Events

Who’d have thought there’d be more to do at a pinball festival than playing pinball? Well there is! Lots!

The schedule listed here is tentative and subject to change.

Thursday – March 22, 2012

2 pm – Exhibitor/Vendor Set Up

Friday – March 23, 2012

10 am – Exhibitor/Vendor Set Up

10 am – Tournament Play Begins

10 am – Pre-Registration Table Opens

If you pre-registered for the show, you can pick your packet up early. That means no waiting in line when the game room opens to the public!

5 pm – 2012 Texas Pinball Festival Opens

8 pm – Draw Your Partner Tournament

1 am – Game Room Closes

Saturday – March 24, 2012

8am – Swap Meet
East Parking Lot

Looking for a project? Trying to get rid of one? This is the place to be. Bring some coffee and some or all of your projects out early Saturday morning.

Not sure what you’re looking for? You might just find that here too.

10 am – Game Room Opens

10 am – Tournament Play Begins

11 am – Seminar: Jersey Jack Pinball
Val Verde Room

Jack Guarnieri is returning to the Texas Pinball Festival to talk about the progress on his upcoming pinball machine “Wizard of Oz”. Jack is also graciously providing pizza for everyone that attends his seminar.

12:15 pm – Pizza Party (courtesy Jersey Jack Pinball)

1 pm – Parent Child Tournament

1 pm – Seminar: Reproducing Playfield Plastics with Alan Lewis
Val Verde Room

Attend Alan Lewis’ seminar and learn how to reproduce playfield plastics from beginning to end. Scanning the image, editing to fix, printing on decal paper, and making the clear plastic shape… it’s all covered in this seminar.  Whether you are restoring a woodrail or a DMD, this information will get you started on making your own replacement plastics.

2:30 pm - Seminar: George Gomez
Val Verde Room

We are pleased to announce famed pinball designer, George Gomez (Monster Bash, Corvette, Revenge from Mars, Lord of the Rings, Stern: Batman, Transformers, and many others) will be the Special Guest Speaker at the 2012 Texas Pinball Festival.

An autograph session with follow.

4 pm – Seminar: Custom Pinball Machine Control Systems with Gerry Stellenberg
Val Verde Room

Gerry Stellenberg of PinballControllers.com will be presenting a seminar on Custom Pinball Machine Control Systems. He will explain how to use a P-ROC and PDBs in custom creations and then show, in physical demonstrations, P-ROC/PDBs controlling coils, lamps, switches, etc. Controlling a custom machine has never been easier!

4:30 pm – Qualifying Ends: Kids Bump ‘n’ Win

5 pm – Qualifying Ends: Modern Tournament

5:30 pm – Casual Q&A with Steve Ritchie
Val Verde Room

That’s right, the “King of Flow” is coming to hang out with us for the weekend. He will be available to sign autographs. This is your chance to get that Spider-Man or other favorite translite signed, and I’m sure there will be plenty of AC/DC talk.

5:30 pm – Modern Playoffs

6 pm – Qualifying Ends: EM Tournament

6:30 pm – Electro Mechanical Playoffs

7 pm – Pinball 101 Showing
Val Verde Room

Learn to play pinball from one of the top players in the world, Keith Elwin. Or… watch Pinball 101 to improve your own game. Featuring more than 50 pinball machines, this instructional demonstrates all the flipper skills you’ll need to improve you scores. You’ll also get game specific tips and more!

Marco Specialties will have copies of Pinball 101 available for purchase at their booth. You can’t watch it just once!

8 pm – Qualifying Ends: Classic Tournament

8:30 pm – Special When Lit Showing
Val Verde Room

Special When Lit rediscovers the lure of a lost pop icon – pinball. This American invention made more money than Hollywood through the 50s and 60s. Its success swept the world making it the epitome of ‘cool’. Today pinball is all but forgotten. This is the definitive story of the rise and fall of pinball as told by the fans, collectors, designers and champion players from across the globe. A game, a sport, a lifestyle – pinball takes this eclectic bunch of self-confessed ‘pinheads’ back to their youth as they open up passionately to reveal the attractions of the ‘world’s funnest toy’.

8:30 pm - Classic Tournament Playoffs

10 pm – Qualifying Ends: Texas Shootout Tournament

10 pm  – Texas Shootout Playoffs

1 am – Game Room Closes

1 am-3 am – Exhibitor After Party

New this year… Exhibitors get exclusive access to the private party Saturday night after the ballroom closes to the public. The game room will remain open until 3 am just for Vendors and Exhibitors.

Access to this event cannot be purchased.

Sunday, March 25, 2012

8 am – Texas State Pinball Championship Playoffs

9 am – Game Room Opens

1 pm – Best Of Awards / Red Cross Raffle
Game Room Stage

Join us at the 2012 Texas Pinball Festival as we raffle off a BRAND NEW 2011 Stern Transformers Pro Pinball Machine to benefit the American Red Cross. At the conclusion of the tournaments, some lucky winner at the Texas Pinball Festival will walk away with this incredible game!

Tickets for this pinball machine are just $5 each, or 5 for $20 and will be available for sale at the show.

2:30 pm – 2012 Texas Pinball Festival Closes

See you next year!