Let’s Discuss: Share Your Favorite Supernatural Convention Story
Since VanCon just passed, capping off another glorious weekend for fandom, I thought that this would be a great time to share con memories! Supernatural cons have been going on worldwide since season three, and each one seems to get more bigger and outrageous each time they’re held.
Since many of you out there have been to a con, this is your chance to share your fondest memories! What was your favorite moment, guest, panel, brush with greatness in a photo op, bar or elevator, or just anything in general?
I’ve been fortunate in that I’ve been able to share all my precious con memories (and there have been many) through reports that I’ve posted here on this site. I’ve met so many wonderful fans and actors through the years and those experiences have been the most surreal and awesome experiences that I could ever imagine. So, to kick things off, I’m going to recall the greatest panel I ever saw at a con. One does stand out among the rest, and no, it’s not Jensen killing an inflatable duck on stage!
Chicago Con 2010. This was one of the rare cons where I got to attend with a Gold Ticket. My dear friend Kathy at Fangasm couldn’t go that year, so I took her ticket and hung out with Lynn all weekend. Since they were early Chicago Con Gold Ticket adopters, the seats were second row, just a few from the center. The best seats ever! I could see everything on stage in perfect view.
That year, there was a blip in the normal schedule. Jensen didn’t sign on for the con the year before, so he wasn’t announced as a guest. The headliners would be Jared and Misha, and that’s how the pricing for the tickets went. Well, just a few weeks before the con (or maybe even a week), Jensen was added as a surprise guest! Since his fee wasn’t built into the ticket prices though, he was announced for photo ops and a private meet and greet only. Sure, those sold like hotcakes, but that meant he wouldn’t be part of any panels.
Sunday came and the breakfast with Jared and Misha was a total riot! Those two are so funny together, and it’s a completely different funny than Jared and Jensen. It’s having two complete, total goofballs on stage. When the time for the panel came, they were still going with the original format back then. Half hour with one actor, half hour with the other actor, and half hour with both or them. So it was going to start with Misha, move onto Jared, and end with Jared and Misha.
Misha got on stage and did a great panel for almost a half hour. Misha in my opinion always gives the most entertaining panels of the weekend, or at least certainly the most unpredictable. Jared arrived and the consensus of the entire crowd was that Misha stay. So, they decide to do the joint panel next. Both of them are hilarious on stage, joking around and having loads of fun with the people asking the questions. The crowd is in a super good mood, and I’m seeing all this up close.
This goes on about twenty more minutes and when a fan is trying to ask a question. She wants to ask about Jared being a gigantor and knocking over things, but Misha and Jared won’t stop giving her a hard time and laughing. So much so, Jared falls to the floor! While that total mayhem is going on (which has the crowd in hysterics) she’s interrupted by an intruder. A 6′ 1″ very pretty intruder. The crowd now goes nuts, for it is indeed Mr. Ackles. He barges in and asks Misha if he could do his best Dean impression. Misha does, “Uh, Sam, where did you put the keys to the Impala?” It’s really one of those “had to be there” moments, because at this point I’m fighting my own resistance to fall to the floor in hysterics.
Jensen then decides to join Jared and Misha on stage, and we fans in that room are treated to a rare, impromptu, never has happened again moment in the history of Creation cons moment. All three guys doing a panel together. They eventually get back to the poor girl who still hasn’t been able to ask her question. Misha tells her to go on, and she looks at Jensen. “Jensen, you totally just Kayne Wested me, what the Hell?” The crowd again erupts into laughter and Jensen gets up and gives her a hug.
The whole rest of the panel is a ton of goofing around and antics between these three, who are really three peas in a pod. Just watching them banter and not give straight answers to any of the questions was exhausting because I was laughing too hard, but a complete riot to watch. Some of the highlights are a story from Misha about Jared in Australia trying to put up closet doors in his hotel room wearing nothing but a towel (lovely image, huh?), Jensen singing “My Cherie Amour” Stevie Wonder style to a girl blind in one eye, stories about old cars they used to drive (Misha’s story is the best), and Misha and Jensen having a fake photo shoot taken via Misha’s iPhone in the background when a fan had a very long and gushing question for Jared (the photos Misha took are legendary).
For anyone who wants more detail, I wrote up the whole panel in two parts.
Jared, Jensen, and Misha Chicago Con Panel Part One
Jared, Jensen, and Misha Chicago Con Panel Part Two
So, now that I’ve shared my story, what’s yours? Even those of you who haven’t attended a con, is there a specific moment that you saw on YouTube or a report you read that got you laughing? Or crying? Or both? Links to photos, videos, fan stories, anything are more than welcome here. Share away!
