Category: 2015

J3 Day at Pascon – Jared, Jensen, Jeffrey (and Mark!)

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Finally getting back to finishing up the posts on Pascon after getting (pleasantly) waylaid by chats with Richard Speight and reviewing the episode he just directed. So where was I? Oh yes, Sunday. Sunday is usually J2 day, but at Pascon, it was J3 day! (Richard made a joke about that sounding dirty but hey, Richard, you said it…)

We also got another Mark Sheppard panel, which I was grateful for, since I missed his panel the day before while chatting with Matt Cohen. Mark’s trademark mix of snarky and genuinely appreciative of fandom is always a treat.

The snarky:

Fan: What did Dean and Crowley do on their bromance adventures?

Mark: Do I have to write your fanfic for you?

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It’s A Beautiful Sunday! Article #3 on Salute to Supernatural Denver, Colorado

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The day begins early on Sunday mornings for any Salute to Supernatural convention, and this one is no different. My roommate for this convention was one of my closest friends, Katy; although we had an alarm set for 7:30, we were awake at 7:00, full of nervous energy and excitement, and did I mention nerves? I’m so thankful that she was there with me for the weekend – as she ate her bagel, she gently, quietly suggested that I eat a little bit of cereal before I left the room, reminding me just how full the day was going to be, reminding me that I really need to eat at least a little bit, that it would calm my stomach. I did manage to swallow a few bites of Cheerios.

It’s Sunday. It’s the Jared and Jensen Gold Panel at 10:00. Then it’s off to so many photo ops. And a panel with Mark Pellegrino. And the afternoon panel with Jared and Jensen. And then more photo ops. And another panel with Mark Sheppard. And then autographs with Jared and Jensen. Oh, and in all of that, yes, I had my first Meet & Greet with Jensen.

 

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Closing out 2015 with Pascon – Friday and Saturday

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Like I said, Pascon was special because it was the last Creation con of 2015 – and because it’s where Louden Swain first played for a con (and sort of the start of Rob and Rich’s epic friendship). It was also just a helluva lot of fun.

Flying all the way across the country from east coast to west isn’t a picnic, and I was worried that I wouldn’t get there in time for Friday panels. I grabbed a cab, miraculously hit no traffic on the freeway, no line at registration, stored my bags at the hotel and ran into the ballroom – literally just in time to hear most of Richard’s rendition of Rules and Regulations! Phew! And Rob’s shaker dance. He looks like some sort of exotic dancer, doesn’t he?

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The SPNFamily Business… Article #2 on Salute to Supernatural in Denver, Colorado

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The Salute to Supernatural conventions are always entertaining, but there is another word that describes these events: Family. Although the venue for the convention in Denver was small, it felt right. The smallness created an atmosphere of closeness and of camaraderie. While each of the celebrity guests spoke passionately about a variety of causes, they also spoke about the bond, the sense of community and family that is our fandom.

Before I get into those details, I think it is important to recognize the non-cast people, the people directly connected to these conventions. The first group is all of the wonderful people from Creation Entertainment. Co-founders Gary Berman and Adam Malin spend countless hours planning and preparing these events, events that allow us the opportunity not only to meet the cast, but also to meet our fellow family members. Mr. Berman and Mr. Malin, along with their staff and their volunteers, continue to pour their heart and soul and passion into making these events something special, whether it is in Denver or Las Vegas or any other city on the circuit. They go to great lengths to make sure lines move quickly, to have water coolers filled and ready to go inside the theater, to answer our questions with enthusiasm and smiles – they really do want us to have a good time! They have also recently launched Creation Stands, allowing us the opportunity to buy merchandise through their website which supports the various charities near & dear to the hearts of our favorite cast members. Without the unwavering passion and commitment of Mr. Berman, Mr. Malin, and all of the Creation staff, these conventions simply would not exist.

 

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This. Is. Entertainment. Post #1. Salute to Supernatural – Denver

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I first met the authors of Fangasm, Lynn and Kathy, in Chicago. In the year since then, we have forged a friendship built on a mutual love for this show, but also one built upon respect for one another’s work, and I am quite sure they are sick of hearing me say thank you a gabjillion times. We had discussed the idea of me acting as their photographer at a few conventions (see their posts on Vegas) and when the Denver convention came up, and they would not be attending but I was attending, and oh my Chuck – here I am, writing this for them. I am forever grateful for this opportunity.

I have attended two Salute to Supernatural conventions prior to Denver, first in Chicago in 2014 and then in Las Vegas in 2015. Upon entering the hotel in Denver, I was immediately struck by the smallness of the location; I wondered how this would go, given the number of fans about to descend upon the site.

