The first con was Emerald City Comic Con in Seattle, Washington. Just as in the previous years, I volunteered at this con. I enjoy being behind the scenes as well as attending, as you get the opportunity to witness cons from a different prospective. This year was no exception. Most of the weekend was spend working with Molly Quinn (who sadly I have to admit, I did not recognize her name at first. It was not until I saw her did I realize who she was). I have to tell a funny side story. When another "Minion" and I were assigned to work her line, the other Minion asked me who Molly Quinn was, I shrugged my shoulders, and said, "I don't know who Molly Quinn is, but I know who Martha Quinn is." The other Minion asked perplexed, "Who?" *Facepalm* I just showed my age.
Anyway, Molly Quinn portrays Alexis Castle on the television series Castle. She was very lovely in person and appeared very genuine with her fans. It was a privilege to "help" her most of the weekend. The two other assignments I had over the weekend was the watching the doors of the panel rooms with afforded me the opportunity to "sit in" on Richard Dean Anderson's (MacGyver, Stargate:SG1) panel. I had hoped to catch him during one of his autograph sessions, but just ran out of time. Hopefully, I can catch him at another con. I also did crowd control for the photo-op lines and food runs for the full-time Minions. Legs and feet ached by the end of the weekend, but look forward to doing it all over again next year.
I have always volunteered part-time at Emerald City Comic Con, but next year thinking about becoming a full-time Minion, as they seem be assigned to one specific department. It makes for a long weekend, but it sure can be amusing and the energy from the crowds is contagious. The only thing to remember is for next time NOT to park in downtown Seattle. I made the mistake on Friday afternoon and not only arrived late as there was little parking to be found, but just about had a coronary when the parking attendant told me it was $29 dollars. There went the autograph money I was going to use for Karl Urban (Almost Human, Star Trek). Sigh.
The following weekend, my husband and I attended Tacoma Comedy Club and the headliner was Mark Christopher Lawrence (Chuck). After the show, I had the opportunity to have my picture taken with him. He had a great comic routine and after the show was selling items for autism awareness. (A cause near and dear to my heart). He was also appeared very accommodating to have his picture taken with fans. On a side note, I highly recommend Tacoma Comedy Club. The ticket prices are very friendly. Heck, you can't even get into a movie for much less nowadays, and the audience is entertained by live comedians and the food was not half bad either.
Then is April, I had the opportunity to attend Fan Expo in Vancouver, B.C. It was a last minute decision after I heard Bruce Boxleitner was going to be there. I contacted my friend, Elaine (who lives in Oregon) and we hastily made plans to drive up to Vancouver. She took the Amtrak train to Olympia/Lacey and then spent the night at my house. The following morning, we woke up early and drove up to the Kingston ferry terminal crossing the Sound, before making our way to 1-5. The weather was nice and we were fortunate enough to witness a beautiful sunrise over the Olympic Mountains. A short ferry ride over and we entered Edmonds and then drove to the Canadian border. Traffic was a nightmare and waited over an hour and a half before we crossed the border and then we continued on our way to Vancouver. We got a little lost trying to find the convention center, but a super helpful cabbie pointed us in the right direction. Once we checked into the hotel, we walked less then a block to the convention center. And then after purchasing our tickets, we went straight to Bruce's booth. He immediately recognized Elaine and chatted away with her. I was a little ticked when even though the Fan Expo's website read Canadian and US dollars accepted, the lady collecting money at Bruce's table was not happy we were paying in dollars. I had not even thought of exchanging the money before we crossed. Heck, the exchange is super close, neither has the edge at the moment. After chatting with Bruce for a good half hour, we wandered the exhibit hall and made some purchases. Then we waited in line for Bruce Boxleitner's panel to begin. We were first in line, of course. When Bruce came out on stage he winked at Elaine. Super jealous! Elaine received the Bruce wink! I liked Bruce's panel a lot, as there was no moderator asking stupid questions and Bruce seemed happy, relaxed, and super talkative. He did allow audience members to ask questions. Someone asked, "What has been your favorite role?" He said, "Lee Stetson, Scarecrow and Mrs. King, right Elaine?" And then mentioned John Sheridan from Babylon 5. He also shamelessly plugged Cedar Cove. After the panel, Elaine and I continued to hang around Bruce's table chit-chatting with him between the time other fans came up to get his autograph, until it became time for him to leave. We asked him were Cedar Cove was being filmed and he told us the name of the two towns where most of the filming was done. So the following morning, Elaine and I drove to "Cedar Cove," which in reality is Fort Langley. Fort Langley is a quaint little town, next to the Fraser River. It was Easter weekend, so most of the shops were closed, but hope to visit again as it looks like a fun place to shop and visit. We ate breakfast at the cutest little 50's style restaurant (Planet Java) and then walked around town until we found the fake facades for the Cedar Cove Chronicle and Cedar Cove Art Gallery. Yep, most definitely hope to visit again some day.