I’ve seen the con you’re talking about on youtube. It’s my favorite too, next to the Jared’s Train story and c*cksock story in Bos. Or maybe the Misha’s resume one.
I’ve only been to one con, last year’s Chicago, and I don’t have any one on one encounters 🙁 though I loved the whole thing. But my favorite part of the con was when Jensen was “scolding” Thomas who was crying out backstage and calling himself Uncle Jensen. And Jared was such the new daddy, looking kind of distraught with every whimper from his baby. Both of them were adorable. Also loved when Jared was talking about the kissing scene on the Gilmore Girls and Genevieve teasingly came out to “warn” him and Jensen said he had his back.
Thanks Alice, I don’t think I ever saw a panel with all three of them! I will try and track it down. I also agree with Kelly’s favorites! I think my personal favorite moment is when the J’s started playing around with the giant screen behind them. It was just so impromptu and silly that it makes me laugh every time I see it. Such little boys sometimes, those two 🙂 There are hours of fun con videos to be seen.
Leah, I actually have that saved under my favorites!
It starts around 5 min mark.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJH21y2WJ-s&list=PLA359553F49F6D478
I been to 4 cons so far. One in Barcelona (my first one) and then 3 cons in Germany. And I have precious moments of each one. But here are three moments that stand out for me.
Barcelona 2010: I arrived in Barcelona at around 8 am the day before the convention and went straight for sight seeing (La Sagrada Familia) after I left my walk took me around a building outside the church. At the corner I had to make a quick jump to the left because I nearly bumped into a giant who looked up to the towers of that church and didn’t see me. While I did that jump I realized that the tiny woman next to him pulled him out of my way. The next moment I realized who that couple was and then I exchanged a few words with them about the building. They were both really nice.
Germany 2011: Convention in Mannheim with both Js there. They raffled off the tickets for the meet and greet. Since I didn’t have much money I bought 3 raffle tickets one Euro each. Guess what – I won a Jensen Meet and Greet. We all sat together in a big circle of chairs. As soon as we (20 people) entered the room it was clear which chair would be Jensens. Everybody kind of tried to get a chair as close as possible to the one that obviously was ment for him but I went for the chair straight across from him (only about 3 meters away). And then it turned out that barely anybody dared to talk to the man. So I did most of the conversation with him. That was great. I had a full view and anybody who met him knows that he looks at you if you ask him questions.
Germany 2012: During the panel with Jim Michaels I was able to hand him his personal “Thank you to the crew book” we made here at the Winchester Family Business. I tried to hide it behind my back while I walked up to the stage but he caught a glimpse of it and he had a complete surprised look on his face and he asked me where I got that (unfortunatly the youtube video doesn’t show his face at that moment and he talked to me and not into the mic). Once I told him. I found out that the original book is in the office in Vancouver. After all the hours I put into the completion of that book it made me proud to hear that the crew loved it. And Jim must have looked at that book pretty often. Because one hour later during the autographs he already told me that his book is different then the last. (I had a picture of him added to the book and a special Thank You to him at the back).
Hi Kelly. Thanks. Good to see you around!! 🙂
Yirabah, love your con stories!! You had shared the Jim Michaels/book story (yay cbox) but I hadn’t heard the others. Fun! What great memories.
I’ve been lucky enough to have been to a bunch of Creation cons – the upcoming Dallascon will be my 6th – remember, I live in Australia, so this is an epic feat of travel and saving!
Every con is amazing and every con has their own special memories and I’ve shared my experiences from my last few cons with all of you, here.
But my favourite con experience will always be courtesy of my first – LACon 2011.
I was desperate to meet Jensen and as it became obvious that Jared and Jensen would not be coming back to Aussie for one of our cons any time soon, I realised I’d have to head over the seas to get up close and personal with my favourite guy.
I booked a Gold ticket. I was going on my own, but I knew of a bunch of Aussies also heading over there, so I knew I’d have company.
As at the time I thought this would be my one and only convention (excuse me while I laugh like a loon), I decided that I would bid on Jensen’s meet and greet. It was my first time and I made a rookie mistake. I bid a round number. I’d done my research and figured I’d bid enough, but at 4am Aussie time, I sat there, gobsmacked as I watched my meet and greet slip away…but $1. I was devastated. Devastated. I cried a little…ok, a lot.
But fate had other plans for me. A few weeks later Creation announced a special event – Jensen had decided to do a jam session with his buddy Jason Manns. That was it. I just had to be there.
