I have been waiting for a Supernatural con in my hometown for a very long time – finally Creation brought their The Road So Far tour to Philly in October. Yay!!!
It seemed extra special because we had just celebrated the 20th anniversary of the show’s premiere way back in 2005.
Philly gave Supernatural a warm welcome, the Philadelphia Zoo even posting an invitation to fans to come do a meet and greet with their very own Sam and Dean (hedgehog version).
Look how adorable they are – almost as cute as the real thing!
Of course they’ve got their own Impala!
The con being local also meant I could set out on a leisurely half hour drive into the city each morning…. Yeah, no, that didn’t happen. The traffic was so insane that it took me three times that, and was nervewracking too. However, on Thursday I found a great spot in the hotel garage, so all was well.
I got set up in the vendor room with a little help from my friends and settled in to welcome everyone to Philly!
It turned out to be a great con, though my driving woes weren’t any less than when I’m going a long distance somehow. Friday’s drive didn’t go any better than Thursday’s, and when I got to the hotel garage there was not a single spot in the entire structure! I drove around, increasingly upset because frankly driving is just not my favorite thing… like at all… and was finally told by a parking attendant that there was one “over there a few rows”. It turned out to be a tiny sliver of pavement between a giant truck and a cement pillar, with a trash can chained to the pillar to make it extra challenging. After approximately 30 attempts, I squeezed my Honda in. Never mind I could barely get out and the trash can….well, it had a few dents. Sorry, trash can.
Saturday’s drive was better, but the parking was even worse. When I got there, the ‘FULL’ sign was already up. I was already late, and driving is not really one of my better skills, as I’ve mentioned, and my knee is dislocated, so the thought of driving around the city looking for another lot and then limping to the hotel was really not a pleasant one. I parked my car in front of the hotel and got out to ask if I could do valet parking and was told THAT was full too! WTF? I think a few tears might have rolled down my face at that point and the (very nice) man took pity on me when he saw my knee brace.
“I’ll find a place for you, ma’am,” he kindly assured me. “Just leave it there.”
I wasn’t able to see many panels this time since I was coming and going, but I caught some of the ladies’ panel, which I always try to do. This time we got Kim Rhodes, Briana Buckmaster, Ruth Connell, Samantha Smith, Alaina Huffman and Julie McNiven!
Ruth Connell talked about working with Alaina Huffman and passing on the importance of working WITH other women and supporting each other.
Alaina: I get to play and be supportive with people I love, I’m not competing with other women. That’s my circle.
Briana: I worked very hard to make everyone feel included.
Ruth and Briana and Kim all wrote insightful chapters in Family Don’t End With Blood, all about their journey to Supernatural and what they’ve learned from the fandom. Julie wrote a chapter in There’ll Be Peace When You Are Done, taking us behind the scenes of filming Supernatural and what it was like working with Jensen Ackles in that backseat in the Impala scene. (Spoiler alert, he was a gentleman).
They all talked about how powerful it is to meet fans in person, like they’re able to do at cons.
Ruth: Supernatural and this fandom are the gift of my life.
Julie talked about her young son, who at the holidays opens every present and exclaims “for me??” Awww.
Ruth told a story about little Margaret repeatedly calling for “Daddy” and when that didn’t work, calling: “Rob!!”
Awwwwww
Saturday was also Misha Collins day, as always.
He kicked off his panel stressing about trying to use up all the Asian pears from his pear tree and taking suggestions.
A fan asked, who slays the most?
Misha: Who slays the most? I hate to say it, but Jensen.
