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ballerinadancerindisguise · 8 years ago

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My 2nd adventure at #ONCEVAN

So on March 24th to March 26th, 2017 I was a volunteer staff member for Creation Entertainment’s #OUATVAN convention in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. When you volunteer for a Creation Entertainment convention you get a couple perks, one is free admission to the show (well, that’s a no brainer.) The second is free autographs of all of the actors/ celebrities appearing that weekend (total score!!) and the third.. one free photo op per day you work. So, I was given three free ops from the start, I chose Gil McKInney (what a cutie!! And great at Karaoke!!); Beverly Elliot (how much I love Granny, it’s ridiculous) and Karen David (I love Princess Isabella (Galavant) and I originally chose Elliot Knight but his work prevented him from being there.. colour me sad.. but Karen’s an excellent substitution.) I also because I worked panels, got to watch the panels (but if you want spoilers, find a panel on youtube, I’m not sharing that much.. wink wink..) But mid day one after Mr Adam Croasdell (totally hottie, Hook’s dad…) finished his photo ops, I realized I could have another photo op for free. I found my supervisor after my fellow volunteers in my area had a conversation.. Michael or Lee, Sorry Michael (you are absolutely absolutely lovely… but..) I picked Lee. ‘ello Poppet! Wins the day. So that was my free ops: Beverly, Gil, Karen and Lee. I paid for two ops … Jennifer Morrison (my favourite actress of course) and Captain Swan themselves.. Colin O’Donoghue and Jennifer Morrison.). The price tag was hefty ($344 CAN for the two ops, but I didn’t cry that much when my credit card bill came in because.. it’s fricking Captain Swan.. you’d do it too..)

So anyways, my volunteer experience… On Thursday I came into town and met my friend Meagan at the airport. We were both volunteering. Thursday night we worked Merchandise table with a girl named Dawn who was selling her tee shirts, bags, and mugs. I bought my Hooked shirt from her. Great lady, nice stuff. I got to meet some wonderful fans during pre-registration. The fans are the best thing after the cast being there, I adore meeting other fans.. they are just so wonderful. Friday came around and we met our supervisor Jackie who was great. We got our volunteer shirts and free coffee and doughnuts (score!!) On Friday, I worked Registration. Volunteers Martin and Michelle showed me the ropes.. I volunteered last year but did Panel doors.. so Martin showed me tricks to get registration done super quick. Working registration was a lot of fun but had some icing on that cake.. Us at registration got a little behind the scenes that no one else gets.. For one, Michael Coleman, our Happy, visited us many times that day and I got to talk to him about his shirts.. He wore a shirt that said Heigh Ho on the back (kept it on for Karaoke that night), and he changed shirts like three times. He was very bubbly, funny and you know, happy. His daughters and wife came into the show as well. We put wristbands on his daughters. His oldest changed into a Snow White Costume and he walked around holding her hand. I swear it was the best thing that day.. until Karaoke… that is. I heard that he brought her onto stage with him as he was the MC. But I didn’t see it happen. His baby girl wore the cutest little hair bow, I go bonkers over cute baby accessories, they are too cute. His wife was super nice, and the whole family is ridiculously blonde, blue eyed and adorable. The second behind the scenes we got was when Chris Gauthier came up (super nice guy btw) and I smiled and said Hi, how are you and he goes Great, and how are you? I go great, thank you! And he asked for his table as he popped in to the show for the day. Chris is actually a local actor (raised in BC) and was doing an autograph table. He was very warm and bubbly every time he walked by me and chatted with me. He also did photos with fans, but I didn’t think to ask.. Oops. On Friday I had my photo op with Gil McKinney, (he plays Prince Eric.) He was very warm. When I went up, I said Hi, I’m Sarah and he had his arms posed to take me into a hug, so all I had to do was step into them and hug him back. Hug, smile for camera, snap and done and of course the thank you. Easy smeasy. Friday after dinner, Meagan and I hit Karaoke. We got front row centre but since my cousin showed up as well, I moved into the second row with him and Meagan was in front of me. Sadly my camera took lousy photos but I did get a couple videos. The Karaoke started off with Chris, Raphael, Michael and Adam singing (OMG!) Backstreet Boys “I want it that way..” Way to ruin me guys, I love that song.. the only way it would have been better is if Gil sang too.. Wow! Then Beverly and Karen came out and sang Girls Just wanna have fun. It was an absolute treat. That’s when they opened it up to the fans who signed up. I swear Michael danced or sang along with almost every fan that came up. He has some moves and he was seriously cracking me up the entire time. Beverly sang some solos (she’s fantastic,) as did Gil. The best parts besides Michael’s dancing, and those two fantastic songs, was when they brought a little girl onto the stage with them and sang the time of your life. And Adam moves to the end and we are of course right where Karen came to run to jump into Adam’s arms for the life. But you see his face go oh no and she runs back and then he goes okay, and puts his hands out. They literally did the Time of Your Life lift totally improvised and it was perfect. I got a photo of it on my IG but its not the best (as I said, crappy camera!) Another great moment was when a fan starred singing Part of your world and I think its the part where she sings But who cares, no big deal, I want more.. You see Gil slip onto stage, And he starts mimicking the song in pantomime and strutting a bit. I was laughing the entire time while video taping it. (Video also on my IG). And my video camera breaks off and he starts singing along with her. But, the best best best (yes I needed three bests for this) part was when Sarah McCulloch *you must know her as Sarah the leaf lady*, came onto the stage, and of course the crowd goes wild. She’s head banging, air guitaring, God the woman is hilarious. She even ran down to front row and we smacked her hand and she did fist pumps “yeah!!”