I am the other half of "A-Squared," also known as Adina.
As Ally noted in her post, this past weekend we attended ATX Television Festival in Austin, TX. This was my third time attending and it was a little different. First, I had a bestie attending with me and I could finally show her all the fab things I've discovered about the festival and about the city the past two years.
The other thing that was different this year was the crowds. Our small and intimate festival became a little crowded this year, mostly because of the headline event for the weekend: the Gilmore Girls 15-Year Reunion! (Which was magical and everything I hoped it would be.)
I had some small problems with the festival this year, which I detailed in a long email to the people in charge. However, it was still amazing and beautiful. I adore Austin, I adore the festival, and I already bought a badge for next year. I already miss it!
I had a packing list because I was starting to think of things to pack before I prepared my suitcase and I didn't want to forget anything. One of the biggest things that I learned from previous years is that Austin is hot in June! Like low-90s kind of hot. So this year, I packed mostly dresses. I was much happier in my flowy dresses than I was in pants (even capris)! I also remembered sunscreen, in various SPFs, which was very helpful in the blazing TX sun!
The food in Austin was another thing I was looking forward to: Tex-Mex and BBQ. Now, I know, that's all over Texas, not just Austin, but I'd only ever visited Dallas for a brief time previously. If you're in Austin, a few good places are Mijo's on 11th St, Blue Ribbon BBQ, and of course, Stubb's.
Now, the good stuff and the reason we went: ATX. ATX Festival is not a con, it's not a fan event. It's a place for industry and viewers to come together and geek out about TV. There are panels for topics such as casting, directing, writing, music in TV, finales, audience, etc. There are screenings and panels for shows that are new (upcoming), current, "cancelled too soon" and reunions.
I first found out about the festival through a Google news alert, believe it or not. One of my favorite shows is American Dreams, which few people remember and definitely falls into the "cancelled too soon" category. Well, in late 2012, the festival was promoting a reunion for this incredible show for their upcoming event in June 2013. I knew very little about the festival, but I knew I had to go. I actually found the original article, so you can check it out. I made it happen, and it was more than I'd hoped it would be.
(I have homemade DVDs for S3 since it's not available commercially and I made my own coverart. This is signed by the cast and the writers.)
I figured the festival would be a one-time thing, so I didn't buy in advance for the following year (2014). Well, as programming started to be announced (Everwood and Hey Dude in particular), I regretted that and bought a badge online. In 2014, I already knew this would be an annual thing for me so I didn't waste time and bought a badge immediately.
I had also been telling Ally about the festival for years. She decided not to attend in 2014, then regretted it once they announced a Roswell reunion. We weren't making that mistake again, and I got a badge for her for 2015. A-Squared Takes Austin was in motion!
One of the festival traditions is a highlight, a Friday Night Lights outdoor screening tailgate party. Everyone votes on the episode they most want and we bring chairs and blankets and there's music and food and FNL stars and more.
Well, this year, they didn't have just any live music. There was Delta Spirit, sure, but more importantly was a special appearance by a fictional band: Hep Alien! (Zach, Lane, and Brian from Gilmore Girls)
Todd first introduced them as their fictional counterpoints: "I'm Zach, this is my best friend Brian, and that little lady back there on the drums is my wife!" Then he dropped the whole "Hep Alien" thing and introduced them as their real-life selves: Todd Lowe, John Cabrera, Keiko Agena. Not pictured is the real Dave Rygalski, dubbing in fo John who doesn't actually play the bass. They encored with Where You Lead, and it was EPIC.
There's plenty more to talk about for the weekend, but I'll leave you with these tidbits for now.
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