Why We Love Supernatural Conventions
Feb. 10th, 2012 05:29 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
agt_spookySupernatural Thursdays - Why We Love Supernatural Conventions
(That's me above in the front row, kneeling down in the light gray jacket)
About a year ago I remember having a conversation with a couple of people who were in the entertainment/journalism biz but still found my fascination with Supernatural conventions a little odd. That’s nothing all that new to me so I didn’t really mind, but when they said that they didn’t think that they were as fun as they sounded, and that they thought the actors were only doing it for the money……well, THAT I took umbrage to.
If you’re a fan of this wonderful show and have never availed yourself of an SPN con then let me just tell you that they are a blast and no, there is no way in Hell that the cast and crew do them only for money. Anyone who is on Twitter can see that the people on stage clearly look forward to these conventions as much as those of us sitting in the audience. For everyone involved with these conventions, it’s nothing but pure fun and here are just a few reasons why.....
Like I said above, it’s clear to anyone who’s ever been to a con that the actors have as much fun being at the conventions and interacting with the fans, as we love having them there. I’ve heard them say time and time again that they feel like the convention goers have turned into one big family and when you’re there, you know exactly what that means.
Every once in a while you might see nervousness from an actor who’s never been to an SPN con before but, more often than not, that goes away quickly and they learn to accept and embrace the chaos.
Photo Credit: Special thanks to JamieRose89 for permission to use her pic from Creation Entertainment’s Salute to Supernatural Convention.
The first time I went to a Supernatural convention, I did so by meeting up with a person I only knew from an SPN chat room. By the end of the weekend we were fast friends and each year, I’ve gained more and more friends from every con that I’ve attended.
In fact, in a few weeks I will be meeting up with at least ten friends when I attend my next convention, all of which were people I either met at previous cons, or will be meeting for the first time this year (after making friends with them via Facebook, Twitter, etc). I can now list off a bunch of people that I’ve literally known for years because of these conventions, which is pretty awesome.
Photo Credit: Amanda
Okay so it’s true that many of us fans of the show are geeks, and I for one am proud to let that flag fly. But it’s also true that as a geek, I didn’t always get to travel as much as I wanted. Well all of that changed a few years ago when I attended my second-ever Supernatural convention, in England.
Since then, I have mostly stayed close to home (thanks to there being a con every year in my home town), but I plan to change that this year and am hopeful to travel to at least one other city (Vancouver, anyone?) for a con. I know many fans who only travel for these conventions, saving up their pennies all year just as a “normal” person would for a trip to, say, Hawaii. Frankly, I find the cons way more fun.
Photo credit: Thanks to JL for permission to use her photo from WinchestMidwest 2011
While the big cons get most of the attention (and most of the actors and crew), there are smaller Supernatural-themed conventions that have popped up as well. From what I can see, there are more than a dozen cons happening this year all across the US, Canada and Europe.
Big and small, each of these conventions brings joy to everyone who attends, even those cons that don’t feature a single actor from the show. With activities such as panel discussion groups, makeup classes to look like your favorite monster, costume contests and much more, all of these conventions prove that all you need is a bunch of fans to have a great time.
Photo credit: Thanks to JL for permission to use her photo from WinchestMidwest 2011
(And here I am again, getting the binding link put on me!)
I don’t know about you folks, but sometimes this thing called the “real world” can get pretty hectic and it’s not always fun. There’s work to be done and bills to be paid and sometimes I need a break. The first time I went to a Supernatural convention, I remember walking in the door and sighing in relief as the stress of life just flitted away.
For up to three days, you can bask in a world of nothing but Supernatural and forget all the bad stuff. You can simply hang out with other fans and not have to be afraid to talk about the things that might give you strange looks at the office, such as the many deaths of Dean and Sam Winchester. For me, SPN cons are an escape and it gets harder and harder each time I have to leave.
Photo credit: Thanks to JL for permission to use her photo from WinchestMidwest 2011 (featuring Sara Winchester doing makeup of Sammy’s burn when he was possessed by Meg).
The first Supernatural convention I went to was in fact the first SPN con ever held in Los Angeles and it was a blast. We even had the great Eric Kripke there himself, plus other activities such as concerts, photo ops, and an impromptu viewing of an episode with the entire audience (thanks to a guest that was running late for his panel).
Since then the cons have grown and now feature multiple events to make fans happy. There’s everything from karaoke costume parties, private meet and greets with the actors, breakfast panels, backstage passes, and even offsite events such as cruises and more. Every year it seems that the bigger cons find more ways for the fans and actors/crew to interact and everyone loves it.
Photo Credit: Michelle Carlbert (aka Mokibobolink) from Salute to Supernatural Convention 2010
I thought that was a really well written article. It really summed up everything that appeals to me, and anyone else, who has ever attended an SPN con. :-)
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