 

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Last Con of 2015! Pascon Jensen Ackles Meet and Greet Excerpts

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I feel like I start lots of con reports by saying ‘this con was special,’ but oddly, it seems like many of them do have something that sets them apart. Pascon is the successor to Burcon, which is the successor to LACon, which first happened way back in early 2009 (I think). That was the second Creation con that Kathy and I went to, and our (mis)adventures there are chronicled for posterity in a chapter of “Fangasm Supernatural Fangirls”. We got to know Richard Speight a lot better at that con, after meeting him at Chicon and enjoying our interview so much that we just kept talking, leaving the green room and going to the hotel restaurant for dinner. I’m sure exactly no one is surprised that Richard was that much fun to talk to.

Afterwards, there was a band playing a concert at the con, which was something Creation has done from the start of SPN cons. That night, it was Louden Swain, fronted by Rob Benedict, who Kathy and I had met briefly on our second Supernatural set visit (That chapter is a lot more MIS than adventures…). We were still talking to Richard, so we brought him with us to the concert, the three of us sitting in the back of the auditorium. We were all blown away by Louden Swain.

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Chicon Friday People, Saturday Night Special, Misha and More!

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One more post from Chicon before the new week begins, and with it a new episode and a new con. We really are a lucky fandom.

I really enjoyed Misha Collins’ panel (as I always seem to). This one was a mix of funny and emotional, with some awkward moments thrown in because it wouldn’t be a Misha panel without them.

There was Misha telling a rather hilarious story about taking his meet and greeters to a nearby woods and sitting on a log…which ended up with him smelling like poop and trying to clean off with a towel in a hapless Creation volunteer’s hotel room.

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Jared and Jensen and Lots of Smiles at ChiCon

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Happy Halloween, SPNFamily! Here are some treats to celebrate…

It was a real one-two Supernatural knockout punch to come off the high of Chicon and then have an episode like ‘Baby’. I barely survived all the good feelings! Before the next con and its undoubtedly epic happenings takes place (I’m counting on you guys to keep me up to date since I won’t be there at Denvercon!), I wanted to share some of my favorite photos from Chicon, and a few of my favorite moments too.

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This will be post no. 1 – the J2 version. Frankly, I could watch Jared and Jensen banter and tease each other and crack each other up until the cows come home. Somehow, after more than ten years of working together and spending most weekends together at conventions (or now at home in Austin), they clearly still enjoy each other’s company as much as ever.

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Meet and Greet Tidbits from Chicon – Jensen Ackles on Directing SPN!

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Chicon, as everyone there kept saying this past weekend, is where it all started. It was the site of the very first Creation Supernatural convention, way back in 2007. Kathy and I took turns stalking the website, sometimes to the detriment of things like jobs and carpooling children, waiting for tickets to go on sale. When they did, I was lucky enough to snap some up – I think we’re still sitting in those same seats today. And up on stage, many of the same actors we met that day for the first time were onstage once again.

There are not one but two chapters of ‘Fangasm’ that take place at Chicon, so let’s just say it’s a special con for Kathy and me. This year it seemed to hit all of us that it’s been a long time we’ve been coming to the Windy City to celebrate our love of Supernatural, with both actors and fans feeling a bit emotional about it. Which made for fabulous panels, and a great meet and greet with Jensen.

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(My good friend Laurena, who rescued me at Chicon two years ago when I got stranded there without a hotel in the middle of an East coast hurricane, did the Jared meet and greet, so look for that write up soon over on the Winchester Family Business site). Laurena and I spent Sunday night gushing to each other about our respective meet and greet experiences over some delicious food and drink in the Red Bar, where they were serving Crowley themed drinks all weekend. (This must be a tradition: At the first Chicon all the hotel bars were serving purple nurples.)

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Toronto Con 2015 With the Supernatural Family

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The Toronto Creation con is always a little bit more emotional than most, because everyone remembers that’s where Rob Benedict had the stroke that almost killed him. That was two years ago, and Rob is fine – as Richard says, better than ever and healthy as a horse! – but he almost wasn’t. The fact that it was his Supernatural family who saved his life is emblematic of the feeling many fans have that the show has saved their lives too – maybe not quite as literally (though maybe every bit as literally), but nevertheless Supernatural has changed many of us. Toronto con is about celebrating Rob’s life, and about celebrating the fact that we’re all SPN Family. Maybe that’s why all the guests were bursting with enthusiasm at this year’s Torcon, and why the Saturday Night Special erupted in an emotional rushing of the stage by the last few numbers.

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