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Michael Jackson fans get their thrills at festival

A flash mob broke out in the middle of a dance competition.

Strangers swarmed Michael Jackson look-alikes and little old women wearing sequined gloves ducked under red velvet ropes to get that much closer to the belongings of pop icon Michael Jackson.

It was off the wall.

In other words, just what you might expect to see at something called the Michael Jackson Fan Fest. The display of items from the entertainer's estate was unveiled Saturday at Mandalay Bay, in conjunction with the debut of Cirque du Soleil's "The Immortal ."

On Sunday, two of Jackson's brothers, Tito and Jackie, appeared at the Fan Fest to answer questions and sign a few autographs. They sat on a stage next to the robotic spider that the King of Pop used in "This is It," a documentary about the preparation for a series of concerts that was canceled when Jackson died in 2009.

Fans asked the brothers a little bit of everything, from their favorite memory of Michael to their favorite songs of their Jackson 5 days.

"What did you have for breakfast?" one fan asked.

A waffle and turkey bacon, Tito said, while Jackie claimed to have eaten scrambled egg whites.

It was an odd question to some but for these fans, it was the sort of minutiae that gave them what they were craving: a slight personal connection to the family of a man many of them adored. But after about 20 minutes, the brothers left the fans to connect with Michael's stuff.

Hundreds of items were on display, loaned by the Jackson estate, including platinum records, Emmy awards, books from Jackson's Neverland ranch, costumes and music video memorabilia. But to some, the atmosphere was as much of a draw as the artifacts. It was a haven, a place where they could let their inner Jackson out among like-minded people.

At least half of the attendees wore something sequined or featuring Michael Jackson's likeness. Attendees snapped photos of look-alikes and comforted each other over the singer's death.

The whole day was pretty much a thriller for Colorado resident Carlo Riley, 29. Dressed as Michael Jackson from his "Scream" music video -- shiny black pants, black shirt, pale face makeup and long, curly hair -- Fan Fest attendees glommed onto him the moment he walked through the doors.

"Wow," a woman wearing a kilt said. "You look great. Holy cow."

Riley started impersonating Jackson about three years ago. He was already a fan when he dressed as the singer for Halloween. That's when he realized that he shared an uncanny resemblance to him.

"Ever since I was a kid, I wanted to be like Michael Jackson. Everyone wants to," says Riley, who works as a tribute artist and a software salesman.

Once, he met his idol in Tokyo at a $3,500-a-plate dinner. Coming to the Cirque show opening and Fan Fest was a given, he said. He got to see the pop star's costumes up close and examine them for ideas. Riley spends a lot of time trying to create his own versions of Michael Jackson's famous outfits.

Riley posed for photos with strangers who got a little starry-eyed around him. At one point, Riley grabbed another look-alike, Kevin Prince Jackson, 26, of Austria, who wore the modern Jackson look of straight black hair, sunglasses and pale face. They did a pose-down, flashing peace signs, dance moves and shy, sensitive expressions for the cameras.

One of the more popular attractions at Fan Fest was Michael Jackson: the Experience video game. People were invited to take to the stage and challenge each other to a dance-off using Wii technology. Fans, some dressed in Michael Jackson-inspired outfits, sweated, grimaced and gyrated through Jackson hits such as "Thriller," "Billie Jean" and "Bad."

It was during a dance-off set to "Beat It" when the world's smallest flash mob broke out in the audience.

New Yorkers Raquel Jean-Joseph, 26, and Rochelle Sylvestre, 21, formed a line with a guy and proceeded to kick, wave and slide through every single dance move from the original video. Heads turned away from the stage competition to watch Jean-Joseph, wearing a dark pinstripe suit and fedora, and Sylvestre in her Captain Eo outfit, as they channeled their King of Pop.

"Michael's very important to me," said Sylvestre, who's studying music in college. "He's the reason why I want to pursue entertainment."

Fan Fest runs through Dec. 14.

Contact reporter Sonya Padgett at spadgett@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4564. Follow @ StripSonya on Twitter.

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