DARK SHADOWS FORUMS

Members' Mausoleum => Calendar Events / Announcements Archive => Calendar Events / Announcements '25 I => Calendar Events / Announcements '03 II => Topic started by: Joeytrom on September 01, 2003, 09:17:51 PM

Title: Festival
Post by: Joeytrom on September 01, 2003, 09:17:51 PM: I was at the festival Friday and Saturday and while it was nice, there really wasn't anything new to add to it. The Collinsport Players did a nice skit on Saturday afternoon.

I picked up The Leviathan Concordance and Barnabas and Company by Craig Hamrick. I briefly spoke to him and met Bob Issel and got their pictures. I got some pictures of the actors and fans. If I knew how to post them here I would.

Unfortunately I didn't meet any other fans.

Joey
Title: Re:Festival
Post by: Mysterious Benefactor on September 01, 2003, 10:58:31 PM: Quote from: Joeytrom on September 01, 2003, 09:17:51 PM
I got some pictures of the actors and fans. If I knew how to post them here I would.

If they're already digital or if you have a scanner, it's quite easy to post them here - even if you don't have your own Web space. Just IM me if you'd like instructions. :)
Title: Re:Festival
Post by: Midnite on September 02, 2003, 12:41:42 AM: Quote from: Joeytrom on September 01, 2003, 09:17:51 PM
I picked up The Leviathan Concordance

[hello] [hello] [hello]

Thanks, Joey! And welcome back. :D
Title: Re:Festival
Post by: Julia99 on September 02, 2003, 01:36:59 AM: I was at the Fest Fri night, Sat and Sunday evening. .got to see Bobubas, Claude North (superyeah!), Prof Stokes, Cassandra, Connie and a few others. .sorry i forget names unless i'm told 3 times. . .The Fri night bar scene was a blast, so was my guided Grayson's NYC Tour 2003 but the banquet was a complete
B. U.S.T. 2 hours of waiting for rubber chicken. . the food last year spoiled me, it was GOOD! And if it hasn't been mentioned here before. . .Pierson, put on the spot (I think anyway :o by KLS and RD) said there would be more events, this was NOT the last event. . .

J99 reporting in
Title: Re:Festival
Post by: Bette on September 02, 2003, 02:33:58 AM: Quote from: Julia99 on September 02, 2003, 01:36:59 AM
.The Fri night bar scene was a blast, so was my guided Grayson's NYC Tour 2003

J99 didn't mntion that she actually did her Grayson tour twice, as some of us could not make the original tour. We combined it with a very moving stop at the WTC site. I really felt I needed to see it, as I have such wonderful/painful memories of the 2001 Fest at the WTC Marriott just three weeks before 9/11. It did bring tears to my eyes to see the site but was very glad to have done so. J99's wonderful tour immediately afterward made for a very memorable Sunday. Too bad, the banquet debacle had to spoil what was otherwise a perfect day.

Thanks again, J99.
Title: Re:Festival
Post by: Julia99 on September 02, 2003, 03:46:39 AM: See Bette. . i knew your new moniker mentioned one of the boys! And you're most welcome. ..you're a true gem.
Title: Re:Festival
Post by: Darren Gross on September 02, 2003, 04:06:55 AM: So how was the dramatic performance and the dealers room?
Title: Re:Festival
Post by: ClaudeNorth on September 02, 2003, 05:49:34 AM: I managed to make it to the Fest on Sunday, although I did not get to spend nearly as much time as I had hoped. Of course, I tried to fit in the Fest and some sightseeing, so I shouldn't be surprised.

Anyway, I arrived back at the hotel just in time to wait in line for RETURN TO COLLINWOOD. To my very pleasurable surprise, I found myself practically standing next to Julia99, Bette, and Nancybe! Such a treat to connect with some of my fellow posters and Grayson fans!

Overall, I really enjoyed RTC. The script struck the right balance between comedy and drama. I must confess that I was moved by the ending, and the entire production. The actors' willingness to participate indicates that they still have a good deal of affection for DS. Such a refreshing attitude in this era of irony and hipper-than-thou smugness.

