Phoenix Comicon 2015: Discover Your Inner Geek (Better Late Than Never)

Back at the end of May, I volunteered for Phoenix Comicon, as I have done for the past four years. I am a Photo Booth Coordinator which means I assist with ensuring the celebrity photo booths run smoothly during the convention. It's hard at times and a bit stressful, but I love it. I've had many great experiences over the years.

You may be asking yourself, but that was over a month ago. Why are you only writing about it now? Excellent question. My excuse: Work. It's been incredibly busy and demanding, to the point that most evenings I would be too mentally exhausted for much else than sinking into a vegetative state in front of the TV. I've been binge-watching so much Property Brothers, I've started adapting their lingo and pointing out design features in stores. Good knowledge to have, if I ever decide to renovate a house. But I digress...

Phoenix Comicon has in the past few years found itself on a list among the best comicons in the country. It's grown in size dramatically since it's inception with record shattering attendance year after year. Two years ago, we were around 55,000 attendees (possibly a bit more, I don't recall the exact figure). Last year, we hit an amazing 77,000 attendees, by far the highest count in Phoenix Comicon history. This year, 75,501 attendees. While this was a bit of a drop in attendance, it has been named the most successful year by our leadership. This is of course a great thing to hear, knowing that I was a part of its success.

Phoenix Comicon takes place in the downtown Phoenix Convention Center and this year it took up all four levels of two buildings along with programming in a few surrounding hotels. It is usually held Memorial Day Weekend at the end of May, but it has flip flop a bit the last couple years, due to availability of the convention center. This year it was held the weekend after Memorial Day and next year we will be the first weekend in June. It's already very hot at this time, so having most of the programming and entertainment indoors helps a great deal. There is a connection between the two buildings underground as well as a sky-walk connecting above. You add plenty of escalators and elevators and it makes for a layout that is easy to navigate.

View from the 3rd floor of the North Building, overlooking 3rd St. and the West Building with the Hyatt behind it.

We had a great group of actors that were invited out this year. Ron Perlman, Edward James Olmos, Jason Isaacs, Alison Hannigan, Alexis Denisoff, Charisma Carpenter, Christopher Lloyd, Jim Beaver, Karl Urban...to name some. There were a few I was excited to meet from the moment they were announced, then there were others that surprised me and left me glad to have met them afterwards.

Thursday (May 28th) was the official first day of the convention. But things started for me on Wednesday when I arrived at the convention center around midday to help with setup. We setup all the equipment, hung signage and prepared things for the weekend ahead, then finished up around 5-ish. I went home for the last time. On Thursday, we had our full blown dress rehearsal with the photographers and volunteers. No photos are scheduled on Thursday and it gives us additional time to test the equipment and the setup. This also included training for any of our volunteers that were able to attend. We finished up at around 6:00pm and I met up with some friends for a Comicon Kick-off Dinner at My Big Fat Greek Restaurant. A couple of my friends were Phoenix Comicon virgins and out-of-towners, so we discussed their first day and other things--topics that a large diverse group of fangirls are prone to discuss when gathered together.

The Photo Booth area prior to setup on Wednesday.

After dinner, we took turns seated behind the wheel of a gorgeous '67 Chevy Impala. If you are a fan of the CW TV show Supernatural, or just a fan of classic cars, you get it. An hour and a myriad of pictures later, after inhaling enough of that old exhaust smell, we finally parted ways. The Impala went back home to Vegas and the rest of us returned to our hotel rooms or home (I live about 10-15 minutes from downtown but it's still so much more convenient to get a hotel room). I split a room with three friends and fellow Phoenix Comicon volunteers every year which makes three nights in a hotel downtown quite affordable. I always recommend to anyone to make a similar arrangement when attending the convention (or any convention for that matter). It's cost saving and leaves you never more than a five minute walk from all the local goings-on.

My friends and I with the Impala.

Yes, that is my foot on the gas. Vroom vroom.

Friday was Day One! The first official full day of Phoenix Comicon and quite a light day for us at the photo booth. This of course meant that this would be the day that we would actually be able to see some of the convention. Saturday and Sunday would prove to be incredibly busy and would leave no time to enjoy the con except for what was directly on our floor. We shared the third floor with all the costuming groups and the guests' signing tables. So not bad company by no means. But our floor was just one spot and so very far from the Vendor Hall--shopping, food, and artists oh my! 

