car -- it's limited to no more than 2,000 pieces, so don’t forget yours!

There are still more special events available for paid ticket holders! Each of these events require additional specific ticket purchases in advance (details can be found in your confirmation packet):

• "An Evening with Paul and Alec Tam" Dinner - Celebrate the Hot Wheels® contributions of father and son at the dinner on Thursday evening, April 24! For $120.00, guests will receive a souvenir dinner car (produced by Mattel and limited to no more than 2,000 pieces), a T-shirt, a pin, and at least one custom car.
• HWC™ Vending Machine - Have a pull at this magnificent mystery machine -- you never know what you’re going to get! Tickets, only sold in pairs, are $20.00 (limit of one pair per paid ticket).
• Charity Button Bingo - Fun for the family, for a good cause, and each participant receives three different custom cars, plus the winner of each game receives a matching, gold-colored custom car, and some games may even have bonus prizes! For $200.00, it sounds like everyone's a winner.
• Charity Poker Tournament - Is it high-stakes poker? Your entry fee of $100.00 benefits the Make-A-Wish Foundation. All participants will receive a custom car, each table winner will receive one of the same custom cars as the Button Bingo game winners, and for the table winners’ playoff, the last two players will win another custom car! When it comes down to the final winner, there's a juicy prize donated by Mattel!
• Charity Raffle - You can't win if you don't play. You can only buy tickets for this at the convention, and it's for a great cause.

Finally, there will be vendors selling items in the Dealer Room on Sunday morning, and ticket holders for the Nationals can purchase table space for $50.00. This show is open to the public, so be prepared to sell to a crowd.

So breeze into Chi-town for a hot time! We look forward to seeing you there!

NOTE: Tickets for the Convention are $70.00 each ($75 if purchased online) and good for all five days. You may purchase tickets online (see link above) or by mail. (Tickets are not sold at the door.) Tickets are limited and sold on a first-come, first-served basis. Ticket sales will end April 2 or when the last ticket is sold, whichever occurs first. This event is produced by the Hot Wheels® Newsletter under license from Mattel.