A Post-Convention Message from the Laurel Family
On behalf of the Laurel family, I simply want to say thank you.
When my great-grandfather, Stan Laurel, and Oliver Hardy made films together, they hoped people would laugh. I don’t think they could have imagined that nearly a century later, people from around the world would still gather—not just to watch the films, but to celebrate the kindness, friendship, and joy they represent.
In a world that can often feel divided, Laurel and Hardy remind us that kindness, humility, friendship, and laughter are timeless. Those values matter just as much today as they did when these films were first made.
From the bottom of my heart, and on behalf of our family, thank you for protecting this legacy with such love. We don’t take it for granted.
We are incredibly grateful for every one of you.
— feeling blessed at Legacy Resort Hotel & Spa.
We’ll see you in 2028! Cassidy Cook
The Block-Heads tent of Saint Paul receives the official pineapple from 2026 Sons of the Desert Convention host Dave Greim at the conclusion of the San Diego conclave. The 2028 event will be in Minnesota!
(50th anniversary of the first convention in Chicago and the 40th anniversary of the Block-Heads' hosting in 1988!)
A personal message from the Webmaster...
From all of us here at sonsfestsd2026, we are deeply saddened by the sudden loss of one of our fellow beloved Sons and great pal, Mr. Craig Lightowler. When we were at the Harrogate Convention in May of 2025, before the launch of this website, Craig graciously signed on to be a special advisor to the making of our site. I will forever be grateful for his kindness, wisdom, good humor & his dedication to sonsfestsd2026. Craig encouraged me to make this project as a labor of love & from the heart. I sincerely hope that we did just that. We could not have launched this website without him. Our site will be dedicated to him. Our deepest condolences go out to Katherine, Freya, Ian & the entire Lightowler family. We will miss you Craig, always. God Bless, David
A Go Fund Me campaign has been set up to help & support the Lightowler family. Here is the direct link: https://gofund.me/71ae408e6