This year I was slotted for the afternoon shift. But similar to previous years, I was there from early in the morning to late in the evening all days. What can I say? I'm a work horse (or a glutton for punishment), but it's worth it. Friday, we only had one booth running and most of the guests hadn't arrived yet. So once I finished helping with final preparations and stuck around to help train and place volunteers, I decided to wander. I left behind my radio and told one of my counterparts to text me if I was needed. Down I went, three different sets of escalators until I hit the Vendor Hall floor. I wasn't there to shop, not that I didn't want to, but when you decide to spend your money on photos, you tend to be frugal with what you have left. It was my goal to spend an hour, maybe two, finding and chatting with my comic book artist friends. I found all but two (one was wondering around and the other hadn't arrived yet). Now, the Vendor Hall is massive, I mean seriously huge, you could spend hours wandering around looking at everything. Its where you'll find all the comic book artists, authors, and vendors peddling their wares.

Walking through the crowd down in the Vendor Hall.

I sped-walked up and down the aisles, I was on a mission. My mission (there was no choosing necessary or exploding messages) was to locate my friends and acquaintances in the comic book field. I met most of them through my former manager from Barnes and Noble. He's making his way through the world of comic book creation and has worked on a few projects. But also sells his artwork in addition to taking commissions. He currently lives in San Diego where his fiance goes to school. One of the comic book creators/artists I stopped to chat to was actually a former high school teacher of my sister's. I bought his newest comic for her.

 After that mission was complete I hunted down the Cazador Productions booth run by Mike Flores (the booth and the company). I met Mike at the Salute to Supernatural Convention in February, along with the hosts (Thomas Cowley and Ryan Denton) of the Supernatural the Crossroads radio show he produces. We discussed the season finale of Supernatural, as fans do and he asked me about my volunteer role at Phoenix Comicon. The Crossroads boys do a great show, I binge listened their entire back catalog (60+ hours of audio) in a little over a week. If you're interested in episode reviews and interesting as well as entertaining discussions, check them out www.supernaturalthecrossroads.com. 

When I returned to the booth, I got back to work but took a moment to have a photo with two friends (and SPNFamily) and Jim Beaver (Bobby from Supernatural). He was very nice and great with his fans. On Saturday, I had him in my booth and at the end of the photo op he gave us the greatest compliment, even though the beginning nearly gave me a heart attack. He started off, "I hate these things." Cue holding my breath. "These things are usually so impersonal. This was quick, but I still had time to shake everyone's hand and say hello. It didn't feel rushed. This was great, good job." I started breathing again. I thanked him and showed him out of the booth. That was super cool.

My friend Amber, Jim Beaver, Me, and my friend Shannon.

The rest of Saturday was madness. Yes...that's all that need be said about Saturday. Just kidding...but there was a lot going on. I did not make it away from the photo booth and I was there from morning until night. I left exhausted, at the end, but not as exhausted as last year. I call that a win in my book. Saturday is the busiest day for obvious reasons: people don't have work, big day for families, all the guests are there. There were some great experiences that day. I was surprised by a couple of the actors--really cool individuals. None of the actors that attended this year were returning guests, so I had not met any of them before and you never know what to expect. Great examples: Jason Isaacs and Edward James Olmos. Jason--who you might know from Harry Potter, The Patriot and Black Hawk Down--was great with his fans. He even set up his phone during his photo op to record a time lapse video of the entire thing, which he then shared with us and the photographer. I could kick myself for not getting a photo with him, but I didn't have any money left to spend after the photos I had already paid for. Jason also complimented us on our photo booth.

                                                   Jason Isaac's time-lapse video.

Edward James Olmos was awesome, every time he showed up for his photo op, he would spend time taking photos with all of the staff. Normally, we're required to politely decline photos with the guests, because it's against our policy, but there was no refusing him. He would point at volunteers in a 'hey you, come over here" fashion and pull them in for a photo. He didn't leave until he had accomplished his task to have photos with everyone, including me. I let all my volunteers go first and then I was the last one, before he went on his way back to his signing table. On Sunday, I believe, we were running behind in one of the photo booths. Edward stood in the middle of the booths nearly in our printing area, playing with his grandson. It was adorable. We had asked him if he wouldn't be more comfortable sitting inside one of the booths while he waited and he politely declined, he didn't mind waiting right there.

Me and Edward James Olmos.

