TVD NJ was my last TVD con as a gold ticket holder.
Why did I go gold? Good question. It was Arielle Kebbel's fault. My special autograph item is a screen accurate Elena journal that I've been using to accumulate signatures from the cast of TVD and the Originals for a few years now. When I got of the front of Arielle's table, she wasn't even looking at me- that's how distracted she was. Ian had signed on one page in silver. The handler let the book close, she opened it up and signed right over his signature in black sharpie. Ian was on a really really tight schedule and had already left. There was nothing Creation could do for me. Accepting that she had ruined it, she signed again on another page. Since Ian's autograph always sells out, I figured the easiest way was to go gold one last time. I'd get a bunch of autographs and a nice close seat.
Honestly, I wasn't that impressed with the lineup. This show has an amazing female cast. The Originals has an amazing cast, period. This year there were no girls, and Daniel Gillies was the biggest star of The Originals. Sebastian Roche had dropped out and was replaced with... a pre-signed picture. Many people besides myself felt this was a new low. In fact, I looked at the schedule and realized I'd rather be at my job, since Chris Brochu <3 <3 and Micah would each have second panels on other days so I wouldn't miss anything.
I got to the con at 5 PM- just in time for autographs, karaoke sign up, and the end of Chase Coleman's panel. Karaoke was ultimately a high point, but a strange experience. Almost every other song was Chase Coleman. I didn't understand that since karaoke has always been when the FANS got to get up and shine. However, watching Chase, Micah, and Chris sign and dance to "Everybody" by The Backstreet Boys was worth it.
Friday night is also when I fell in love with Chris Brochu. Anyone who has ever driven anywhere with me knows I love Eminem. Chris whipped out his ... love of rap by surprising us with the rap from Fergilicious and I fell hard. Sharing a mic with him for "Lose Yourself" by Eminem left me smitten. And the somersault! I hope that's on video.
Saturday highlights included the double Chris panel, watching Chris Wood do a somersault to try and steal the Brochu love going on, Chris Wood's arms, and Daniel Gillies. He doesn't need to speak to be a highlight. When he does, it's icing on the cake. Last but not least was the Saturday Night Concert. While I already knew Chase, Chris, and Stephanie could sing, I was NOT expect David Alpay to show up looking 12x hotter than any photo I've ever seen of him, in a deep v-neck tee shirt, gently glistening with sweat and a goddamn Superman curl on his forehead. I swear to god, it was like watching Henry Cavill's brother play the fiddle, and it was giving me breathing problems. How am I supposed to handle it when a vision is summoned from my fantasies and placed in front of me? He was hot, nerdy, talented, and had nice arms. That is SO my type.
Sunday was the big two (and Matt Davis). Shout out to Danielle for doing my hair and makeup. Sunday was also when the a/c that covered the convention areas and the women's bathroom broke. While I had experienced this before at Supernatural 2012, all those bodies tightly packed together on the hours long line for Ian's autograph left an indelible mark on my memory. I hope to never smell it again.
PRO TIPS- Deodarent. Please.
-Comfy shoes. Ian's line is always long. You'll be standing awhile.
-Listen to the volunteers. They're only trying to do their jobs, and while inter-staff communication is poor, they probably know something you don't.
-If they tell you to do your photo first, do it. Photo ops move fast due to the excellent Chris and his crew. They will not wait for you.
-Behave. Listen up screamers- Ian is happily married. Stop shouting for his to take his shirt off. Stop rushing the stage and creating dangerous situations for EVERYONE. Stop interrupting every sentence to scream something during his panel. We're all judging you. Why would you want to remember you as a hyena with no self control? If you were an actual fan, you'd be happy for him and Nikki and you'd BEHAVE.
Monday, August 3, 2015
The Pros and Cons of A Creation Convention
7.17.15 kicked off a little event fondly known to the fans as #TVDNJ or Vampire Diaries NJ, a Creation Entertainment event, and I (Ally) am going to review what that means to you- the fans.
PRO- Guaranteed seat. Regardless of ticket disasters, attending a Creation event guarantees you a seat, as they swear up down and sideways- they won't oversell the auditorium. It may not be a great seat, and it may be so tight to your neighbors that you long for the spaciousness afforded to a middle seat on an airplane, but it'll feel damn good to sit.
CON- Price. If you can't afford a Creation convention now, it'll be 20% harder next year. A gold seat in 2016 will be nearly twice as much now as it was in 2012 when I went to my first TVD Con. (In 2012, I paid approximately $329 for a TVD gold seat, and $649 for a Supernatural gold seat. In 2016, a gold seat SPN DC will set you back $929. When you look at how much gold tickets were in 2009, it's almost horrifying.