I'm hoping that this isn't the end of the Fests as they currently exist. The actors seem to enjoy them, and obviously the fans do as well. I certainly can understand that after 20 years, the organizers are tired of putting these things together. Perhaps they could recruit new people to take over, or hire a professional event planner to handle the details. Granted, hiring someone would increase the costs, but I suspect that many fans wouldn't mind spending a few extra dollars for registration in order to keep the Fests going.

Anyway, I had a great time, and hope to have more such opportunities in the future.

Regards,

John
Title: Re:Festival
Post by: joe integlia on September 02, 2003, 05:27:13 PM: was there any beefed up security? did u have to walk through metal detectors? i doubt it. was kurt webber there screaming at kathryn or david? interesting that the main complaint at last years fest was the banquet being ruined by the showing of the sciography thing and this years banquet ruined by the food. i guess there wont be a banquet during the future 1-day events?
Title: Re:Festival
Post by: Nancy on September 02, 2003, 06:28:23 PM: Quote from: joe integlia on September 02, 2003, 05:27:13 PM
was there any beefed up security? did u have to walk through metal detectors? i doubt it. was kurt webber there screaming at kathryn or david? interesting that the main complaint at last years fest was the banquet being ruined by the showing of the sciography thing and this years banquet ruined by the food. i guess there wont be a banquet during the future 1-day events?

Kurt Webber was there and there were no incidents that I heard about. There were people removed by security who did not behave themselves.

Nancy
Title: Re:Festival
Post by: Nancy on September 02, 2003, 06:31:54 PM: Quote from: Darren Gross on September 02, 2003, 04:06:55 AM
So how was the dramatic performance and the dealers room?

I didn't see any of the dramatic performances but the dealer's room was hopping. There were several rooms for vendors this year. My principal purpose for being there was to sit with a friend of mine who was selling off his DS collection. He did very well as did other vendors -- the best they had done in years at the fests.

Jim Pierson said at some point that next year's event would be in Tarrytown. Many people have in the past requested that so I guess that's happening now.

Nancy
Title: Re:Festival
Post by: Misty on September 02, 2003, 09:03:56 PM: :D I was at the Fest on Sat. and Sun. My favorite part was the "Return to Collinwood" radio-format show. It was superb. Meeting the stars was, of course, exciting since I've never been to a Fest before. I also enjoyed the Q&A session and the costume Party was fascinating. I agree that the banquet was horrible. Another thing on my "never again" list. I was happy to hear there will be more Fests, although they will be somewhat altered. Some fans seemed to think 2-day fests are next. I don't know if I met any of you folks, but the fans I did talk too couldn't have been nicer.
Misty ;D
Title: Re:Festival
Post by: brocman / BrocBaby / gaypowerpointguru on September 02, 2003, 09:22:19 PM: I'll do a full report later, but just to add my two cents here:

Fantastic job on Return to Collinwood. Both the writing and activing. This will be available on videotape and should be well worth whatever price they come up with.

I had never seen the Costume Gala before. This was excellent. And Marcy Robin (Shadowgram) deserves an award for Best Hostess. I've never seen anyone more dedicated to making sure that the fans have a great time.

The fan videos were fantastic. I can't believe we didn't sell out on copies. If anybody was there and doesn't know who I am -- I was usally wearing a black t-shirt and blue jeans, sometimes with a grey suitcoat. I was often at the dealer's table filling in for Bobubas who was very busy socializing (pictures to be posted later ;D ).

Special thanks to Nancy K and Bob I for everything they did for me at the fest. It was great being on your team. Looking forward to our next adventure, wherever it may be.