Sunday was Back to the Future! Yes, I and a friend got our photo with Doc Brown himself, Christopher Lloyd. Sunday in general, was not as crazy as Saturday and everything ran very smooth. It always winds up being the case on Sunday, all the kinks with the equipment have been worked out and we're running like a well oiled machine. Speaking of machines, we also had the Delorian onsite for attendees to get photos with both Christopher Lloyd and his iconic time traveling car. It was a popular photo op, as was his solo op in our photo booth (both of his photo ops were in my booth). Another actor that was really cool to meet was Alexis Denisof, husband to Alyson Hannigan and most notably known for Angel, Joss Whedon's Much Ado About Nothing, and Grimm. At the end of his last photo op on Sunday, we had just sent through the last attendee and he was hanging out just in case there were any stragglers. He asked if any of us wanted a photo. I politely declined, and he asked if we were sure. I told him we were required to politely decline unless he insisted. He said he thought that was the case and then insisted that we all take photos with him. Great guy.

The Delorian, Sunday after the con closed.

My friend Shannon and I with Christopher Lloyd.

Me and Alexis Denisof.

So, that's a good chuck of what happened through out the entire weekend of Phoenix Comicon. It was crazy, but fun and awesome. I can hardly wait until next year. Meetings won't start until January of 2016, which seems such a long time off. But at least, I have Fan Fest to hold me over. Fan Fest is a smaller convention that Phoenix Comicon premiered last year. We hold it at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale. It's much smaller than the main convention, more relaxed atmosphere and it's held in December, so the weather is a stark contrast to what it is in the summer. We have guests that come out and vendors, but there will be just one photo booth running the entire weekend. I wasn't able to attend last year, as it was the same weekend as my mom's birthday, but this year I'm good as it's the weekend before. I'm really looking forward to Fan Fest this year. Hope to see some of you local folks there!

Jurassic World...Those Scientists Never Learn Do They? (Possible Spoilers)

You know you're watching a good movie, nay great movie, when it has you at the edge of your seat. Now that also could have been because I got stuck in the neck-breaking seats so I had to slouch down as far as possible. But that's besides the point. Emotionally, I was very invested in this movie. I can't remember a time that I was so excited to see a movie because of it's relation to a childhood favorite. As soon as that theme music started, I could have cared less about: the crappy seats, how crowded it was, the sticky floor, the small children in the row behind me. All that melted away and I was 6 years old again, watching dinosaurs roam around a park like elephants at a zoo.

This movie captured everything that was nostalgic of the original while adding updated and modern effects to give it an edge--the wow factor--that the first didn't have. Not to say that the original wasn't advanced for it's time, it certainly was, the dinosaurs were life-like and convincing, very cool. So, it's only a given that 22 years later, Jurassic World would pick up where Jurassic Park left off, not just in story-line but in entertainment and then kick things up a notch.

The cast was fantastic. Where the original gave us a brother/sister duo, this movie introduces us to two brothers (Zach and Gray) on vacation visiting their Aunt Claire (park manager) at Jurassic World. Claire is played by Bryce Dallas Howard. You'll most likely remember her from: The Help, Spider-Man 3, Lady in the Water, The Village. Daughter of renowned actor/director Ron Howard. Opposite the leading female character (as the leading male) we have Chris Pratt as Owen. The attractive, ex-Navy dinosaur whisperer. I'm sure I don't need to explain what else he's been in. It was only one of if not THE highest grossing movie of last year. But, just in case someone out there has been living under a rock...Chris Pratt was Starlord A.K.A Peter Quill in Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy. Also: Zero Dark Thirty, Parks and Recreation, The Lego Movie. The cast is rounded out by the talented Vincent D'Onofrio (Daredevil, Law & Order: Criminal Intent), Bollywood leading man Irrfan Khan (Slumdog Millonaire, The Amazing Spider-Man), New Girl's Jake Johnson (Let's Be Cops), Omar Sy (X-Men: Days of Future Past), the familiar face of BD Wong (Law & Order: SVU, Jurassic Park) and Judy Greer (13 Going on 30, Ant-Man).

