That's true and yet the DS website calls the weekend a "Celebration" rather than a festival unless that has been changed since yesterday.
Yes, but you assume that people actually look at that COBWEBB that is the DS Fest website. When was that thing REALLY overhauled anyway? :- Most people in fandom, it seems to me anyway, get their info from ShadowGram, Cyber ShadowGram, their Fest mailings and this Forum. So, to me, it doesn't matter a damn what they put on the site, I gave up on it being up-to-date years ago.
Nothing stops people from meeting up in New York and sharing hotel rooms for a few days or a week. don't need a convention or festival for that.
Couldn't agree more Nancy! In fact, I tried to get my friends--my
inner circle of friends that is--to forgo the Fest altogether this year in favor of a week at the beach, Fire Island or Provincetown to be exact. But since we have a lot of other friends who wouldn't be able to do that, because there's too many of us to hit the beach together instead, we decided that it was more practical to go to Tarrytown instead. Some of these ppl we only get to see once a year at the Fests. Bottam line, it just isn't practical for all my friends in fandom and I to vacation together once a year WITHOUT a Fest. I suspect, sadly, that when they do end, I won't see a lot of these ppl again.
And as Claude pointed out, the cheaper hotel rates are an enticement. Personally Karlenfan and I plan on spending more time in that fabulous hotel pool than in the main con room, LOL!
I keep hearing people say they go to the fests to see friends yet much of the initial complaining has been about more actors not attending.
I must have missed those posts because what I'm seeing is people being upset that apparently some stars were told they weren't invited. Don't know if this is true or not, but if it is that's just rude of Jim. Yes, it's true that they can say "Screw Jim" and come anyway on their own dime, but if one doesn't feel welcome, why would they want to come? Again, I don't know if what MB said was true about them not being invited, or told 'their services weren't required', or whatever it was, I'm not 'in the loop' w/Jim and company, but most ppl would decide not to attend based on that. Me persoanally, I'd say 'screw Jim' and go anyway, but that's just the VA rebel in me I guess!
They were nearly cancelled out altogether a few years ago so that's a clear message that no one should expect anything in particular from year to year.
I think most fans are very aware of this. Seems to me, if Jim had truly had his way back in 2003, these Fests would have ended w/the first Brooklyn Festival. No matter what Marcy Robin claims, it WAS billed as the final Festival, but perhaps ONLY on the aforementioned website, maybe she didn't see that posted on there. Guess she gave up on it being regularly updated too!
I think only the fact that the stars, KLS in particular (big surprise right?
), pulled Jim onstage during the cast reunion and called him on the carpet about it that caused him to back pedal and continue them for a few more years. But my friends and I all say, IF there's another Fest....
Again, just my two drachmaes