Dark Shadows event for LA in August 2020

[patrickm]

Our good friend Chad Hopkins is organizing a Dark Shadows event thru his Dark Shadows Cast Reunions for LA in August 2020. He has set up a gofundme page to raise the necessary upfront overhead expenses in putting together the event. You can check it out at :

http://gofundme.com/f/dark-shadows-event-2020

It also has a link with info on his previous DS gatherings.

This will be a great opportunity for west coast fans to attend a Dark Shadows event, since their hasn't been a festival in LA for quite awhile and no future festivals being announced.

[Gerard]

Again, call me a pessimist, but the days of annual DS Fests with thousands, if not more, attending are over.  We original fan base aren't getting younger and don't have the resources to fly to a distant city, stay in a hotel, pay entrance fees and somehow try to eat.

And, again blame it on you-know-who, who scoured the internet to remove any videos, even just clips, that would've expanded the base at no cost to anyone just to make sure DCP got loot.  DCP is dead.  Despite Curtis' many accomplishments, including the magnificent War and Remembrance, ask anyone you know who he is and what he had done.  His production company is dead and that's because of you-know-who.  As money drains away, you-know-who will no longer be able to keep his army of lawyers.  He's slit his own throat. 

We've been reduced to a gofundme thing to try and get people to come.  It's over.  Let's enjoy our time here.

Gerard

[patrickm]

Gerard, I'm perplexed by your negativity on this. JP isn't involved and has nothing to do with this event. As a frequent fest goer, would I have liked to see him try some different things and different locations instead of the same-o same-o each year? Sure. But I'm not going to question his motives or efforts. He gave us lots of great memories over 30 years and certainly more  DS gatherings than we would have had without him. Chad isn't looking to duplicate a festival but to do a smaller fan friendly gathering similar to the Ed Lambese gatherings in the late 90's. And unlike JP, Chad is open to fan suggestions. Instead of rehashing the past, I am focusing on the present void of DS fan gatherings. If he is willing to put in the time and effort, I fully support him.

As for gofundme, it's an acceptable way of doing things these days. The producer of the DS based play Blackwood did a gofundme to raise the required upfront costs. He met his goal, they performed the play at the Orlando Fringe Fest and it was great fun. It's all good.

As for enjoying DS here, great - I am all for it. But I haven't been a Dark Shadows fan club president for 27 years thinking the best way for me to enjoy the show was to stay inside my house and watch the show on vhs and dvd. I've always felt the best way for a fan to enjoy the show is to share the enjoyment with other fans in person. It's been a labor of love but I wouldn't trade a minute of it. We actually have kicked around the idea of doing our own DS convention here in Orlando - but while we had organized book signings for David Selby and Lara Parker, a full DS gathering is a much bigger undertaking. So I applaud Chad wanting to tackle this.

[Patti Feinberg]

First and foremost, I am in total agreement that it's time for mini-Fests to be in other than NYC & CA.

I know through the years Florida has a large club.

I'm sure there are a lot of fans in MO, LA, VA, ME, et al.

If a go-fund-me could raise enough $$ to ask just 2 or 3 original, '90, WB Pilot, and someone from the 2012 movie to come, and, if we knew there'd be at least 100 people, I'm sure local hotels could give a decent rate.

It's time to get off the 2 large coastal areas, which are expensive for any reason.

Athens, GA, Freemont, ME, Branson, MO, etc.

Patti