Despite this great cast, I have to say that once again the real stars of this movie are the dinosaurs. Everyone's favorites are back, from the T-rex and Velociraptor to the Triceratops and Stegosaurus. Similar to the objective of the park itself, this movie introduces a brand new dinosaur with the intention of fascinating (possibly scaring) the movie-going audience. The Indominus Rex, genetically engineered killing machine, is part T-rex but much larger (with some other things thrown in). Naturally, things go sideways with their new beastie and we have a similar but re-imagined invigorating story-line. Dinosaur gets lose, dinosaur terrorizes and eats people, heroes stop dinosaur. Add in some new tech, some old tech, a few chases, explosions...and you have yourself a awesome movie.

It's funny, I had more of an emotional response to the dinosaurs than to the people in the movie (except for Owen of course. What? I have a crush on Chris Pratt, who doesn't?). Watching a dinosaur die, after having been attacked by the "big bad", was heart-breaking and very nearly brought a tear to my eye. I don't always cry (hardly ever) but when I do...it's over a dying Brachiosaurus. Just like the original, my love of the Velociraptors has carried over to this film. Only in this case, they are even cooler and there are four instead of three. Blue, the Beta raptor, named after it's coloring plus her three sisters: Charlie, Delta, and Echo. There were infant dinosaurs in a petting zoo that were so freaking adorable you just had to go "Awwww". A little kid hugged a Brachiosaurus and I wanted to take it home, the dinosaur not the kid. Triceratops with saddles for ridding were also very cute. The petting zoo scenes were the first time we got to see multiple young dinosaurs at length on screen. The original only had one baby raptor on screen for a short time.

There were baby dinosaurs, big dinosaurs, flying dinosaurs, even an aquatic dinosaur. This move had it all and more. It was exciting, gripping, shocking, sad and funny. I have been looking forward to seeing this movie since I first heard about it and saw the trailer. It was everything I had hoped it would be and I was not disappointed. In fact, I plan to see it again next week. Not even Avengers AOU left me with the need to go see it again in theaters. But this movie definitely...3-D Indominus Rex in my face! I recommend the movie and can hardly wait to talk to my co-workers about it in the office tomorrow. Cue the theme music! Doodoodoo doo doo doodoodoo doo doo doodoodoodoodoo doo doo doooooooooo.

Quiet Ultron, Shit is Going Down in Hells Kitchen

So, I'm sure you will recall when I mentioned (in my last blog post) I would return shortly with a new blog post dedicated to my review of The Avengers AOU (Age of Ultron). Yeah...that didn't happen. Sorry. I did go see it opening weekend, but then time got away from me and it's been too long since I saw it to come up with an entire post about just that one topic.

So you get a mini review! I know, lucky you, right? Ahem, here it goes...Avengers: Age of Ultron was a fun action-filled superhero movie, well worth the 3-D ticket price spent. There, short and sweet--you're welcome.

And we're moving on...to the piece of awesomeness that is the Netflix series Daredevil. What can I say about this show that has not already been said? Nothing. But I am more than happy to repeat the praise that this show has received in my own words. Gripping, gritty, bad-ass, mature, well-written--need I go on? I think not. The casting choices were perfect, even down to the minor characters. I've been a fan of London-born Charlie Cox since he co-starred in the movie Stardust with Claire Danes. Great movie, I recommend it to fans of the fantasy/adventure genre. Vincent D'Onofrio as Wilson Frisk...I mean wow. Deborah Ann Woll as Karen Page, Elden Henson as Foggy Nelson and of course Rosario Dawson who I really like.

I was behind the eight ball on watching the show, obviously, having just finished the season a couple weeks ago. Whereas a majority of Netflix subscribers binged watched the show in April. But despite the show's popularity prior to me starting on it, I managed to successfully avoid spoilers. I have a knack for avoiding spoilers (thank you River Song). Certainly I am not alone in the opinion that this show could not have been any better. I was hooked and invested from the first half of episode one, and I can hardly wait for season two.

Now, I just have to catch up on the Daredevil podcast by Phantastic Geek. They do an excellent job of breaking down each episode, the characters, the story. Plus they have great audio/music transitions. Give them a listen, they don't just have the Daredevil podcast: Agents of Shield, Agent Carter, Star Wars Rebels, Marvel films.

I was incredibly behind on most of my other podcasts but I am slowly yet surely getting caught up. I am taking advantage of the summer TV hiatus of quite a few of my favorite shows and filling up my time with as many podcasts as I can. Not to mention, finally cracking open the novels that have been collecting dust on my desk, finished one novel this past week and have started another this week. What has not been helping me is the new shows that aren't on break that I have begun to watch: Wayward Pines, Aquarius, Hannibal (Season 3), Property Brothers. The last one is my newest addiction that I have developed literally within the last few days. But what can I say? There is just something about watching Jonathan go at a wall with a sledge hammer.

