Tag: Gabe Tigerman

Salute to Supernatural Returns to Dallas!

Salute to Supernatural Returns to Dallas!

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I did not have the opportunity to attend one of the Supernatural conventions in the years they were previously in Dallas, so when they announced they were returning, I quickly bought my ticket! And this con definitely did not disappoint! It was a wonderful weekend spent with good friends, in spite of it being so hot outside. The venue is literally in a field in the middle of nowhere, at least an 8-10 minute drive to the nearest hotel, or food, or lattes (as my partner in crime, Lynn, desperately needs, lol)

[This post is by Kim, in case you didn’t figure that out. It’s true, I do need my morning latte. And sometimes my afternoon one. Good thing that Dallas con was populated by tons and tons of friends! Kim and I stayed with one of them, her husband and kids graciously welcoming four of us into their home. That meant not only four additional people in the house, but nightly Supernatural rewatch viewings and people coming and going at all sorts of times. But combine Texas hospitality with SPN Family hospitality and you’ve got — well, you’ve got brisket cooked all day on the bbq and homemade potato salad and cole slaw and some of the best damn drinks I’ve ever had (shout out to bartender hubby!)  That also meant there was always someone stopping by Starbucks or sneaking in some lunch for hungry vendors. Thank you to everyone who was so kind, it made the entire con so much fun]

[Okay, back to Kim’s Friday wrap up and beautiful photos…] — Lynn

The convention kicked off on Friday with our favorite band, Louden Swain, and perhaps the best emcee in the entirety of the world, Mr. Richard Speight Jr. In their opening, Richard attempted to chastise Rob for his love of corn nuts… and a fan actually had a bag of corn nuts that she quickly tossed at Rob. And the giggles and laughter and jokes began, and listen, this is why I’m here. For the laughter, not the corn nuts.

[And if you think the jokes were G rated, think again…] — Lynn

Rob gets corn nuts
Rob shoves corn nuts down his pants

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Back to Chicago, Where It All Began! Supernatural 2019

Back to Chicago, Where It All Began! Supernatural 2019

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The very first Supernatural convention I went to was in Chicago. Well, actually that’s not true. There was a fan-run and all-fan convention of about 30 people in Vancouver in 2007 a few months before the Creation one in Chicago, where I met people who also loved Supernatural and who I still call friends today, twelve years later. But Chicago was the first one with Jared and Jensen, along with a few other SPN guests and some folks from Buffy and Angel too (because Creation wasn’t sure this new little show could pull off a con on its own). My friends and I stalked the website for literally months, waiting for the tickets to go on sale so we could snag some. We had no idea what to expect really – would the actors be as nice as they seemed in the few interviews we’d seen? Would they be entertaining onstage? I want to laugh so hard now, knowing the answers to those questions – but I don’t think anyone could have predicted just how NICE they really are or just how entertaining they would be!

Through the years, I’ve been back to Chicago for a Supernatural convention many times. One of my good friends lives there – we met through a con, when I found myself stranded after the convention ended and a hurricane blew in, cancelling all flights and leaving me without a hotel. I was new to twitter, but I put out a plea – can anyone help? Up drove Laurena, rescuing me from a very bad part of town and taking me in, because SPNFamily. We’ve been friends ever since.

This year, Laurena and her lovely husband Rock helped me in the vendor room once again. There were many old friends at this con, some that I’ve known since the very first one twelve years ago, and many new friends too, some that I’ve met along the way and now call my good friends too. Knowing that the Show is coming to an end made the Chicago con even more emotional than usual, because I keep thinking of beginnings now that I’m constantly thinking about endings. There will be at least one more Chicago con, but this was the last one that will happen when the Show is still on the air. And that hurts.

The actors are also thinking a lot about endings now, and some of them about beginnings too. Richard Speight Jr. reminisced with Rob about his first convention, which was also right here in Chicago. We were writing ‘Fangasm Supernatural Fangirls’ at the time, and there’s an entire chapter in that book on the first couple of Chicago conventions – it’s where we first met Richard and got to know him. None of us could imagine at the time how much our lives would change because of Supernatural.

So this year was bittersweet, but there was a whole lotta sweet! (Neither my camera nor my phone were at all happy so I got fewer photos than usual, but I’ve included some of the better ones here. At least that finally forced me to go out and get a new phone!)  Rachel Miner kicked off the con, as she often does – which is a lot like kicking off the day with a sparkly rainbow and lots of sunshine. And unicorns.

Rachel said she feels comfortable at conventions, like she’s with friends. She proved it by sharing her epic fail moments that would be on a gag reel.  That should tell you what sort of courageous – and hilarious – person Rachel is.

Rachel is an unabashed Cas girl.

Rachel: I’d like to think if Cas saw Meg in the The Empty, he’d have tried to rescue her.

She likes that both Meg and Cas didn’t fit traditional gender roles, and that they probably have both been male and female.

