VanCon: My Trip to Supernatural Mecca: Saturday
The super surprise guest was next on our docket—and boy was I ever giddy about seeing her. They had autographs done with Felicia Day first before she spoke to us, and you know I had a ticket. I was so excited to meet our own Charlie Bradbury and fellow fangirl of all geeky things. It was an honor to tell her that she makes it easier to be into these things and be proud of it. She really inspires me, so when she was announced as a sudden last minute guest for the convention, I was over the moon. Her Porncouver name was Princess Morningstar (I wonder if Lucifer knows this???) and she let us know that she had no idea there was a convention. Jared and Jensen thought she was going already and invited her while they were filming the latest episode that week prior. It’s a good thing they told her as Felicia told us she adores going to cons in general.
She talked about Charlie and how she views the brothers as lonely like her—which is partly why Charlie was so aggressive in joining them on the hunt in “Pac Man Fever.” But what really made me sit up and pay close attention was when Felicia talked about her own childhood and how she had grown up home schooled. She didn’t know that what she loved in fantasy and video games and such was considered nerdy because she had never encountered that stigma. She just loved what she loved. The best quote to come from her panel by far was: “I will stand before you and love what I love.” I think someone ought to put that on a T-Shirt pronto.
Felicia talked a lot about the lack of female role models in current culture. She stated there’s a huge emphasis on the looks of various icons and individuals and not on their strengths of character. For me, Felicia is a strong female role model in part because she doesn’t have to focus on her gender to gain a following. She doesn’t have to flaunt things sexually or be suggestive. She just has to be herself and to see her succeed doing that makes it possible for other females (and males!) to do the same thing in our society focused sometimes on all the unimportant or wrong things. She really spoke to the idea that resonated with me about accepting who you are and what makes you happy and letting go of everything else. I think sometimes we need to hear that and remember that we are in control of what we like and don’t like and it doesn’t matter what others think about what we enjoy. She also reminded us that to center everything on being angry or hateful towards someone else is counterproductive. Felicia brought a lot of positivity to her panel and made me think about a lot of things. Most of all she stated clearly that it is okay to be exactly who I am—something we all need to hear sometimes.
On a lighter note, Sebastian Roche really ramped up the Porncouver vibe after Felicia. He didn’t even need a porn name! It WAS Sebastian Roche! For me, his panel reminded me an awful lot of a show at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival. He was picking on various people in the audience, flitting from one thing to another and being wild and crazy the entire time. And true to the warning on the program, Sebastian was definitely for adults only. He wanted everyone to sing Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky,” a song not many of us actually knew and the song board at the tech table didn’t seem to have until a few minutes into his crazy panel. His panel was also one of the strangest as he actually made someone use one of his pubic hairs to talk to him when asking their question. He reached down his pants, plucked it, and made them take it so they could do as he wished. It was a bizarre moment—one I think if Richard had seen would have scarred him for sure! I was also certain that would be the most bizarre moment of not only Sebastian’s panel but the whole convention. I was wrong. He went on to point out parts of his anatomy—right when Richard was close to coming back to his sheer disgust. It made the whole experience hilarious and a delight.
We had the costume contest next with many many people dressed in various characters. There were several Impalas, several Abadonns, a couple Charlies, and a few dozen Castiels separated into their own group. The winner was far and away the Teddy Bear from “Wishful Thinking” and his companion little girl. They ran away with it and were so highly detailed. For the Castiels we had a tie between the technical and acting. One had giant moveable wings that stretched out and folded up and the other kept in Castiel character firmly—even toe to toe with Misha Collins himself! I’ve never seen a costume contest get so intense before. It was an impressive display on both counts.
Misha Collins closed out the day—or should I say Sheeba Riveredge? I knew going in not to expect Misha to bring any normalcy back to the convention after Sebastian. He talked much about GISHWHES and how successful it was this year even if he hadn’t had a chance to sit down with the judging yet. I’ve never participated in the event myself, but I am always impressed with how much attention it gets and the amount of tasks asked to be done on it. He shared that the idea came from a scavenger hunt he did in college back in Chicago and how he loved doing that—even if his wife did beat him at it!
Misha always impresses me, too, with his charity work—particularly that of Random Acts. Hearing the joy in his voice about the Jacmel orphanage in Haiti really brought that home to me. He loves helping people with these various works and he seems to truly appreciate all of our help to achieve it in the Supernatural Family. If anything, he’s learned how to nurture the power of the Supernatural Family to bring good to the world in many ways. He saw our potential in many ways before we even saw it for what it is—and that takes real savvy on his part. I know I am always honored to look at the bowl I won in Chicago, made by the orphans in Haiti. I only have it because Misha Collins cultivated our fandom’s giant hearts to bring charity to the world.
Of course, being Misha, we couldn’t have one of his panels without a bizarre event. One of the GISHWHES participants was celebrating a birthday and requested that he truss her up in a GISHWHES styled project. She had duct tape and Misha asked for other items from the audience to assist. Before we knew he was taping legs and hands and sticking things on her head and crumbling cookies over her. By the end he had to carry her back to her seat and it left quite the mess on the stage for everyone to laugh at. Richard returned to see the aftermath and was astonished by the craziness. He said, “Can I know what the question is so I never ask it?” The whole event was a funny and bizarre way to close out the panel portion of the day.