I was worried about being able to afford it. But I had friend after friend messaging me to tell me they’d lend me the money; that they wanted me to go, that I needed to go. I couldn’t believe people’s generosity, the vast majority of whom I’d never met. This fandom. In the end, I decided I’d whack it on my credit card! Woohoo!
Once again I got up at sparrows fart to watch the auction go through, hands trembling. This time around, it all went according to plan and Jensen’s jam session was mine. I’d be one of 40 people, sitting in a room with Jensen and his friend Jason as they jam. One of 40 people to watch him sing. One of 40 people to experience this with him, for the first time.
A couple of weeks before the con, I started talking to another girl who had got a ticket to the jam, a Kiwi called Hazel. We agreed that we’d catch up at the con. She was travelling with her brother Sam, but he was doing his own thing in LA, so she’d be on her own. On the Thursday night, I was in the bar drinking with some other Aussies (big surprise) when she messaged me she was in the Lobby. I said come in and say hi. There started the beginning of a brilliant friendship. We spent the remainder of the con hanging out together.
Seeing Jensen for the first time was something else. I remember it clearly. He strode into the breakfast room right near my table and my brain went – snap! “That’s Jensen F#@&ing Acklesâ€, I kept thinking. He was far more beautiful than I could have ever imagined.
In my photo op I could barely speak out loud, so he leaned in real close, which totally didn’t help! I grabbed his bicep in a vice like grip as I spoke to him, which made him raise his eyebrows and laugh. He made me feel so small. I’m not! I’m 5’7, a decent height, but for some reason he made me feel tiny. It was more than I could have hoped for. He was more gracious and generous than I had any right to expect. As I walked away I ran my hand down his back! I freakin’ couldn’t stop touching the poor dude! It was awesome.
Seeing Jensen and Jared doing their thing live and in the flesh was such a treat. My face was literally aching by the end of their panel. Like, throbbing! But the best was yet to come.
The Jam session was at 5. You weren’t allowed to take anything in with you, so Hazel and I ran up to our rooms to dump our stuff and grab our tickets and ID. We didn’t know how the seating would be organised, so we got to the designated room around 4.15 to queue. There was already about 20 people waiting! We were both so excited to be there and wanted to be able to sit together. But unfortunately, the seats were drawn through lucky dip. Oh well. We’d still share the experience.
Now here’s where it got weird. I went up and drew my number – number 22. I wasn’t sure what that meant, except that it obviously wasn’t in the front. I held it up to show Hazel. She went up and drew her number. She looked at it and held it up to show me. She’d drawn number 23. We ended up sitting next to each other after all!
The room was set with 4 rows. We were in row 2 in the centre. Garry from Creation pretty quickly squished the 4 rows into 3 rows. The ladies in the front kindly slid down in their seats for us and we all sat and waited…
Jensen came in with Jason in tow, having changed his shirt and slid on a beanie. They both had their guitars and there were some bongos in the corner of the room. Jensen had a large whiskey with him – he said the beanie and the whiskey were his attempt to make him look like a musician, but really, he was as nervous as hell!
Jensen couldn’t believe the level of interest in hearing him sing. He was equal parts touched and surprised. He rang Jason in a panic when he saw how high the bidding was going (it went high). They both decided they better get together and practice a bit and work out a set, but then they realised what they promised was a jam session, not a concert, it was supposed to be casual and impromptu, it was supposed to be two mates singing together like they do when they’re just hanging out. So that’s what we got and I’m so thankful for that, because it made the experience all the more intimate.
The first thing I need to say is, as we all know now, the man has one hell of a voice. I think the air left the room when he started to sing. There was an audible gasp. He closed his eyes; tipped his head back and this beautiful sound came out of his beautiful throat. It was astonishing.
I was gripping onto Hazel’s leg for dear life and she was holding onto me! We basically hung on to each other throughout the whole thing. Jensen had shifted his chair and we were right in his line of sight. We were literally looking right at him! The emotion of the whole day and then this, started to overwhelm me. A lump formed in my throat, my eyes filled and my breathing got pretty damn shaky and that’s how I pretty much stayed through out the whole thing, right on the verge. It was simply that wonderful.
Every so often an errant single tear (yes OPT!) would drip down my cheek and I’d quickly try to whisk it away without him seeing. Just what a nervous guy needs right? I’m pretty sure he caught me a couple of times, because he’d look away a bit awkward! But I just felt so lucky, so very lucky to be sharing this with him and Jason and the other people in the room. So. Lucky.
There were lots of flubs, from both of them. Jensen blushed a couple of times, big red blushes bless him, but we encouraged him on. Every time he made a mistake he gave himself away with laughter or a grimace, he’s so adorable. Many verses were mixed up, words inexplicably forgotten, parts of songs sung over again until the words came to him. Even Jason got struck with a case of the wobbles; Jensen said it was because the anxiety was coming off him in waves!
