The Winchester Family Business

 
With another convention scheduled to kick off this weekend, I thought I’d share some experiences I had at my first ever SPN convention, the Chicago con last Oct.
 
 
I can’t tell you’ll how thrilled and happy I was to get there.  I had high expectations for the convention, and the actors and fans did not disappoint!
 
 
One of the highlights of my time there was getting to meet Alice.  It was her third Chicago convention (lucky girl!) and my first, but probably not my last.  
 
From the very start, the convention was high energy, extremely charged with the fans and the upcoming potential to meet all the fan favorites.  The stars were very respectful and totally appreciative of the fans.  After my photo with Jensen Ackles, I thanked him… his response, “No, thank YOU!”   And with those green eyes staring right at me, I have to say if I had any reservations about going to the convention, they were wiped out at that moment.
 
But I shouldn’t get ahead of myself.  
 
My first indication this was a going to be a very unique time was a license plate I found on a car in the parking lot.  
 
 
How COOL it that!! Smart fan AND from a very good state I might add.  I did eventually meet the owner of the car, and like others there, I got to see their SPN scrapbook, filled with photos, autographs, and memories from many a past convention.  Needless to say, I have now started my own, photo/autograph scrapbook and will have plenty to show at my next convention.  
 
Friday was a day of finding my way around.  Getting to know all the important places, The main ball room, the photo opts section, rooms for the semi-private meets and greets, and of course, the makeup area, the rest rooms and the bar, and last but not least the souvenir booths.  BOY was I glad I went there early.  So many prime items were in very limited supply.  I got a number of items for autographs, and for my own souvenir chest. 
 
A lot of appeal for "Supernatural" conventions or other sci-fi cons is to meet people with similar tastes and interests, and I met a ton of very wonderful and interesting personalities that weekend.  Although of course, getting to see the actors in person is also a big draw for fans.  Every actor whose panel I attended, I found them to be affable, direct and obviously experienced at the whole convention thing, in which actors generally answer questions and tell funny stories from the set.  If you ever get a chance to see Matt Cohan or Richard Speight Jr at a SPN convention, don’t pass up the opportunity. (To read a panel report on Matt Cohan, go to my article,
“Chicago Con Report - Matt Cohen Panel”

 

 
Richard was the only actors who came off stage and mingled with the fans in the general admission seats, where I was this time.  Can’t say the bodyguards liked it, but the fans sure did.  Seems he had made a habit of doing that at conventions recently and really it is a nice touch.  
 
And of course I couldn’t pass up having a sandwich photo with the two of them.  
 
 
The Creation photographer was great and ended up having this photo, and others on Saturday available, before the autograph signing, so I had this one autographed by both of them.
 
The photo lines themselves were a riot.  The photographer and his assistant keep the line moving, but the music and fans made waiting in line fun time to spend.  They had really cool music playing and many fans spent time dancing in line while waiting.  Also the fan/star interactions were a blast.  Jared had no objection to picking up some of the female fans for their photo op with him and Misha donned a trench coat a fan brought for the occasion.  It was funny too, as the sleeves were about five inches too short on him and fit very tight in the shoulders.   Didn’t stop him though, he played right through for the fan, much to the chagrin of the photo assistant, who was in charge of keeping the lines moving as quickly as possible.    
 
Saturday I got to see one of my long time favorite character actors, Mark Sheppard.  His panel was wonderful and yep, I did the photo op and autograph with him too.  This was Mark’s first appearance and I would expect that could be quite intimidating if you are unsure as to what to expect from fans and the kinds of questions you’re going to be asked. However, Sheppard is a pro and he took on fan questions as though he’d be attending these conventions many times before.  
 
 
 
 
The Ghostfacers, AJ Buckley and Travis Wester, were also there on Saturday and their panel was a riot.  The pair fit right into the convention scene with their energetic personalities and unbelievable ability to play off one another incredibly well.  AJ spent a lot of time talking about Jared and his size.  You can read it in my previous article, “Chicago Con Report: Ghostfacers”. 
  
 
 
In Sheppard’s photo line I met another fan and we hung out together most of Saturday.  Sammy (yep, that was her name) really is a very unique individual and epitomized the wide diversity of fans that I saw at the convention.  She is a US citizen, has live in two different countries, speaks three different languages and is only eighteen.  She is in the process of very strategically planning out her life, but always makes sure she is free on Friday nights to watch Supernatural. … a very astute young lady.  She is a newbie to series, starting with the series in the 4^th season, but she loves it.  
 
The panels and photos and autographs for the day went long into the evening.  In general admission, you can plan on waiting 2-4 hours for autographs, but at least on Friday and Saturday, they let the actors personalize them for the fans.  On Sunday, the main stars were not allowed too.  Usually it is a time issue, but that wasn’t the case this convention.  There was no early call for filming the following Monday as it was Canada’s Thanksgiving, so the stars didn’t have to rush through the autographs.  Jared took advantage of it to schedule a second photo session with fans for Sunday afternoon.

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