ONE MORE WEEK! Next Thursday, October 13, 2016, the SPNFamily will once again be reunited with our beloved Supernatural! Sam and Dean will begin their twelfth year of saving people and hunting things, and we’ll be with them every step of the way. To kick off the final countdown, let's start making plans for the S12 premiere!
In the long awaited continuation of their saga, Mom is alive but very confused; big brother is alive and can’t wait to surprise everyone with news of their win against evil; little brother is barely alive, in really big trouble and in deep mourning for the last remaining member of his family; Castiel is alive but MIA; Crowley is alive (well, dead actually) but is a man (well, demon actually) without a kingdom; Lucifer is alive (there weren’t any scorched wings or ashes on the ground, right?) and on the run; and the Men of Letters have turned into the enemy, betraying the most important members in the history of their existence. The premiere promises to be packed with both action and emotion as each of these dramas unfolds!
One way to soften the emotional blows that are surely headed our way will be to watch the premiere episode surrounded by fellow fans. Per tradition, watch parties will be taking place around the globe. Some will be as simple as a few friends huddled around a TV in someone’s living room. Other parties will be much larger. One of the bigger gatherings will take place in Chicago, hosted by the Chicago Women of Letters (WoL). They’ve rented a full theater for a private showing of the premiere episode on the big screen! The evening’s festivities will include an auction to benefit Random Acts, costume and trivia contests, and a raffle for Supernatural themed prizes! As I did with the season 11 finale, I will again live tweet the episode from the watch party.
Wondering what it’s like to attend these watch parties? Considering organizing a watch party in your area? I asked Julie Jasica, one of the founders of the Chicago WoL chapter, to tell us about organizing and attending the season 11 finale party:
Women of Letters is a fan group for anyone who loves the show Supernatural. We get together, watch episodes of Supernatural, do Supernatural related activities, and just hang out and support each other. People refer to us a family, and that couldn't be any truer.
Our very first event was a fundraiser watch party for the Season 11 finale, and we started with a bang! It was held at Hollywood Blvd theater in Woodridge, Illinois. Hollywood Blvd is a full service restaurant and theater. We ended up selling over a hundred tickets, surpassing the capacity of the first theater we had rented, requiring us to upgrade to a larger theater! On the agenda: costume contest, raffle, door prize, watching season 11 finale on the big screen, and our special guest, Thor, a 1967 screen accurate Impala which joined us outside for photos. All profits from the event benefited Misha Collins’ charity Random Acts, which promotes kindness both locally and globally.
Experience Entertainment, owners of the impala, transported it from upstate New York. Attendees could buy a ticket to take a picture with Thor. Its owners took all the photos and even dressed in character. They were incredibly gracious, allowing people to take their time and admire his beauty. The trunk was full of props and the interior had been autographed by many of the actors.
Pictures are of "Thor", owned and operated by Experience Entertainment
Overall, it was just beautiful. Naturally, there was an extremely severe storm the night of our big event. Since some roads were closed due to rain and general Chicago traffic made it difficult to transport the Impala via trailer, the storm delayed Thor’s arrival by over an hour. Everyone was excited, though, and no one complained about the weather or standing in the rain. The photographer and volunteers held umbrellas to help keep the people dry and protect Thor, which was open for people to see. Experience Entertainment did all of this, then donated their profits to our fundraiser.
Spirits were high inside the theater! People were munching on deep fried angel wings and bacon cheese burgers, chatting with each other, and talking about what they thought would happen in the finale. The Winchester Family Business was live tweeting from the theater as well. As luck would have it, the storm knocked out our satellite a few minutes before the finale episode was scheduled to start!
Luckily the clouds soon parted and we only missed the first five minutes of the main event.
Some wonderful people donate great prizes to our raffle. Chris Schmelke donated a beautiful photo of the Chicago skyline at night that he had taken. Chris is the photographer at all the Supernatural conventions. He didn't hesitate to offer a donation when he heard about our event! Meg Preissig donated a “Charlie” Funko Pop, autographed by Felicia Day.
Felicia was in town promoting her newest book and gladly signed our Charlie. Other raffle items included:
an autographed 8x10 photo of Mark Sheppard;
a “convention-ready” package, including a tee-shirt, Supernatural jamberry nail wraps, and other items donated by Creation Entertainment;
Castiel’s Grace necklace, created and donated by Eldewenne (a wonderful artist who has had her art promoted by members of the Supernatural cast); and last but not least, Fangasm, a book written and donated by Lynn Zubernis.
The book had been autographed by Jensen Ackles, Jared Padalecki, Misha Collins, Mark Sheppard, Osric Chau, Ruth Connell, and Richard Speight, Jr.
The party was a great success. People had fun, bonded over a shared love of Supernatural, and talked about the show and the upcoming Supernatural convention that would take place in September. We all munched on Supernatural themed foods and drinks created just for us. Although the tornado-like conditions stopped a few people from attending, we had over 80 people in attendance. Because of all the donated goodies from Creation, we were able to have a door prize and a prize for our costume contest. In total, we raised just over $1000 for Random Acts. Their mission of spreading kindness across the world can go a long way thanks to everyone who helped us make this a wonderful night!
Thank you again,
Julie Jasica, Meg Preissig
Women of Letters, Chicagoland Branch
If you can get to Chicago, grab tickets to the S12 premiere! If Chicago is too far a commute for you, use their example as a blueprint to host a watch party in your town! It’s fun and could raise money for charity.
Tell us about watch parties you’ve attended or ideas you have for a S12 party. It’s almost time to rock out with the Winchesters again!