Jensen told stories about the music he loves, about how he first learnt to play on his dad’s guitar, which he now owns, about how he first met Jason and about how sometimes when he’s listening to music he gets very lonely, up there in Vancouver all by himself in his trailer. He spoke about how the other men on the crew often talk about their wives and girlfriends but Jensen says, “None are as fine as mine†– a line from a Ray La Montagne song he sang later.
Jensen and Jason shared a lot of the singing, but Jason tended to sit back and let Jensen take centre stage most of the time, much to Jason’s amusement and Jensen’s embarrassment. When they sung Hallelujah Jensen took the 2nd verse as Jason quietly strummed. It was breathtaking, in fact the room was so still and silent I wondered if any us were actually breathing. All I could hear was the occasional sniffle and not just from me!
This jam session felt very personal. The stories, the blushing, the joking and the laughs, the favourite songs of Jensen he chose especially to sing. I got to experience something that will never happen again, because this was a [i]first[/i] and even though Jensen did one more jam with Steve Carlson, it would never be the same, because it would never be like this. The first time.
Watching Jensen sing and share some of himself with us, you could see his beautiful spirit, his gracious nature, the kindness and gentleness that so many of us have experienced with him in photo ops and meet and greets.
As Hazel and I clung to each other (literally – it was hilarious!) we both fought back tears and I just kept whispering “Oh God†because the whole thing was so dumbfoundingly special I was struck inarticulate (happens a lot around Jensen!)
At some point Jensen asked how long they had to go, but they’d already gone longer than promised. Our 45-minute jam session came in around 1 hr 15. I could have watched and listened to him for hours, to both of them, because Jensen and Jason sound incredible together.
When Clif and Adam from Creation finally pulled the plug, Jensen tried to explain to us what we all mean to him, both individually and collectively. With his hand on his heart he thanked us for all the support we give him, thanked us for being a part of this special event and for allowing him to be a part of us. It was genuine and heartfelt and he looked like he was struggling to get it out without choking up.
And that was how my first convention rounded out. With Jensen being gorgeous and me hanging on to my emotions like they were about to bolt – which shortly there after they did!
As I said, Dallascon will be my 6th convention – and I’m doing Jensen’s meet and greet (again.) And Hazel will be with me – because we’re con co-conspirators now! We do them all together. And we’ll be meeting up with all the friends we’ve met over the last couple of years and a few new ones we’re yet to meet in person. And it will be wonderful, because every convention is. But nothing will ever replace the feelings of the first con.
The first time I saw Jared appear on stage to introduce his buddy Brian Buckley.
The first time Jensen walked into the room.
The first time I looked into Jensen’s eyes.
The first time he hugged me.
The first time I sat in an auditorium full of like-minded souls and basked in the glory of the Js.
The great friend that I made.
And the jam – which will forever be my favourite convention experience.
Sorry for the lengthy comment! But you’re all used to my wordiness by now, right?
😆
Thank you for all your stories!
These personal memories, obviously remembered with much warmth and happiness, make me smile.
Absolutely love to see this side of the fandom! It’s no wonder that the Supernatural cast and crew love you right back! 😆
I’m enjoying these stories immensely! Please carry on!
My favourite moments (from youtube!) are the ones where J&J laugh together. They both have such wonderful, joyous, contagious laughs!
The video with them playing with the big screen behind them has to be my #1.
And I’m looking forward to making my own personal fav moment in Dallas! Yay!
This was my first Creation convention, as I’ve only been to the smaller one-day events in Melbourne, Australia (and let me say that I wish Creation ran the Australian ones).
VanCon was amazing… from Russ’ location tour to Karaoke Kings, from having a Gold Weekend pass to the VFXCon at Storm Crow Tavern on the Monday night. I loved it all… and am currently suffering from my first bout of post-con blues.
This was also my first time for meeting the Js 😮
I posted on Twitter my top 3 highlights, so I’ll share them here too.
Highlight #1 – Meeting Jared and Jensen (obviously), and attending Jared’s Meet & Greet.
I was really nervous to ask Jared a question that wasn’t really related to Supernatural. But I hiked the Inca Trail two years ago and I knew he & Gen had also hiked it. So, I wanted to ask him how they found the hike and what were the highlights for them. I’m so glad that I somehow overcame my nerves to ask, because I think Jared really enjoyed talking about it… and it led to some hilarious moments in the M&G.
Highlight #2 – Chatting to Felicia Day and Robbie Thompson about Pac-man Fever and how this episode affected me so much.
