Hallmark, Lifetime movie celebrities wow fans at RomaDrama in West Palm Beach

WEST PALM BEACH — Christmas in July came one month early Saturday as Hallmark Channel movie buffs, soap opera super fans and daytime sitcom devotees gathered in West Palm Beach at the RomaDrama Live! convention. 

There, they bought merchandise, listened to producers speak about casting and working with actors, and encountered their favorite silver screen stars.

For Sally Sullivan, her two adult daughters and son-in-law, the flight from western Wisconsin was all worth it for seven minutes with Tyler Hynes, a Canadian actor who has starred in Always Amore and An Unexpected Christmas. 

Sullivan said they purchased a meet-and-greet package with Hynes for around $300. She couldn't wait to talk to him about her favorite movie, It Was Always You, where Hynes plays a free-spirited heartthrob whose brother's fianceé starts to fall for, throwing her engagement into disarray.

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Sullivan, like many of the more than 200 other attendees to Saturday's convention, said she has a soft spot for Hallmark movies because despite the details, she knows how each will end.

"With all the stuff going on in the world it's so fun to be able to watch something that's great and wonderful," Sullivan said. "You always know there's going to be a happy ending."

RomaDrama is only in its second year, but attendees were greeted by a highly produced experience: Faux cherry blossom trees bloomed over the entrances to the ballrooms and stages. Glitzy, floor-to-ceiling curtains helped convention-goers feel like they were stepping into their girlfriends' living room to chat about the latest episode of General Hospital instead of taking an escalator up from the Okeechobee Boulevard entrance to the Palm Beach County Convention Center.

The convention, complete with panel discussions, booths that sell everything from essential oils to Hallmark Christmas movie T-shirts, and meet-and-greet opportunities, ran through Sunday evening.

RomaDrama Live brought family fun

Founders Gabrielle Graf Palmer and Sara Lunsford came up with the idea for RomaDrama Live! in 2018 when they took a girl's weekend trip to Chicago to attend Wizard World Comicon.

While they were there, they realized there was nothing comparable to Comicon for people, like them, who were obsessed with movies on the Hallmark Channel and Lifetime. Thus, RomaDrama Live! was born: It's a convention, boutique fan experience and an all-around "wholesome" good time, according to the creators.

That's what Robb Diaz and his 11-year-old daughter Bridget were chasing when they attended Saturday's event.

The pair drove up from Sunrise to see Danica McKellar, whom Robb remembered seeing on The Wonder Years, where she played Winnie Cooper from 1988 to 1993.

Bridget added that she was excited to see McKellar because she recognized her from Hallmark movies. McKellar has starred in at least 16 movies for the network since 2015.

"It’s a lot of fun and it’s nice also to see people so excited," Robb Diaz said of RomaDrama. "We usually go to sci-fi (conventions) and there's such a positive atmosphere here.

The family's stop in West Palm Beach was brief on their way up the coast. After RomaDrama, they planned to drive up to St. Augustine and then onto Tybee Island, Ga., and Charleston, S.C., on a summer road trip.

Attendees await latest Hallmark Channel movie

Saturday's event came on an important day for Hallmark movie fans: That evening at 8 p.m., the network's newest movie, Two Tickets to Paradise, was set to premiere on TV.

Two women visiting the convention from Port St. Lucie told The Palm Beach Post they broke into the movie's signature jingle with strangers they met in the elevator ride up to the convention center's second floor.

When asked what the jingle sounds like, they belted out the movie's title to the tune of Jimmy Buffett's "Cheeseburger in Paradise."

Then, they erupted into a fit of giggles.

Katherine Kokal is a journalist covering northern Palm Beach County at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach her at kkokal@pbpost.com. Help support our work, subscribe today!

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Hallmark movie celebrities, soap opera stars in West Palm at RomaDrama