Arts & Entertainment

TLC's Honey Boo Boo Greets Fans in Tysons with Smiles, Scratch 'n Sniff Books

By Ethan Levine

She came, she saw, she conquered. 

Alana "Honey Boo Boo" Thompson, the nation's most famous 7-year-old, made an appearance in Tysons Corner on Thursday, and her fans responded in a big way.

Thompson and her family came to the Barnes & Noble inside Tysons Corner Center to greet fans and sign copies of their new children's book, How to Honey Boo Boo: The Complete Guide on How to Redneckognize the Honey Boo Boo in You.

Although Thompson's crew did not arrive until 6 p.m., hundreds of fans began lining up more than three hours in advance to wait in line for a chance to meet the child-star and her mother.

One couple, Juan and Jessica Mercado, drove all the way from their home in Atlanta to meet the fellow Georgian in person.

"It was great, we were talking about it the whole way up here," Jessica said. "Mama June is a real role model to us as a family."

Thompson, whose fame first skyrocketed as an adorable child beauty pageant star on the TLC television program Toddlers in Tiaras, is now the star of her own popular TLC show called Here Comes Honey Boo Boo. The show, now one of TLC's highest-rated programs, focuses on Thompson and her family life growing up in McIntyre, Ga. 

The show's debut episode in February attracted more than 2.2 million viewers nationally, and its August 29 episode, which aired at the same time as the Republican National Convention, still managed to draw more than 3 million viewers.

Thompson and her family were not available for comments, and they did not read aloud from the book for their fans due to time constraints.

But the southern television family was still able to greet the masses with smiles and signatures in books, brightening the days of their biggest fans.

"It was really fun because you actually got to meet her," one young fan said. "I've never gotten a chance to meet anyone famous before."


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