PRO- Christopher Schmelke. His name is in bold so you remember it. He is the best damn photographer you'll ever meet. One day he's going to shoot my wedding, even if I have to get married at a con for the privilege.
Photos are a very quick experience, but he checks for glare, blinking, and in my case- derp face.
It was my very first Ian hug, at TVD Chicago '13. To this day, I have no idea how or why my face did what it did, but I became a full on don't-feed-me-after-midnight Gremlin. Luckily, he caught it and I got to re-take the photo. Don't believe me? You don't have too. Chris saves the files so if, two weeks later you're really regretting not getting the jpeg of your super awesome Ian and Paul duo photo, you can paypal him $10 and he'll email you the jpeg. PRO TIP- GET THE JPEG. IT'S WORTH IT.
CON- The dutch auctions. I'm not a fan, but that could be because so many people opt NOT to read the instruction and end up causing unnecessary price jumps.
PRO- The fun. It's a high without drugs. Unlike most multi-fandom cons, they have parties. In the case of TVD, it was Friday Karaoke. (Somewhere online, you could probably find me closing out TVD NJ's karaoke with Carry On My Wayward Son by Kansas!) and a Saturday concert where the celebrities and the AMAZING Stephanie Dizon and Samurai Fish performed. Honestly, I've made some of my best friends by attending Creation cons. It becomes almost like a family atmosphere, and before you know it, you're going to see your friends and not the stars.
Special shout outs to Vince- my personal favorite ticket guy. I'm so glad he understands my humor. Connie is super helpful so find her with your questions. Stephanie runs the show and is the coolest person you'll ever meet. She's also an amazing singer. Request something by Janie Joplin and she'll blow your mind. And of course, last but not least- Mandy. She recently got upgraded from volunteer to staff because she was THAT DAMN GOOD. Really. Just ask Richard Speight Jr.
PRO- Guaranteed seat. Regardless of ticket disasters, attending a Creation event guarantees you a seat, as they swear up down and sideways- they won't oversell the auditorium. It may not be a great seat, and it may be so tight to your neighbors that you long for the spaciousness afforded to a middle seat on an airplane, but it'll feel damn good to sit.
CON- Price. If you can't afford a Creation convention now, it'll be 20% harder next year. A gold seat in 2016 will be nearly twice as much now as it was in 2012 when I went to my first TVD Con. (In 2012, I paid approximately $329 for a TVD gold seat, and $649 for a Supernatural gold seat. In 2016, a gold seat SPN DC will set you back $929. When you look at how much gold tickets were in 2009, it's almost horrifying.
PRO- Christopher Schmelke. His name is in bold so you remember it. He is the best damn photographer you'll ever meet. One day he's going to shoot my wedding, even if I have to get married at a con for the privilege.
Photos are a very quick experience, but he checks for glare, blinking, and in my case- derp face.
It was my very first Ian hug, at TVD Chicago '13. To this day, I have no idea how or why my face did what it did, but I became a full on don't-feed-me-after-midnight Gremlin. Luckily, he caught it and I got to re-take the photo. Don't believe me? You don't have too. Chris saves the files so if, two weeks later you're really regretting not getting the jpeg of your super awesome Ian and Paul duo photo, you can paypal him $10 and he'll email you the jpeg. PRO TIP- GET THE JPEG. IT'S WORTH IT.
CON- The dutch auctions. I'm not a fan, but that could be because so many people opt NOT to read the instruction and end up causing unnecessary price jumps.
PRO- The fun. It's a high without drugs. Unlike most multi-fandom cons, they have parties. In the case of TVD, it was Friday Karaoke. (Somewhere online, you could probably find me closing out TVD NJ's karaoke with Carry On My Wayward Son by Kansas!) and a Saturday concert where the celebrities and the AMAZING Stephanie Dizon and Samurai Fish performed. Honestly, I've made some of my best friends by attending Creation cons. It becomes almost like a family atmosphere, and before you know it, you're going to see your friends and not the stars.
Special shout outs to Vince- my personal favorite ticket guy. I'm so glad he understands my humor. Connie is super helpful so find her with your questions. Stephanie runs the show and is the coolest person you'll ever meet. She's also an amazing singer. Request something by Janie Joplin and she'll blow your mind. And of course, last but not least- Mandy. She recently got upgraded from volunteer to staff because she was THAT DAMN GOOD. Really. Just ask Richard Speight Jr.
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