I had the photo op with Felicia Day later that night but I had time to kill so I went to hang out with Bardicvoice and Tigershire. Tigershire is a fantastic cook and I broke my con fast there! On a fan to fan level I was shown just how awesome this Family of ours can truly be. We all chat all the time online with one another, but to do it in person and exchange ideas and more was an awesome experience. It kept my energy from lagging as the day had taken a lot of energy, too! All too soon, though, I had to go back to the convention hall to get my photo taken. Felicia was as sweet as she had been when I had gotten her autograph. I also adored her pink cowboy boots which suited her really well. I was wearing the Rebel Shirt from “The Girl with the Dungeons and Dragons Tattoo” and she noticed which made it even sweeter!
And that was my Saturday experience! I met Felicia and Robbie and had such a blast. Onto J2 Day in the next report!
That was great Far Away Eyes. God’s honest truth, I’d much rather read a report like this than live tweets (no offence to the tweeters!). 😉
What’s so wonderful about the Vancouver con is that we get to know the producers, directors, location people, and everyone else that makes SPN so enjoyable to us all. The people that work on the periphery, but without whom the show would not be possible. It sounds like such a great family to work with.
So lucky that you got to meet Robbie Thompson. He has become one of my favourite writers. I love the way he peppers his scripts with all these wonderful cultural references. And I ADORE Charlie, more of her please. 🙂
I’ll be looking forward to your next chapter, I’m sure you had a blast on the Russ Bus. 😆
Wonderful report. Look forward to your next one.Thanks for doing these. I watch the con videos, when they’re posted but it’s not the same as getting the flavor and the bts stuff from someone who was there.
[quote]That was great Far Away Eyes. God’s honest truth, I’d much rather read a report like this than live tweets (no offence to the tweeters!). 😉
What’s so wonderful about the Vancouver con is that we get to know the producers, directors, location people, and everyone else that makes SPN so enjoyable to us all. The people that work on the periphery, but without whom the show would not be possible. It sounds like such a great family to work with.
So lucky that you got to meet Robbie Thompson. He has become one of my favourite writers. I love the way he peppers his scripts with all these wonderful cultural references. And I ADORE Charlie, more of her please. 🙂
I’ll be looking forward to your next chapter, I’m sure you had a blast on the Russ Bus. :lol:[/quote]
I’m glad you like my reporting. I almost felt like some of my panel reporting would be old hat with all the other reports/tweets going on. I guess my approach to these reports comes from a selfish place. I want to remember this trip as best as I can, and writing these reports is one way for me to do so.
I loved this con for so many reasons. I enjoyed my other two very much for different reasons, but this one was extra special. Getting to see those that help shape the show either by providing the “boring” or “less glamorous” side of the business the way Jim Michaels does or seeing the locations with Russ or meeting the VFX people, wow. Whole new perspective on this show and all shows.
Before I went, I had heard that Robbie and Adam would be potentially there in the city. I had a hope that I would get to say hi to them. But boy, I got more than that. I love Robbie so much, too. You’ll see more in the Sunday report, too.
I’ve got about four reports to go. I hope you’ll those as much.
[quote]Wonderful report. Look forward to your next one.Thanks for doing these. I watch the con videos, when they’re posted but it’s not the same as getting the flavor and the bts stuff from someone who was there.[/quote]
I’m glad you’re enjoying my reports. They’ve been a lot of fun to write and share. I hope you’ll enjoy the rest of them just as much.
Sounds like so much fun, Far Away Eyes. I would dearly love to get the chance to hear some of the producers, writers, and various others chat about their work. Glad you got the chance to hear some of that!
And of course, every encounter/panel with the cast is a treasured moment. Thanks for sharing!
Looking forward to the next installment!
[quote]Sounds like so much fun, Far Away Eyes. I would dearly love to get the chance to hear some of the producers, writers, and various others chat about their work. Glad you got the chance to hear some of that!
And of course, every encounter/panel with the cast is a treasured moment. Thanks for sharing!
Looking forward to the next installment![/quote]
I’m glad you liked this second report.
This Con changed the way I watch this show, without a doubt. It is an honor to meet these behind the scenes people.
I hope you’ll like the rest of the reports as much!
Thank you, Far Away Eyes, for the report. It made me feel like I was there with you. I cannot wait to experience what you did next year!
In the meantime, I’ll be waiting for your report on the Russ Bus.
[quote]Thank you, Far Away Eyes, for the report. It made me feel like I was there with you. I cannot wait to experience what you did next year!
In the meantime, I’ll be waiting for your report on the Russ Bus.[/quote]
I’m glad you enjoyed the report! I’ve got Sunday to write up yet, too. Lots of fun to talk about yet.
You remember such awesome details! Thank you for sharing you memories with us!
[quote]You remember such awesome details! Thank you for sharing you memories with us![/quote]
Ah, and now you’ve put your finger on why I’m writing these. I’m selfish. I want to remember all of this convention forever, so hence the reports. I’m finishing up Sunday’s next.
i’m glad you like my reporting so far!