Part 2 of the last con report of 2018, from not-very-sunny Jacksonville, Florida. But hey, it was alot warmer than where I flew from, so I’m not complaining!
I wanted to end this year on a high note, remembering the good moments and reminding myself of all the reasons I love this show and this cast and this fandom. I hope the pretty pictures and the amusing memories will brighten the last day of 2018 for you too!
Part 1 left off with Saturday night, so that’s where we’ll pick up here. Then it’s Sunday, which means Jared and Jensen, along with panels from Ruth Connell and Richard Speight Jr.
Saturday Night is always special at a Supernatural con, because it’s the concert that caps off the day. I love the Saturday Night Special because I can just enjoy it in between taking pictures and don’t have to do any live tweeting – maybe that’s why it’s usually one of my favorite parts of any con.
Louden Swain kicked things off, then Mark Pellegrino introduced Matt Cohen, who can rockstar out with the best of them. Remember when he was hesitant to sing at the SNS? You’d never know it now!
It’s the end of 2018, so it seems fitting to share some pictures and memories from the last Supernatural con of 2018, which happened to be in Jacksonville. I wanted to end the year with everything that’s positive about fandom and a reminder to myself as much as anyone of how much I love and enjoy this incredible cast and all the fans I’ve had the pleasure of meeting and hanging out with over the past decade plus. So here’s Part I of Jacksonville 2018, with some pretty pictures to brighten your last day of the year!
The hotel was under construction, which meant the beautiful view of the water was obstructed when you were at ground level, but luckily the vendor room was elevated with floor to ceiling windows, so the view from my table was breathtaking (if you just look past the various cranes and things). And from our hotel room and its teeny tiny balcony? Even better.
My good friend Alana was also at Jaxcon, so we took advantage of both being in town early to go have some lunch. We managed to find a restaurant that was 100% empty, and since we were the only ones there, of course that meant blogging and putting Africa By Toto on the jukebox. And then more blogging. And corn nuggets. Don’t knock ‘em if you haven’t tried ‘em!
Lots of my favorite SPNFamily friends were also at Jax, so it was a fun four days with lots of catching up and goofing off and not getting enough sleep – but hey, that’s what cons are all about!
(You can find the Day 1 blog including our corn nugget adventures on Alana’s channel if you’re curious. About corn nuggets.)
I’m just going to include some highlights in this blog, since the panels were broadcast on Stage It and I’m assuming most of you have had the pleasure of watching them by now. This is Part I, with Misha Collins, Rachel Miner, Kim Rhodes, Briana Buckmaster, Ruth Connell, Adam Fergus, David Haydn-Jones, Emily Swallow, Rob Benedict, Richard Speight Jr, Matt Cohen, Mark Pellegrino and a special appearance by Hayden Lee too. Phew, that was a jam packed Friday and Saturday!
Rachel Miner had a great answer when someone asked how she manages to keep her great attitude and beautiful soul?
Post number three from Jaxcon, phew! I’ve got an embarrassment of riches with such beautiful photos to share thanks to Kim and Christina. I’m also in an emotional mood about Show, thinking about the anniversary of Kim Manners’ death, and the impact he had on the Show. Kim had such a profound influence, and in some ways, he set up the tone of the set which continues to today. He helped bond them all together, so in a sense, it was Kim who is partly responsible for that sense of SPNFamily that the cast and crew and fandom all feel.
Yesterday Eric Kripke, who’s responsible for this amazing show, tweeted in support of Sera Gamble’s new show, The Magicians, reminding us all that the SPNFamily supports each other. Add that to the cast’s tweets about Kim, and I’ve been feeling more emotional about Show than usual. In a good way.
That sense of closeness was very evident at Jaxcon. It was the first con of the year, and both fans and guests hadn’t seen each other in far too long. This is a cast that is demonstrative in their affection for each other, which makes the entire con feel warm and fuzzy and just plain good. You can see it in the photo ops, whether it’s Richard, Rob and Matt or Jared or Jensen and Misha or Kim and Katherine or any combination of cast and fans.
The Supernatural Creation con circuit kicked off 2016 with a first time visit to Jacksonville, which turned out to be an awesome con! The Hyatt Regency won me over almost immediately by a) being right on the river, which was beautiful and b) proving themselves almost as big Supernatural fans as most of their guests were. Not only was Supernatural playing on TNT at the bar and the restaurant, but they had a gif of all the Supernatural title cards projected on the lobby floor! How cool is that??
It was a short walk to restaurants and I spent a lot of time hanging out with fangirls and conjecturing about what the second half of Season 11 will likely bring (with a mix of nervous anticipation, hand wringing trepidation, squeeful joy, and academic musings – as several of us study Supernatural as well as fangirl it). In fact, quite a few students from UNF’s Supernatural course were in attendance, much to the incredulity of all the guests.
Jensen: There’s a COLLEGE COURSE about Supernatural??? Of course there is!