. Best thing ever. I got back to the hotel that night with cheeks that hurt. But at the end, they called us volunteers to the stage (traumatizing I know) and had us sing Be our Guest. I literally forgot the middle part and couldn’t see the screen as it was at an angle.. so I’m right across the angle from Karen and was using her for the words. OOPS, I know the first two verses and the last one but the rest just gravitated from my memory the second I get to stage.. But then Karen started doing a rockettes, sadly the girl next to me wouldn’t join in and kind of kicked me while we were doing it but hey, i sang on stage with Beverly and Karen.. boo yah! Anways.. Saturday I was a floater and I did gold panel doors (Jen and Colin’s panel), Merchandise table and panel crowd control. (The job I kept for the rest of the weekend..) I got to watch Jen and Colin’s second panel. He was very bashful. I could sense his social anxiety was getting the best of him (poor guy). He kept displaying his nervous ticks throughout the panel (Scratching his ear, shifting in his seat, etc) and Jen probably picked up on this as their panel was together and she answered most of the questions. They have a really good relationship, you could see their bond showing through on stage. I loved that. I did see parts of Karen and Keegan’s panel but I was moving around a lot. Saturday I got my photo ops with Lee,Jen and Colin, Jen alone and Karen, One of the perks of volunteering is that you get to be in the line right after the VIP people.. For Lee, it was easy, I went up and said Hello and introduced myself, gave him a hug and took the photo. Easy as pie. Then I had Jen and Colin duo. I would have preferred to meet Jen alone first but oh well. When I was in line for the duo op, there was a lot of tension in the room and for some reason the volunteers were not very nice (very rude…) As you may or may not know, Colin broke his foot very recently. For his solo photo ops, he was sitting on a stool for them. So Jen and Colin’s photo op, he’s on the stool. Jen came up and put her arm on his shoulder with her hand on her cheek.. super cute moment, I wish I could have taken a photo of that.. Jen then took her puppy Ava in her arms as the dog came into the room with her. Then the photographer said something to her and she gave Ava to the dog handler. The VIP girls (absolutely fabulous ladies) all went up and then they brought in a girl in a wheelchair. When she came to the front of the line, Colin removed the stool hobbling over to the photographer to give it to him and then limped back to the x. *OH MY GOD, the face he made and how he hobbled broke my heart..* And from that point on he did his photos standing up. When I got to the front 6 people later, they already configured a pose where Colin barely had to move. I was pushed into place ( I said they were rude, didn’t i?) And then I said Hi to Jen and Colin. Jen said a very bubbly hi back and pulled me into the pose for the camera. They both wrapped their arms around me and we did the photo. Then as the camera snapped, I looked at both of them, Colin, then Jen and said thank you so much. And Jen smiled and said You are so welcome. (Colin was very tired and didn’t say anything or I just didn’t hear him say anything). And then I stepped out of the x and moved to the side. I saw Ava though. And moved to the corner of the room and said Ava? And her handler said yes. And I came a little closer and called “Ava” and she jumped up and almost ran towards me but a rude volunteer came over and told me in a more nice way than saying the words but GET OUT. I said to her, I’m just saying hello to the dog and she said I don’t care, you have to go. So I rolled my eyes at her and then grabbed my bag and left. But by the time I got out I was so peeved. First one volunteer keeps yelling at us standing in line. Then she pushes me at Jen. And then her co-volunteer tells me to get out. I paid so much money for that photo.. ugh. I steamed for about 15 minutes.. Thank god the photo itself was fantastic. Props to Christopher the photographer who was very professional and fantastic. I got my Jen and Karen ops after. First Jen, where it was a bit calmer in the photo op room. I walked up to her and said, Hi, I’m Sarah and she smiled, I give her a hug because I adore her. And then I said I’m a big fan, thank you, and she said thank you so much. And then I step aside and leave. I love my photo with Jen too. She was very warm, bubbly and kind. She gives good hugs. :) The last photo of the day was Karen. I love Karen. So me, and a fan waiting in line Mikayla, are both big Galavant fans. So we started singing It’s a Good Day to Die right in the Photo Op room. I have no idea if Karen noticed. Oh well. But as I get up to the front. I said Hi, I’m Sarah. She smiled at me. So I said “I know you are Jasmine on Once” (she goes okay, so serious) and I continue “But