Oh! I finally finished The Flash a couple days ago as well. I was four episodes behind and binged watched them this past weekend and the finale on Monday. Another fantastic series that did just about everything right. It had limited CW angst, which a few of their shows tend to have. They have a handle on their super hero shows, although I have yet to see Arrow in its entirety. Even though one of my favorite shows is now slotted right after it on Wednesdays, Supernatural. For a brand new show, The Flash knocked it out of the park. It easily outdid Agents of Shield and Gotham and those are both shows that I enjoy as well. Their first seasons were not nearly as well done, and fun as the freshman season of The Flash. Well done, CW. I could continue to go on and on about The Flash, but again, it's not anything that hasn't already been said. I too will be looking forward to the second season of this great show as well.

That'll do it for me this time around. Thanks to all and to all a goodnight!

STEF-ANIE'S BACK ALRIGHT!

I know what you're thinking...yay a 90s Boy Band reference! Or--ugh, a 90s boy band reference. See, using my Jedi mind tricks to creep inside your brain! Ha!

I actually do know what you're thinking dear readers. You're thinking, where the heck has she been? I realize I haven't written in a month. Firstly, allow me to apologize for that. Secondly, let me explain to you why. These last few weeks have been hectic, very busy. I've been inundated with work stuff, then in my off hours spending a large amount of time on Comicon preparations (interviewing volunteers, updating spreadsheets and schedules). It left little time for anything else except TV shows and even those I was struggling to keep up with. 

Needless to say, "veg-ing" out in front of the TV was the most the I had the energy for. The creative juices were tapped out by exhaustion and I just wasn't in the writing mood. There have certainly been things I could have written about, interesting things, but the drive just wasn't there.

But never fear! I'm back! It's on like donkey kong! It's...well you get the picture.

I also have been actively involved with an Indiegogo campaign to support another Indiegogo campaign. I know, it sounds weird, we've affectionately nicknamed it crowdfundception. Our campaign is to raise enough funds to get a private concert, from the indie rock band Louden Swain. This is actually one of the high end perks being offered by actors, Richard Speight Jr. and Rob Benedict (of CW's Supernatural, Gabriel and Chuck respectively), for their Indiegogo campaign Kings of Con. Paying homage to these two awesome guys, we named ours Kings of the CONcert. The campaign is set to end soon, so that will also free me up to focus on other things. But before Monday, if you have an itch to check out this campaign and some very amusing videos we did, please feel free to visit http://igg.me/at/kingsoftheconcert

In other exciting news, I jumped into the world of podcasting yesterday evening, bridging the gap from listener to co-host. That's right! I'm the co-host on a podcast! I agreed to join a Gotham fancast, where we will discuss the FOX TV show Gotham. The new podcast, Gotham Lights, is actually a spin-off of another podcast done by friends of mine, Gotham Knights. It started out as a joke on Twitter and then my co-host Henno basically decided, to heck with it, we're going ahead with this. This started as the brain child of another podcasting friend Annaleis from the Dark Angels and Pretty Freaks podcast, which she does with her husband Neil. Neil is one of the four hosts of Gotham Knights. Annaleis, Neil's best friend Henno (my co-host) and I had some banter back and forth on Twitter discussing how the three of us should do our own Gotham fancast because the Gotham Knights were always so negative about the show and we were usually quite positive about it. Thus, Gotham Lights was born. It will mostly be Henno and I, but we will frequently have Annaleis on--as well as the legacy Gotham Knights from our father-podcast: Jason the Angry Ginger, Ryan, Neil, and Nickel.

We did have Neil on our first episode last night, our Episode 0, which is currently up on libsyn, the podcast hosting/publishing website and will be going up on iTunes soon. I had a lot of fun last night and am really looking forward to continuing with the podcast. There is only one episode left of Gotham (the season finale), but we will most likely continue on through the break with special episodes and pick back up with Season Two. So keep on the look out for that!

So that's pretty much it, all the updates fit to print. Now you know what's been going on lately. I will try to refrain from another long hiatus. In fact, I will be back very soon with my review of The Avengers: Age of Ultron. The movie premiered today and I will be seeing it this weekend. The post will be marked {Spoilers} so if you haven't seen the movie yet you can avoid reading the post until you have.

