Less than 10 minutes from the Kentucky border, just off of Interstate 57, sits the small town of Metropolis.

With a population of only 6,400 people, the town hosts thousands more every June as the Superman Festival makes its yearly visit.

For the last 39 years, fans have traveled from across the country and North America to get pictures taken with Joshua Boultinghouse, the town’s own Superman, as he stands next to the giant Superman statue.

Emcee Dough Hubler said in 1972 the city contacted DC comics to ask for permission to make Metropolis the hometown of Superman because “it’s the only Metropolis on the planet.”

In 1978, the city hosted its first Superman Festival and launched a tradition that has reached all four corners of the continent.

The festival brought in people from Wisconsin, Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri, Indiana, New Jersey and Alabama as well as Toronto, Canada and Puerto Rico.

The Superman festival is run almost entirely on a volunteer basis and has brought in celebrities such as the late Adam West and Noel Neil.

This year they had Dean Cain as one of their celebrities.

Fans dressed up in colorful depictions of favorite superhero characters and villains and also competed in a costume competition to see who wore it best.

Mary Ellen Greenburg can be reached at 581-2812 or megreenburg@eiu.edu.