Before last Friday, fan conventions were foreign to me. Yes, I knew they existed, but I never considered going to one and didn’t know much about what they entailed. I assumed they’d be too hectic for my taste, with fans clawing at other fans to obtain the last poster of some beloved character and people getting trampled while rushing to greet a star of whatever show is being celebrated. My misconceptions stopped me from mentioning to my mom that my favorite show held fan conventions.
When I got home for spring break and found out that my mom and I would be flying to Washington for a "Supernatural" convention, I was ecstatic and thrilled and over the moon and a hundred other synonyms relating to happiness! Granted, I was also extremely nervous, questions zapping around my brain in a frenzy. What do I pack? What do I wear? What if I embarrass myself? How do I keep track of the schedule? How many pairs of shoes should I bring? What if I forget how to speak in front of the cast? What if I get sick the day before? What if I have a bad hair day -- every day? I know, many of those are petty concerns, but you have to understand, my mom informed me that I’d get a photo with Jared and Jensen, meaning I was preparing to meet some of my favorite actors ever. Yeah, yeah, they are normal people, my dad reminds me of that ad-nauseum (he doesn’t get the excitement of a teenage girl), but they are normal awesome people who are stunningly gorgeous and play my favorite TV brothers -- wonderfully, might I add -- and they seem like great guys.
We flew into Bellevue on Wednesday, hunted around for any signs of St. Paddy’s Day pride on Thursday (usually I’d be home with my grammy and mom, donning green on green on green in an Irish pub, listening to festive music), and then came Friday -- day one of my very first convention. Though the opening with Louden Swain (the fantastic band of the weekend whose lead singer is a member of the cast) and Richard Speight Jr. (also from the show) wasn’t until 12:15 p.m., I woke up annoyingly early, too hyped to sleep in. (I ended up rising from slumber before 7 a.m. every single day).
The 30-minute intro included lots of singing, joke making, and appraisal of the “Friday People.” (Since tons of people traveled on Friday, not making it to any of the Friday panels.) Two awesome panels later, and it was time for my first photo ops of the weekend. To summarize, photo ops went as following: hurry through the lobby and over to the second set of elevators, cram in with other jittery fans, line up in a hallway on the second floor (tables lined the center for bag-drop, creating two aisles, one for entering the photo op room and one for exiting), eventually you are in the room, waiting alongside a duct taped line on the floor (keeping possible chaos at bay), you then hand your ticket to a volunteer, get ready to greet the cast members, and say what pose you want. The picture is snapped and you move on after “thank yous” are exchanged. It is a quick process! Regardless of the snappy pace, the photo ops were great and full of hugs! I love a good ol’ hug!
After a few more panels, autographs, and a gap of about two hours of free time, came the highly anticipated, “Game of Tones!" It's a late night karaoke extravaganza hosted by Richard, Rob, and Matt, during which they come out in medieval costumes (like "Game of Thrones") and sing the night away with us, several other cast members joining in as well! Fans get on stage with the cast to belt out a varied selection of songs, from “Wanted: Dead or Alive” and “Renegade,” to “Uptown Funk” and “Shake it Off,” and of course “Carry on my Wayward Son” had to be included as a major song of the show. Further, I'd be remiss if I failed to mention the cast's hilarious rendition of "Sweet Caroline," the lyrics changed to "Sweet Osric Chau."
I, for one, love the whole mosh-pit scene. While being packed in a hot room like sardines is not for everyone, I get so energized dancing wildly alongside hundreds of people. I managed to press to the very front of the stage for the second half of the show and got selfies with two of the actors, which was cool. My mom and I were surprised at how long the karaoke was. We were grooving from 10 p.m. until almost 1 a.m.! It was one of the highlights of my weekend. Perhaps, if I’m ever lucky enough to return, I’ll be brave and sign up to sing on stage. Improbable, but possible.