Alright, take care everyone!

Huzzah!

Last Saturday, my mother and I made our annual pilgrimage to the far east side. It's an hour and a half journey, that probably should only take half that time but there's always a traffic jam to weather through. It's the only road that takes you to where the Arizona Renaissance Festival takes place, every year February through March. Unless you leave extra early, which we can never seem to pull off, you're expecting to be in stop and go traffic for 45-50 minutes of that hour and a half. It's a very popular destination this time of year and rightly so, it's fun for the whole family with plenty of alcohol for the adults. Plus, where else can you tear apart a large turkey leg with your bare teeth?

Mmm, juicy turkey leg. *drool*

So after finally snaking our way to the main entrance, I usually take a moment to allow by bum to wake up before gathering up my things and putting up the sun visor. This is an all day event so the more protection against the sun that you have, the better: sun visor for the car, baseball hat and sunscreen for me. It's always a good idea to bring cash with you, especially if you want to avoid waiting in line at the ATM machine along with the associated ATM fees. $26 can go a long way if you're frugal and stick to food and drink. Why such an uneven number you ask? (Even if you didn't, humor me) I had $6 left over from Starbucks the previous day and I got $20 out before we left. I was able to get two bottles of water, a turkey leg, roasted almonds and a small flag banner type thing (Flanner?). It may not seem like much but it was good enough for me, besides, I benefited from the cash my mother brought as well. Three words...chocolate covered strawberries, oh and beer, not at the same time.

Yes, those are Storm Troopers as the King's Guard. Time Travel Weekend.

There is so much to do at the Ren Fair, you can follow the schedule as much as you want to but you will miss 80% of everything else. There are about a dozen different stages with different shows every hour spread throughout the park. Each show ranging from family oriented variety shows to humor and music.Then there are game stalls: shooting arrows with bows, throwing stars, a maze. Shops: books, weaponry, jewelry, odds and ends. Food, glorious food. Drinks: soda, smoothies, coffee, teas, beer, mead, wine, mixed drinks and of course water. The raspberry mead is delicious but unfortunately small compared to how much it costs. You're better off with regular beer. There is a variety of food, so if turkey legs are not your thing (to which I say, what's wrong with you?) you will have no trouble finding something to chow down on: roasted corn on the cob, various bread bowls, everything on a stick (ok really it's just chicken and sausage on a stick), pizza, crepes.

The very funny comedy duo of Hey Nunnie Nunnie. Rocking out to one of their silly songs in the act--Carry On My Wayward Nun. Oh if they only knew why I cheered so loudly.

But one of my favorite things to do is to catch at least one of the three Jousting Tournaments that take place through-out the day. A helpful tip, always try to arrive a half an hour (or at least 20 min.) prior to the joust starting to get the good seats where the sun isn't shining directly in your face. You have the sun baking your back but at least you can see and if you don't were a tank top you'll be fine. We often miss the first joust, again because early not being our friend and usually get there just in time for the second. This time we got there about an hour before the second joust. We wandered, watched the second half of one performance and the first half of the second performance at the Dancing Pig Pub. It's located just outside the jousting arena. Also, not too far away from the jousting area is the food area. There are two main food areas (I believe), one at the far end by the jousting arena and the other at the front near the main entrance. We were already a bit hungry when we first got there (worked up an appetite in the forever line of cars), but kept right on going part the massive lines at the main entrance food area. The lines at the back of the park were much better and in about 15 minutes, we had our food. We made our way to the arena, found some good seats and ate our food while we waited for the show to start. Mom with her chili in a bread bowl and I with my turkey leg. There joust consisted of a lot of cheering for Sir Egeron (or Elgeron, it's hard to remember, let's call him the good looking one wearing my favorite color). Sadly, he did not win. We didn't catch the final joust so I'm not sure how he fared in that one. At the end, we threw away our trash and continued to wander the fair.

Two of the four knights, one holding sword and the other with his shield.

Despite, what you have in mind before you arrive (sticking to a plan is almost impossible) you will undoubtedly wind up doing something completely different. You either forgot about a certain show, or the person you're with has not seen the same shows you have. So you wind up being re-introduced to some great things at the cost of missing out on something else, but it's a price worth paying since it will pay out in fun and laughs regardless.