Will detail later.
Title: Re:Festival
Post by: Teresa on September 03, 2003, 12:04:37 AM: I got home late yesterday and was exhausted even after a good 9 hours sleep last night.
I am kind of a newbie to fest ( 3 now under my belt) but I think I enjoyed this one the best but I credit some of that to the company I kept most of the weekend with many wonderful friends. Tarrytown sounds like a great place for a weekend fest retreat next year.
As far as the banquet, my piece of chicken was pretty good but I did not care of the pasta? or veggies. I think the dessert was good because I remember eating all of it but cannot remember for the life of me what is what I ate. After waiting in line for the banquet for what seemed like forever, it was nice just to sit down and eat. I barely ate all day in anticipation of my $60 dinner. When I was leaving the hotel Monday, I was talking to a gentleman who worked at the hotel and he said the dinner we had was what the hotel served at all their banquet/weddings. Renee and I splurged on dessert everyday around lunch along with a few glasses of wine here and there. ;)
I loved the skit that Profstokes was in with the Collinsport Players who are such a talented troupe. She fits in well with them and it is a joy to watch her shine among the others. Richard Halpern does a great Julia as well as a good job moving the fest along.
Renee, Profstokes and I visited Times Square Thurs evening after having dinner with a few others from the board. I think there were about 13 of us. Of course another highlight was visiting with my dear friend Minja who is a ball of energy to say the least. [lghy] I don't know where she gets it but I love her for it.
I hope to get photos developed soon and passed on to the board.
Teresa
PS- I missed my Bruce show for this fest and when I read his message board to see what songs I missed I got a lump in my throat. He did some songs I've been waiting to hear a long time. But still I have no regrets and only happy memories
Title: Re:Festival
Post by: HobbiesDS on September 03, 2003, 01:55:22 AM: 8)
I was able to attend the festival all 3 days. This was my 3rd. festival and I enjoyed it. I was happy to see so many actors at the festival, often there are cancellations, but I think all of the actors that were advertised as being there were there. Even though I didn't get pictures or autographs with Lisa Richards or Nancy Barrett it was good to see them at the reunion or performance. Actually, I passed on many autographs/pictures this year, the lines were just too long! But I must say the actors are fantastic about signing all the autographs and a number of times I saw Jim Pierson trying to expediate the autograph line.

I am amazed at the time these actors spend at their tables signing autographs. Katheryn Leigh Scott, Jim Storm, Chris Pennock, Marie Wallace, Diana Millay and even Terryanne Crawford seemed to spend all the free time they had at their autograph tables. John Karlen, Lara Parker and David Selby also put their time in at the autograph table. If you think about that time plus the time they spend on stage, and rehearsing for the radio show, then doing the radio show which took about 2 hours. They really didn't have much free time and this was their holiday weekend too! I'm just glad they care enough about DS to continue to promote the show through the festivals 35 years later.

I also always enjoy the dealer rooms! I always find many fun DS items to buy. One of the coolest items I bought besides my charms of various DS characters, was a few hand painted pictures of Barnabas that I was told an 82 year old woman painted. I thought they were great! And the prices were very realistic too.

HobbiesDS
Title: Re:Festival
Post by: Miss_Winthrop on September 03, 2003, 04:01:01 AM: (Thanks for your help Midnite ;D)

I arrived at the hotel on Thurs. afternoon and hooked up with my roommate. We went over to the Fulton St. Mall - OMG! Talk about an experience. There was everything from PIMP wear to cheezy bric-a-brac and a lot of things in between! It was fun and we had quite a few laughs.

Fri. went on the boat trip along with approx. 275 other DS fans (we had our own boat) and the tour guide, Mike(?) was the best! Learned a lot of the history of this great city.

I loved the music videos and would have bought them if I had known that they were available. I got my Karlen fix with the Karlenzine IV book and 1970 PT Concordance and lots of other reading materials. I planned on spending and by gawd I did!

So excited to learn that this is not the last fest by any means. Marcy Robbins(sp) told us that Summer 2004 will be a 2 day event and they are kicking around ideas as to what format it will be and the greatest news of all: Summer 2005 they're going back to the 3 day event!!!

Now for the best part. The radio skit was the highlight of the fest for myself and for what seemed like several thousand others. I heard the attendance numbers were in the range of 2500 to 3000. OMG it was huge and I think everyone attended the radio skit. At the end we were introduced to Jamison Selby (David's son) who wrote the play. Nancy Barrett is a remarkable actress and if they ever do a remake for TV or a movie, Please-Please let Nancy head up Collinwood. I was impressed with the performance of Roger Davis who usually gets a bad rap from everyone on the board. All of the actors were very good with some of them being superlative. As someone said earlier the DVD/VHS would be made available. Someone told me Mon. a.m. that the cast had stayed over to record the play. The play definitely left some loose ends for another play to be written.