My father used to read The Hobbit to me when I was a child and I read a section from the first chapter at his funeral. Felicia thanked me for sharing the story with her… and Robbie told me that his father, who passed away 3 years ago, also read The Hobbit to him. He was thinking of his father when he wrote this episode. I’m so glad I got to speak to both of them 😀
Highlight #3 – Meeting so many great people. The SPN Family are wonderful and we all have a love of this ‘little show’ in common. Thanks to everyone who contributed to making this weekend SO AWESOME!
Oh, and I’ve just thought of another big highlight – getting on stage for karaoke with five other Australians to sing with Richard Speight Jnr, Matt Cohen, Sebastian Roche, Rob Benedict, Chad Lindberg, Emily Perkins & Jim Michaels.
Seriously… I’m an introvert and I usually hate karaoke… so I never would’ve imagined doing something so outside my comfort zone. It was a BIG adrenaline rush 😳
That said, I’m not all that keen on seeing the video (which I know is out there). 😆
I would definitely go to another convention and would recommend them to anyone who hasn’t yet been 🙂
I am so happy to read all the stories and experience of all the con attendee and I am happy for them but I am sad also that I probably won’t have any such convention story. But the good part is that till now I haven’t miss out on any convention because of the reports and videos that the fans put up on the fan sites..!! thank you so much guys because it is because of you that people like me don’t feel left out of any con.. thank you from the bottom of my heart..!! 😆 😀
These are so much fun to read. i too enjoy watching the youtube vids that get posted. The cons looks like a lot of fun.
That being said, I’ll be going to my first con in May 2014 in DC, since it’s in my area. Can’t wait!!!!
If somebody told more about Jared’s Meet&Greet… sigh
I attended my first Meet & Greet with Jared last weekend at VanCon. It was a great 1/2 hour! He told some stories from hiking on his and Gen’s honeymoon, and did an impersonation of a howler monkey, beating his chest and hopping around. Very funny.
Jared is also very excited about the upcoming season and is dying to talk to the fans about what’s happening with Sam in season 9. While he resisted telling us everything he wanted to say, he did drop a small S9 tidbit or two.
My memory is bad (especially when in Jared’s presence), so if anyone else can add anything, have at it. Suffice to say, the time went by way too fast.
Did anyone else go to Jared’s meet & greet? I can’t find any info anywhere. Now I need to know what Jared spilled.
In reply to Gwen T
Thanks! From what you told the guy really “grew a brain” as some con visitors said:-)
These small bits of info only make you want more (deeper sigh)
[quote]Did anyone else go to Jared’s meet & greet? I can’t find any info anywhere. Now I need to know what Jared spilled.[/quote]
wow. This is the first I’ve heard about Jared Meet and Greet. Until now I thought it it had been cancelled or something as Jensens is all over the internet.
would love to hear whatever Jared spilled. Sounded like it was a lot of fun.
I know a couple of people who went to Jared’s meet and greet and are not spilling whatever he spilled! Part of going to these special events is understanding that the guys are a bit looser and may tell the group things that they wouldn’t say on the panel.
In the meet and greets I’ve done, both Jensen and Jared have popped things they probably shouldn’t have. Jared popped a doozy in the one I did with him in Burbank and I’ve never seen it repeated anywhere on the Internet. Out of respect, none of us discussed it. I think he would have been in trouble if we did!
That’s a big part of going to the meet and greets, you often do get little tidbits of information that shouldn’t be shared outside the room. It’s part of protecting the integrity of that environment for the cast member, so that they continue to feel comfortable enough to be open and don’t feel worried if they do say something that maybe they shouldn’t have.
I’m sure if Jared accidentally spilled some beans, the fans in the room are covering his back!
If that is the case then I totally respect the fans for having his back. It would be nice to hear something about his session as Jensens is all over the net.
Yeah, I wish more people would post about Jared’s M&Gs, and not just the last one in Vancouver. I hardly ever see anything from any cons. I guess all the bloggers and whatnot mostly attend Jensen’s M&Gs.
Creation Entertainment in the last year has also imposed rules. Anyone doing detailed transcripts of these meet and greet sessions will be banned from other future sessions and cons. They are getting super strict about it. Even Fangasm, who attends all the Jensen ones, had to take their transcripts down.
I attended Jared’s meet and greet & for reasons explained by Alice & sweetondean I have kept to a minimum what I have discussed online. What I will say is that Jared began the half hour by thanking all his fans for the love and support he & Gen received after Gen’s sister had a serious accident. He saw some of the messages and was very grateful.
He was also full of enthusiasm for season 9 and can’t wait for us to see it. Cheers 😀