Viva Las Vegas!

Robin     Mar 26th, 2014     Fangirl Stuff, Ramblings, Travels     0 Replies

Along with some personal drama over the past few weeks, I need to write a blurb about my trip to Las Vegas and a little event called VegasCon.

I don’t know how many people will actually see this or know this blog exists. However I imagine if you’re reading this, chances are you got here from viewing my gallery and my con photos. You’ve seen the photos (or maybe not…) so do you want to read about it?

The con overall was a pretty great 4 day break from reality. I got to see actors and actresses I’ve never seen or met before and that’s really what it’s about – meeting people, famous or not. Of course, the con regulars like Richard, Rob, and Matt are always good to see again.

I wanted to be pretty laid back at this con because I wanted to relax, sit back, and enjoy the events without feeling like I was rushing off for a photo op or an autograph. The only ops I got were on Saturday (with Jared and the duo with him and Jensen) and Sunday with Misha. I only got a handful of autographs because of the chaos of the autograph lines (which I’ll talk about later…). Even with having a ‘chill’ con planned, it still wore me out. I think it was mainly the ~10 minute walk to the convention center from our hotel room (and vice versa) and the schedule going so late into the evening. I didn’t up hitting the bed most nights until midnight, only to wake up at 7.

My photo ops, though always nerve-wracking and panic-inducing, turned out pretty well this time. I usually screw up my duo photos by not smiling right or asking for the ‘squeeze’ and having Jared literally squeeze me to tight it nearly popped my back. I wanted something different and my dear friend Amy suggested the arm-on-shoulder thing. The end product:

j2
It’s pretty much my favorite and the guys are such good sports about anything and (most) everything that’s thrown at them during the photo ops sessions. The autograph sessions went well too. I usually clam up and chicken out on anything conversationally with Jared whenever I see him. However this time I bought a little something special during our day out on the strip. I found an M&M Boba Fett (Star Wars) fan at the M&M world and thought it would be perfect for Jared. It was. His eyes light up and he says how amazing it is and ‘I’m gonna have to steal this from you!’ I tell him it’s his and he gives me a high five and was still totally amazed by it. (I’m in a haze by now, naturally) I say my thank you and he winks and blows me a kiss (and I blow one back at him, as one does…) and I walk off…apparently nearly into a wall. All of this was after the girl in front of me had a huge banner version of one of the season 9 promos – the one with the v-neck sweater – and Jared mentioned he should wear that to a con soon. I chimed in, ‘Yes! Please!’. He heard me, laughed, and said, ‘HEY NOW. YOU CALM DOWN!’ I was embarrassed but it eased me into the gift-giving. The whole interaction pretty much made my weekend and sucked me back into a happy place after some not-so-great moments of the hours before.

I have to say one of the highlights of the convention was having so many female cast members attend. This was the most I’ve seen seen at a convention tied with last year’s Chicago con having 4 – thanks to the late addition of Alaina Huffman, and the others having 2, 1 or 0 females among a sea of actors.

nicki aycox rachel miner
kim rhodes felicia day
It really tells me something when there are so many fabulous ladies who’ve been on the show and we don’t get to hear from them, hear their stories, interact with them and meet them at these events. I wish Creation would realize how important having these actresses (and any actress who’s been on the show – Amy Gumenick, Alona Tal, Amanda Tapping, Cindy Sampson, even Genevieve Padalecki – I’ve been campaigning for all these wonderful women to appear at more or even just one convention) attend these events and let their stories be heard. If anything, they should know from Felicia and Kim’s panel (not to downplay Nicki and Rachel) how empowering they are for the females in the fandom. These are strong, intelligent, amazing women who are voice for those who can’t be heard. We desperately need more of them at the cons.

I only have a few complaints about how it went – one of those being the autograph lines and having to wait so long for your chance. I understand that’s what happens when you have so many people wanting to meet someone. However, allowing people to spend up to 5 minutes with a guest at the table is inappropriate. Granted, it was Thursday and the guests were Nicki Aycox and Rachel Miner. I’m a fan of both these ladies but allowing fans ahead in the line to spend so much time with them and have a full-on conversation with them really puts everyone else at a disadvantage – especially when one of the Creation staff notices the lines not moving and decides it’s time to step in. I love the fan interaction with the cast members but this would never happen on J2 day, just by the shear (and much larger than Nicki and Rachel’s lines) numbers of people wanting those guys’ autographs. The handlers would be rushing people along, cutting them off from something they were telling the guys, and herding people through like cattle.

It could have been that it was Day 1 and they hadn’t quite gotten the kinks worked out. I had a not-so-great day that day because of getting blocked and unable to get many good shots of the guests during their panels. This has happened at every con I’ve been to (six, in total) and I don’t see the delayed start time or extra long waits going away soon.

Overall it was a good con with some really good friends. I guess you can say we liked it enough we impulsively re-upped for 2015. So…viva Las Vegas, again. Also – how long until DallasCon??


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