Bag pipers from the band Tartanic. I don't leave before catching the show and saying hello to the band.

So my advice to anyone who has never been to the Renaissance Festival: go forth and be merry! In other words go, you won't regret it. Try to fit as much into your day as your poor legs and wallet can handle. It took me years after moving to this state to finally get around to going. I've been going every year since. Each year brings a new and interesting experience. I am sad to see it end but always look forward to next year. Luckily, I usually have other things to fill the gap: Phoenix Comicon, vacations, other fun things that might come up. So it makes the wait a lot easier. I had hoped to get this post up sooner, since this was the last weekend of the fair. But, I had little time to work on any writing that wasn't involved with work. So, you will just have to promise to take me up on my advice next year (I'll be checking, no I won't, but it sure would be nice if you did though). Huzzah!

Phoenix Salute to Supernatural

A couple weeks ago (Feb. 20-22, I know, a bit behind), the first ever Salute to Supernatural convention was held right here in Phoenix at the downtown Sheraton Hotel. I was fortunate enough to attend the convention (my first Supernatural con) and had a great time. I'm not a stranger to conventions, having been involved with Phoenix Comicon on a volunteer basis since 2012. But this con was my first in regards to experiencing it from an attendee viewpoint. A financial restriction kept me from getting photos, autographs and swag but it did not keep me from enjoying myself. I really liked the panels--they were interesting and very informative. Spending time with my friends, meeting new friends, who all share my love of the show is what made the entire weekend worth it.

A few things taking place prior to this convention nearly had me skipping it entirely. A delay with filing my taxes (not on my end), car accident which put my vehicle in the shop, but ultimately my inner fangirl would not accept missing out on a convention in my own backyard. Luckily, a friend had a free pass for Friday so I only had to cover my admission for Saturday and Sunday. My friends, who are true definitions of SPNFamily (the fandom nickname for fans of Supernatural who consider themselves a family, inspired by the actors of the series) were more than willing to ensure I had a ride to the convention, helped me forget my worries for a bit and gave me a weekend full of laughs and great memories.

Friday, we arrived just in time to sit down for Lauren Tom's panel who played Mama Tran. She is so petite and adorable and had great stories about working on the set of Supernatural, working with Jensen and Jared and of course with her TV son Osric Chau who played Kevin Tran. She has a large body of work from shows such as: The Simpsons, Futurama, King of the Hill, Friends (so many other voice acting credits)--to movies such as: The Joy Luck Club, Bad Santa, Bad Teacher, Wallstreet. Right after her, was Osric Chau dressed as Gaara from Naruto. Osric is well known for his elaborate costumes in the last couple years, a different one at each convention. Osric is a precious human being--his kindness and love of the show and the fans alike easily comes across during his panels.

After roaming the vendor hall and meeting up with our group, we all headed out to dinner at the mall across the street to kill time before the much anticipated Karaoke Kings Friday Night Karaoke Party, hosted by the con's MC Richard Speight Jr. (Gabriel in the show) and his partner in crime Matt Cohen (young John Winchester/Michael). These two are a hilarious duo and make the karaoke party a huge highlight of the weekend. I knew a bit of what to expect having seen videos on Youtube from past conventions, but being there in person was definitely a much better/different experience. Everyone was singing along, many of the actors came out to sing their own songs including: Osric, Lauren, Gil McKinney (Henry Winchester), Mark Pellegrino (Lucifer), Rob Benedict (Chuck in the show, lead singer of indie rock band Louden Swain). The fans were of course also able to get up on stage, they were all chosen at random from a huge pile of submissions. We all entered, a couple of us as a group and a couple as solos. Our group got called up for Billy Joel's Only the Good Die Young, which we regretted a bit afterwards because while it is a great song it is not necessarily a good song for a group. But the crowd enjoyed it and we had a great time...bonus I got a hug from Rob Benedict. I submitted a Pat Benatar song, one of my go-to karaoke artists. A friend submitted what would have been my submission but entered it first, Lovin' Touchin' Squeezin' by Journey. Anyway, there is both photographic and video evidence of our singing out there.

