Northeast Ohio loves tradition. Perhaps that’s why even though more than four decades have passed since WJW-TV’s Friday night movie host Ghoulardi blew up small toys with firecrackers and told audiences to go to bed because the movie they were about to watch was terrible, the Ernie Anderson character remains as popular as ever. This explains why “GhoulardiFest,” which last took place in the late-’90s, is being resurrected for its third incarnation Aug. 31, Sept. 1 and 2 at Medina County Fairgrounds’ Community Center. “It’s amazing after all of these years of Ghoulardi being off the air, the interest is there,” said “Big Chuck” Schodowski, who worked with Anderson in the ’60s and kept his spirit live with “Hoolihan and Big Chuck” and later “The Big Chuck and Lil’ John Show.” Anderson left Cleveland for Los Angeles in 1966, eventually finding voiceover work for ABC-TV. “It’s a nostalgia thing,” said “GhoulardiFest” producer Ron Garsteck, who religiously watched the Cleveland legend as a Strongsville teenager. “People loved Ghoulardi back in the ’60s, and they just remember the good old days.” Because of that nostalgia and Anderson’s death in 1997, Garsteck produced the first two “GhoulardiFest” events in 1997 and 1998. While the annual affair was well attended, Garsteck and Schodowski didn’t want overkill, so it ended after two years. However, with Schodowski’s recent retirement from WJW-TV, where he spent 47 years as an employee and 43 years on camera, the time to resurrect Ghoulardi once again seemed right with “GhoulardiFest III.” “We decided we’d do one last ‘GhoulardiFest’ get-together, but if it’s well attended, we might do it again,” said Schodowski, who is a longtime resident of Hinckley Township. “It’s definitely an end of an era, which actually began with Ghoulardi and ended with John (Rinaldi) and myself. “We’re the longest running show in the history of this kind of show in the world. And the fact that we just kept showing old skits and kept renewing the tradition of Ernie, ‘Hoolihan and Big Chuck,’ I think that helped to prolong the people watching and create the big era that it did.” Reliving those golden Friday nights is what “GhoulardiFest III” goers should expect in spades, with a recreated “Ghoulardi shock theater” showing famous clips from all eras of late night WJW-TV programming. Joining in the fun will be WJW-TV Channel 8 weatherman Dick Goddard and former WJW-TV weatherman Bob “Hoolihan” Wells, along with “Three’s Company” celebrities Priscilla Barns and Joyce Dewitt, “Little Shop Of Horrors” actor Jonathan Haze and Blues Brothers impersonators The Soul Men. In addition, Jungle Bob and his animals will be in attendance to entertain the kids, with a Saturday Night sock-hop planned for the older folks. Rounding out the festival will be plenty of food options and sci-fi and horror film memorabilia vendors. “It’s just a nostalgic thing, because it really is the end of a 44-year era of Cleveland television movie hosting,” Schodowski said. “Cleveland, being a traditional market, Cleveland loves tradition. I just know ‘GhoulardiFest’ will be well-attended.” Added Garsteck, “It’s for the Baby Boomers to come on out and enjoy themselves. We have so much stuff going on, it’s just like a carnival. There’s free parking and it’s all indoors. It’s just going to be a fun weekend.” Benson may be reached at ididhear@aol.com.