I don't know if he does autographs or not but Roger Davis walks through the rooms waving and saying 'hi' to everyone and making the fans feel special. He does add a definite 'spark' to the festivities. Karlen also makes himself available for pictures. He's definitely very popular with the fans.

Rumors were flying around that 3 hotels ended up being booked and sold out. And that they were not prepared for the human onslaught of fans showing up. At one point they asked the audience how many very first-timers and half of the people there had their hands up. It was remarkable as I think that they got most of their core group of fest attendees to come and by some miracle have also attracted a like number of new fans. Several people I talked with who were first timers said that they were definitely coming back again.

Sun. night the banquet had about 69 tables with about 12 people per table - approx. 800 for that. I was at table 50 and couldn't hear all of what Jim Pierson or KLS were talking about but I did catch from KLS that this is definitely not the end of the festivals which drew a huge response from everyone there. They are talking about doing the fest on some sort of a cruise or going out into the country but they definitely want to make some changes. It will be interesting to see who is going to win the power struggle to wrest control of the planning.

Unfortunately I wasn't able to attend the Tarrytown tour on Mon. as I had to return to Chicago. When I left for the airport there were 3 buses parked out in front so it looks like they were taking a big crowd up there. I know of several people desperately trying to get tickets but alas they were sold out.

I would say this is the most fun I've had at the fests and believe me I've enjoyed all of them so far. But, for some reason this one was special. Perhaps because I was afraid that it would be the last one and I think the organizers worked hard at making an awful lot of people's dreams come true.
Title: Re:Festival
Post by: Midnite on September 03, 2003, 04:51:37 AM: Glad you were able to get it posted, Miss_Winthrop. I enjoyed your insights and details. Isn't that dealer's room downright dangerous? ;)

BTW, do you know what Josette's potrait brought in at the auction?

Methinks the Fest committee's definition of "Final Farewell" and mine is very different. ::)
Title: Re:Festival
Post by: LdyAnne on September 03, 2003, 05:38:20 AM: Quote from: Midnite on September 03, 2003, 04:51:37 AM
...
BTW, do you know what Josette's potrait brought in at the auction?

I belive it was around $2,400. Please someone correct me if I am in error. I know it was over 2K. A bit out of my range! ;D
Title: Re:Festival
Post by: Midnite on September 03, 2003, 05:40:50 AM: Thanks!
Title: Re:Festival
Post by: Miss_Winthrop on September 04, 2003, 12:01:16 PM: People were definitely spending money at the auctions. A cookbook with recipes from the stars like Nancy Barrett and KLS brought in $510!!! I found that absolutely jaw dropping :o

I wanted to bid on anything at the auction but by the time I could even think about it, the bids went sky-high and I was out of it.

Well in the dealer's rooms, I wanted to buy everything in sight but fortunately I had set myself a spending limit and stuck to it. The ATM machine in the hotel would only dispense $100 at a time and they charged $1.50. That is absolutely insane!

I did see the table where the fellow was unloading his DS collection. He had some really great, unusual things but by that time, I was tapped out.

Several new DS books were available at the fest but Diana Millay's book about the history of Halloween wasn't ready until Sept. 1st on Amazon. By the way, she has a tour going to Transylvania (Rumania) coming up the end of October. I wish I could go as it sounds like a blast. Oh, Miss Millay alluded to the fact that she is a descendant of witches from the late 1600's. I liked her presentation and it was interesting and quirky.
Title: Re:Festival
Post by: Mysterious Benefactor on September 04, 2003, 05:49:36 PM: Quote from: Miss_Winthrop on September 04, 2003, 12:01:16 PM
People were definitely spending money at the auctions. A cookbook with recipes from the stars like Nancy Barrett and KLS brought in $510!!! I found that absolutely jaw dropping :o

OHMYGOD!! [jawdrp]

If we're talking about the same cookbook that Christine Domaneck (or Domaniecki or whatever name she's using nowadays) is holding in Joeytrom's second photo from the auction, that book originally sold for $10.00 when it came out in 1989:

(http://www.dsboards.com/images/cookbookad.jpg)

Granted, it contains several rare photos that had never been published anywhere else before or since, but still...
Title: Re:Festival
Post by: Raineypark on September 04, 2003, 06:30:48 PM: I don't even understand the concept of Celebrity Cookbooks.