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Salute to Supernatural, Nashville – Friday and Saturday Recap

Salute to Supernatural, Nashville – Friday and Saturday Recap

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[In which Kim writes a guest post and makes herself cry….and posts lots and lots and lots of pretty pretty pictures…]

The first con of the year, in Seattle, was cancelled, making this year’s Salute to Supernatural Convention in Nashville the first con of the year. I don’t know if Seattle’s cancellation was the reason, but the atmosphere in Nashville felt electric, joyous, full of anticipatory excitement.

If only we had known then what we know now.

As I write this, I am walking a tightrope, trying to find the right balance. We did not know then what we know now. We were happy and excited and full of joy. We hugged old friends and made new ones, just as we do at any convention. We laughed and joked our way through photo op lines, and then we consoled one another afterwards. I cannot imagine how different it would have all been if we had known.

I think the best thing, perhaps the only thing, I can do is to give you the highlights of this convention. Add in some happy pictures, pretty pictures. Perhaps it will bring some measure of comfort, or happiness, or joy to you in light of what we know now.

Friday panels began with our most favorite unicorn, Rachel Miner. She talked about her time in Kim Rhodes’ closet, how her favorite scene was Meg’s death (written so beautifully by Robbie Thompson), and she laughed when a fan reminded her that she once wished for Meg and Cas to have little demon/angel babies. Rachel also spoke about MS and how she copes with it:
“My day is made or broken by simple kindnesses. I have everyday momentary heroes and many of them are women… I have the life I have because of you. It was your encouragement not to hide.”

Jason Manns followed Rachel’s panel. First we were treated to a few songs with Jason, Rob, and Richard, including “Wagon Wheel” and some Station Breaks!

[Lynn popping into Kim’s guest post to add: Richard Speight Jr. in glasses…. yum…}

Jason talked about working with Richard Speight Jr. in the studio, saying that he’s very professional and they’ve had a lot of fun working together.

Jason also said, “I love conventions because everyone is like on vacation with a bunch of like minded folks.” And he’s right – this is like a vacation, with all of your friends… and as I write this, I hold on to the hope of many more vacations to come.

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Back To Where It All Began – Supernatural Chicago Con 2018!

Back To Where It All Began – Supernatural Chicago Con 2018!

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Chicago Con is always special, because it was my very first Supernatural Creation con. That was now over ten years ago, which is kinda hard to believe because it seems like a second ago, and yet it also seems like a long long time ago. A lot has changed, but a lot has stayed the same. I’m incredibly grateful that so many of the people I met at that very first con – on both sides of the stage – are still there. It says something about the loyalty of both the fans and the cast to this show that continues to inspire us. And more than ten years of cons later? That’s pretty special.

Rob hosted Friday, since Richard was up in Vancouver preparing to direct Supernatural.

Rob: Richard’s not here because he’s in Vancouver directing Supernatural. Which is kinda fun, because I get to tell you that guess what? I love Perth!

The audience roared at the long-standing in joke.

Rob reminisced about doing his very first Supernatural convention right here in Chicago – immediately after filming the convention episode of the show! I still remember how blown away he was that day. He kept exclaiming, “this is so weird, this is so weird”. It was all kinds of adorable. And I love that Rob and Rich are two of the people who can look back on so many years of cons, and on their evolution from simply guest performers doing one panel to the linchpins of the entire convention weekend. I’m 100% sure that one of the reasons the cons have continued for so long is because Richard Speight Jr. is the consummate host and Rob Benedict and Louden Swain are the most kickass “house band” you could ever wish for.

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Supernatural VegasCon 2018!

Supernatural VegasCon 2018!

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Vegascon is one of my favorite conventions – it’s four days of craziness, tons of my favorite fangirls and fanboys, a thousand miles of walking, and Jensen Ackles singing at the Saturday Night Special. What’s not to like? (Except maybe the thousand miles of walking part…)

This year was even crazier than before, since I was also working in the vendor room to sell Family Don’t End With Blood and our other books. But in between meeting tons of awesome fellow fans and signing lots of books, I managed to take in a bunch of panels. So I thought I’d share some of my favorite moments and photos below.

Day One: Thursday

I had to work late on Wednesday teaching, so I couldn’t fly in until Thursday afternoon. I was trying very hard to get there in time for Richard and Rob’s kick off, but the shuttle I booked to save money took its sweet old time winding its way through Vegas before finally stopping at the Rio – which was, predictably, the very last stop. That means I missed Gil and Osric onstage together, which made me very sad, and caught only part of Jeffrey Parise’s inaugural con panel. I have to say, I was taken aback by what a nice guy he is – and how attractive! Let’s just say Asmodeus is neither of those on the show, so that was a pleasant surprise. He’s also very amusing. And he spells his name the same way as my son, so of course that’s a point in his favor too. Also, he looks sort of familiar…

@Kreespa: Have you and Tim Omundson ever been seen in the same place?

Hmmmm.

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