I'm back home after three days in Tarrytown. The 50th anniversary convention was the best one in some time. After braving the best and humidity in the unaircondituoned stable at Lyndhurst, anything indoors was certainly a step up. No, it wasn't perfect. The hotel was really too small for such an event, as numerous people were turned away. The air conditioning was odd. Cold in some places, almost nonexistent in others. It was virtually impossible to get a WiFi signal on the property which meant no posting anything until I got home.
It was an interesting mix of fans. Lots of us veterans but quite a few newbies. One extremely articulate young man came in from Australia after discovering DS through the audiodramas. Another couple came from England; the wife was astonished to see Matthew Waterhouse there as a guest. Matthew appeared on Doctor Who and is featured in several projects from Big Finish. The woman used to be his baby sitter.
Friday night brought John Karlen back to the Festival after a long absence. He was as feisty as ever. I don't know what the status of his health issues. He was accompanied by a health aide and was in a wheelchair. But he stayed signing autographs until well after 11 o'clock.
Nancy Barrett was also in attendance. I remember her being somewhat skittish at earlier events but she really came out of her shell. She mixed freely with fans the entire weekend and seemed to really enjoy herself. More on Nancy on Saturday. A lot more.
I was in the dealer's room on Saturday afternoon when a very lovely and well dressed woman approached me and introduced herself. It was none other than our very own Midnite! I don't know how many of you have had the pleasure of meeting any of the moderators face to face. It was a surprising but very cool experience.
Saturday evening brought the return of two festival mainstays that had missing for much too long: the costume gala and the skits. Our very own Prof. Stokes did two outstanding filk songs. One to the tune of Summer of '69, the other to Up Around the Bend. The capper came went Kathryn Leigh Scott and Lara Parker came out costumed as Josette and Angelique. The ladies looked particularly gorgeous.
Next up was the Collinsport Players doing a revival of a skit that I had co written several years ago. The skit leads up to the events leading up to Vicki's time travel back to 1795. A surprise addition to the cast was Nancy Barrett, who reprised her characterization of Carolyn as Barnabas' slave. Nancy really gave her all and seemed to be enjoying herself as much as the audience. I cannot begin to express how thrilled and proud that I was to hear her perform dialogue that I had written.
Sunday was the luncheon. In previous years, the food served at the banquet was less than palatable. Not so this time! A decent sized chicken breast with a light sauce, accompanied by mashed sweet potatoes and broccoli. Was it the best meal that I ever had? No. But by festival standards, it was off the charts.
The goodie bags this year were substantially better than previous years. We each got three fairly substantial items. One was a paperback of the Dark Shadows story digest originally published by Gold Key. It is what is, quality wise. But it also contained some rare DS pictures that I had never seen before. The second was a DVD doublepack of The Haunting of Collingwood and The Vampire Curse. The final item was the hardcover of Produced and Directed by Dan Curtis. Lots of DS pictures in both.
David Selby and Nancy Barrett reprised I Wanta Dance with You. James Storm played a couple of original numbers.
They also screened their short films by Ansel Faraj. The first featured John Karlen's return to acting after many years. He plays a character looking for a job as a handyman to a vampire, played by Christopher Pennock. John need a reference so they put in a call to KLS, whose ring tone is Josette's theme. They are interrupted by Lara Parker as a vampire slayer. Lara is quickly dispatched by a cheesy shadow effect.
Much lighter in tone is a reunion of Angelique and Josette who meet after Barnabas has passed away. The ladies are at first competitive but ultimately emerge as friends with a new understanding. It was very sweet.
The last was loosely based on Toby Dammit/Never Bet the Devil Your Head. Pennock and Parker are joined by Jerry Lacy and Lisa Richards.
The day ended with KLS auctioning off some of her memorabilia to benefit research into the disease that took her husband. Among the items that she sold were her copy of her final DS script and a couple of Maggie Evans falls.
I probably have overlooked a few things but if you were there, feel free to add your own scrapbook memories.