Saturday was more or less the same as Friday, so I will spare all of the redundant details. The only two large differences came in the form of a costume contest and a concert. I did not partake in the costume contest, but I figured I might as well watch it. While not the most lively event, I loved seeing the costumes, some people went all out. One girl, dressed as an amulet from the show, painted her whole body in gold! Props to her for the dedication! Later on was the Louden Swain concert which was rocking! Just like the karaoke, other cast members came out and sang with the band (or played an instrument.) Osric Chau rapped “Lose Yourself” like it was nobody’s business and Tim Omundson stepped onto the stage in a dapper grey suit to sing “Heroes,” all the while glowing balloons were being bounced around the room. Another spectacularly fun night ended with the crowd standing to join the cast in singing “With a Little Help from My Friends.” It felt like we were all one big, happy family. The perfect ending to a perfect concert.
If you’re still reading this endless recounting of my weekend, congrats --you made it to Sunday, the final day of the con. (Also my favorite day and the International Day of Happiness. Coincidence? I think not.) The morning started with a 10 a.m. gold panel with Jared and Jensen, in which, unlike the other panels, fans raised their hands to ask questions instead of lining up at the mic or being picked from a lottery. I was nervous, so I kept my hand glued to my lap, but my mom -- being the outgoing person she is -- shot her hand up without me even noticing. Jared, however, did notice, and after he finished answering another person’s question, he motioned to my mom, and asked if her hand had been up. And thus began the best six-ish minutes of my life (ha-ha, not really) -- it was pretty darned awesome!
They were incredibly sweet and Jared told my mom that she was the nicest person he’d ever met from Boston, which got the whole crowd laughing. I then proceeded to ask my question, which was this (minus some nervous "ums" and me saying they’re amazing): "How do you guys prepare for emotional scenes and is there a particular emotional scene you are proud of?" They answered thoughtfully and revealed a spoiler (you’re welcome, fans of the show), and Jared warmly welcomed me to “supercon” and the “superfamily.” I was on cloud nine for the rest of the day -- and week -- and still am -- not sure I’m ever coming down.
I am being ridiculously verbose, so I’ll finish this off by quickly mentioning a couple of other Sunday highlights -- number one being the autographs with Jared and Jensen. I don't care about a scribble on a piece of paper, but I do care about the opportunity to chat with the actors, so I made sure to say a few words while I had the chance. I’m typically a realist, so I had no expectations of them remembering me from the morning panel, especially due to the eight-hour gap between the two events and the crazy number of fans they met, but I was mistaken! Jensen asked me when I was going back to Boston as he signed my photo op, and Jared recognized Mom and gave me a high-five. (I realize the high-five is irrelevant in context, but it made me happy, so I wanted to mention it.) Additionally, Jared brought out his adorable sons, and had us sing happy birthday to his oldest. It was so cute!
Sunday also proved to be fun day because of my photo ops. My photo op with Misha, Jared, and Jensen happened in the blink of an eye. I didn’t even know what pose we did or if I looked at the camera until I got the hard copy a couple of hours later--it ended up being great! I stepped on Misha’s foot in the “Castiel” photo op (because I am oh-so smooth), but we did a neat “healing” pose, making up for my clumsiness. I felt like I was in the show -- it was surreal!
Now, I’ll answer any possible questions about seeing Jared and Jensen in person. Yes, Jared gives the best hugs ever. Yes, Jensen is carved from marble or maybe gold. Yes, Jared is super tall. Yes, they are as sweet in person as you’d think they’d be.
As well as meeting a lot of the cast, I got to meet other awesome fans. What’s better than being in a room with hundreds of people who love the same show?
That’s all I’ll say about this wonderful con experience. Could I say more? Absolutely! But anyone still reading this has probably taken some power naps to get through the whole thing (which is kind of like experiencing the exhausting, fantastic whirlwind of a con, if you think about it.)
Before you happily click the little "x" in the corner of your screen, I have one piece of advice: Go to a "Supernatural" convention! If you don’t watch the show, here is a different suggestion: watch "Supernatural" (and then go to a convention)! You won’t regret it!