What the hell about being an actor on a TV Soap Opera implies that one would be a good judge of gumbo recipes?
Title: Re:Festival
Post by: CrazyJenny on September 04, 2003, 06:32:57 PM: $510 for that cook book? wow. I've ha it since it first came out and NEVER thought it was worth that much. I do use it alot but....$500 for a cookbook??????
Title: Re:Festival
Post by: Mysterious Benefactor on September 04, 2003, 06:52:27 PM: Quote from: Raineypark on September 04, 2003, 06:30:48 PM
What the hell about being an actor on a TV Soap Opera implies that one would be a good judge of gumbo recipes?

Well, I bought it for the photos - and it was $10.00 well spent because there are some great photos in it, particularly some behind the scenes/deleted scenes shots from the DS movies. But even as someone who likes to cook, I can't say that I've ever tried any of the recipes, but...

Quote from: CrazyJenny on September 04, 2003, 06:32:57 PM
I do use it alot

...maybe I should look them over again. ;)
Title: Re:Festival
Post by: Raineypark on September 04, 2003, 06:55:50 PM: If there's one for gumbo, let me know how it turns out. ::)
Title: Re:Festival
Post by: Mysterious Benefactor on September 04, 2003, 07:36:05 PM: Well, Louis Edmonds provided a recipe for "Special Gumbo" (and Joel Crothers provided a recipe called "Incredible Seafood" that's made with shrimp, scallops, clams and mussels in garlic and white wine that looks good). There isn't a Gumbo recipe in the 1970 DS cookbook, though. :(

Once we've switched over to the new system and the Members' Archive returns, maybe I'll post some of the $510 photos and recipes. [b003]
Title: Re:Festival
Post by: Raineypark on September 04, 2003, 07:45:00 PM: Well....I'd try a gumbo recipe by Louis Edmonds because he came from that part of the country that KNOW's gumbo.

Don't think I'd try one if John Karlen submitted it though.

But I bet he knows how to make an egg cream!! [lghy]
Title: Re:Festival
Post by: Mysterious Benefactor on September 04, 2003, 08:22:08 PM: Don't know about an Egg Cream, but Karlen provided a recipe for "Maine Lobster". ::) I guess he doesn't do much cooking. :D
Title: Re:Festival
Post by: dom on September 04, 2003, 10:50:18 PM: I hate to get serious on everyone (not really, [evilg]) but it's the charity part that's important here, not the item. And of course there's that ever-so-important (in these tight times) tax deduction. I wonder what the charity was?

dom (who's craving an egg cream right now, thanks Rainey! >:( ;) )
Title: Re:Festival
Post by: Mysterious Benefactor on September 05, 2003, 01:02:41 AM: Quote from: dom on September 04, 2003, 10:50:18 PM
but it's the charity part that's important here, not the item.

Of course, we realize that, Dom - and I'm sure whatever charity benefitted is quite grateful. However, simply because something is being sold for charity, that doesn't necessarily mean that people should spend 51X an item's original worth. [winkg] But if you truly believe such extravagance is well within the normal boundries of what you're willing to spend at some future DS charity auction, please remind me to remind you of that fact the next time both of us happen to be at one - and I'll also clue in the auctioneer to that fact so that they never miss one of your bids. [smrtasg]

Quote
And of course there's that ever-so-important (in these tight times) tax deduction.

And think of how many deductions you'll be able to take. I do hope they'll all fit on one form..

[evilg]

MB (who only wishes he had THAT much disposable income so he could be that generous. [gring])
Title: Re:Festival
Post by: dom on September 05, 2003, 08:05:42 AM: Quote from: Mysterious Benefactor on September 05, 2003, 01:02:41 AM
MB (who only wishes he had THAT much disposable income so he could be that generous. [gring])

I married well. <deadpan>

dom (Hanging his full length fur and removing his 6 carat diamond stud after a long evening at yet another charity event...) [lol2]
Title: Re:Festival
Post by: Midnite on September 05, 2003, 04:27:04 PM: Quote from: dom on September 05, 2003, 08:05:42 AM
dom (Hanging his full length fur and removing his 6 carat diamond stud after a long evening at yet another charity event...) [lol2]

Trophy wife...

;)