I arrived late on Saturday and missed a few panels after having spent my morning waiting for the pest control guy and getting a rental car. But once again, just in time for a great panel, that of Mark Sheppard (Crowley). His sarcasm and humor are great. He also is very appreciative of his fans. He walked off the stage and strolled through the audience pausing here and there to chat with fans while answering questions with a tone of snark. Afterwards, it was meet up time with the group again to grab lunch during which we happened to spot Misha Collins (Castiel) walking past the restaurant with his Meet and Greet group of fans. They stopped for a bit so Misha could give a couple of girlscouts some giant pixie sticks (he had bought a bunch for his entire group, from a kid selling them at the mall) and buy a large stack of cookies from them. At the same time, Mark Pellegrino showed up, also having been out and about at the mall. He paused to say hello to Misha and the fans then continued on back to the Sheraton. We all got pictures, naturally. After our meal, we went outside to the mom with the girlscouts and chatted with her. She had no idea who Misha was and we were more than happy to explain. She said she would definitely look him up when she got home.

Back to the hotel we went for Richard, Matt, and Rob's Panel and after that Misha's. Dinner was at My Big Fat Greek at the mall (we spent a lot of time at that mall, close proximity food) prior to the Louden Swain concert. The concert was fantastic, as I knew it would be. I was already a fan of Rob and his band having been turned on to their music by friends when I first starting watching Supernatural. Similar to the karaoke show, the concert was littered with guest appearances by cast: Osric, Gil, Richard, Sebastian Roche (Balthazar). But it wasn't until Jensen Ackles (Dean Winchester) made a brief appearance that the crowd went crazy. He sang a five part harmony with Richard, Rob, Billy, and Michael (Billy & Michael are two of Rob's bandmates plus Stephen) to the song Seven Bridges Road by The Eagles. This was followed by an even shorter appearance of Jared Padalecki (Sam Winchester) who greeted the crowd then fled the stage after Jensen asked him to sing with him. But despite their short time on stage, their presence there at all on a Saturday was a first in the history of Salute for Supernatural cons.

The first day that I could have arrived early, I wasn't able to. The day started with the ballroom being reserved for gold members only and general admission didn't need to show up until after lunch. This of course was Sunday, the big day for the boys' panel. I think I got there around 11 in the morning and wandered around the vendor hall after getting my final armband. I knew photo ops were going on and a couple of my friends with gold passes were in the ballroom, so to kill some time I wandered over to the table of the Supernatural Crossroads guys. The guys, who we first met on Thursday and hung out with a bit on Friday night, are local fans of the show that started their own Supernatural radio show/podcast. I hadn't listened to the show at the time, but have been binge listening to the entire years worth of episodes in the last few days. It's a well produced, intelligent discussion based chat about Supernatural related topics and detailed reviews of episodes plus great cast interviews. Both hosts were at the table on Sunday, Thomas and Ryan, their producer Mike (who has as much to say on the show as the hosts) was missing at first. I took the opportunity to snag of photo with the guys and promised to start listening to the show soon. I have kept my word and have not been able to stop listening, suffice to say I really love the show. Besides, my list of podcasts had been missing a Supernatural themed show.

Fast forward to the panels...we sat through poor Colin Ford's panel. I felt bad for the kid, the sound system was horrible so he had to ask people to restate their questions repeatedly. But he was adorable and smart even though you could tell he wasn't used to doing panels. Cue the panel of the day, the thing everyone was there for (at least those of us in the cheap seats who didn't see them earlier that morning)--Jared & Jensen's panel. Despite having ear pieces in both ears, the stars of the show could still not properly hear people's questions. Their prior experience with numerous cons has them well prepared to deal with such issues and retain their professionalism but also give the fans a good show. In true J2 fashion there was a lot of teasing and joking in addition to great story telling from the boys. To the sheer joy of everyone in the ballroom, Jensen showed everyone exactly what it would look like if the Winchesters tried hunting ghosts with a salt filled hula hoop. The fan that asked the question and I'm paraphrasing, "When Dean and Sam fight ghosts, why don't they just use a hula hoop filled with salt?"--that fan was everyone's hero that day. Jensen jumps up from the chair and proceeds to mime holding a shotgun and gyrate across the stage pretending to "hula hoop" with background music provided by the band. One of the funniest and greatest things I have seen in a long while and it happened more than one in lesser degrees. There is a lot of video out there, just Youtube: Phxcon Jensen Hula Hooping. You can thank me later.

So there you have it, my long winded (but hopefully not boring) write up on the Salute to Supernatural convention in Phoenix. If you've made it this far, I thank you.