I love Isabella” (Cue big grin). She gives me a hug and of course I hug her back. Cue Photo. Then I tell her” It’s a good die to die, but I forgot my spatula.” She then has her fake serious face on and points her finger at me and goes “next time” in a deep voice. And I go “I will,” very seriously. And she does it again with her eye brows furrowed.. “Next time.” And then we both laugh and I said but of course. And then I move out of the spot and she meets the next person. Absolutely lovely. I kind of squashed her in the photo, but she liked my tweet of our photo, so I think we’re good. Saturday night, I didn’t have to do autograph lines, so I waited while Meagan, lucky Meagan did Gil’s autograph line. He showed up 20 minutes late, only had ten people in line, but when he started to leave, a group of girls came up and hugged him. So I went up and said that I thought he was wonderful on stage. He takes my hand and squeezes it (after a hug and high five at karaoke, this is still a big deal people!!!), and says thank you with a smile. Aww, he’ll win me over so easy, that man. Sunday came in much too early. We got to the hotel at 8:15 am. I was put on Panel Crowd control all day Sunday. I got to watch Lana and Bex’s gold panel and regular panel. During Bex’s panels, she spent the time making seriously cheeky comments that made us laugh so hard. Her expressions are both adorable and comical and she is just so wonderful on stage. During Lana’s gold panel, she came out with her cell phone and took a photo of the crowd. I might be in the photo, but I haven’t found it online yet. She was very passionate and absolutely loves her fans. She came to the edge of the stage when a little girl wanted to ask a question, and crouched down low to talk to her. She just has such a big heart. And at the end of her gold panel, she snuck back stage and stole a bowl of chocolate kisses for the cast and threw them to the fans. She said I can’t give you all kisses, so I can give you chocolate kisses. So she kept throwing the kisses out until she ran out. But there was two children in the audience, that came up, and she had them come to the front, and she gave them each a kiss and some goldfish crackers. She did talk about how playing multiple personalities at once is very challenging. She was a delight. Beverly’s panel was lovely. She refused to sit down. She would walk up and down the stage talking to the fans. If the question was asked on the left side, she was standing on the left side, talking straight to the asker, and the same for the right side. And when Leslie (a lovely lady I met during autograph session later), said it was her birthday, she asked everyone to sing happy birthday to Leslie and then hugged her. Aww. Emilie’s panel was sweet. Lee introduced her as the sweetest girl in the world. She is so tiny that Lee had to help her onto the stool. (Aww!!). And she was just very sweet on stage. Adam Horowitz snuck in during her panel so I got a little distracted. He came by the back and I said hi, he returned the hi and continued to walk around the back. Then I had to pee, so I grabbed my bag, got a stand in for me, and went to go outside. I passed him on the way out and said Hi, I love Once and I loved Lost. He smiled and said thank you. I then went out to pee, but the line was like 15 people long. So then I went to chat with Meagan and then realized Adam came out so I went to see about a photo with him. I found him by the bathrooms and asked him very politely, which he said yes. He smiled for the camera and I got the photo of us. Then I used the bathroom. My cousin got a photo with him when I came out and I was showing him my photo when we realized there was a long line forming in front of Adam. Yikes. After that I had lunch where they treated us to fried chicken and slaw from Church’s.. hands down, better than KFC. Then was Lana and Bex’s panels in which I had to pay more attention to the fans as they were bending the rules.. OOPs. Or as Bex would say “Sorry..” Later I had Beverly’s photo op. When I got to the front after watching fellow volunteers sing songs in line (hilarious Gentry!!) I walked up and said Hi, I’m Sarah! She said Hello. I said nice to meet you. And she hugged me and of course, its granny so I had to give her a big hug back. But when we were standing there after the photo, I said I’m a big fan, I love Granny. And she took my hand in hers and squeezed it. And then she said “Sarah, Granny loves you too,” (I am still fan girling about this writing this on Friday. wow). I did autograph line for Beverly Sunday night. Sadly, we had fans standing in between us, so she never came to me afterwards. I did the names on posties for the photos and did line control. I did like chatting with the fans, and i was 6 feet away from Beverly most of that time. So, I can’t complain.

The best moments were Karaoke, meeting the cast, meeting the fans, getting to bump into Amber, Erin from #OnceSpoof and Barbara again and finally meeting Giennie and Killihan in person! (Sorry you guys had to do a search party for me…) and getting to spend the weekend with Meagan after being friends online since season 3. I made a lot of new friends. Got to finally meet Ace from #OnceSpoof (god, I love this guy!) and Aimee as well. The friends I made last year, getting to see them again this time was the sprinkles of the awesome cake. Would I do it again? Depends.. would Josh and Colin both be there? Would the rude people not? Hmm, we’ll see.. But I’m thankful for this weekend. I got fantastic autographs and lovely photos. And that karaoke night was one of the best nights I have had in a long time. This cast is fantastic, the fans are fantastic.. #blessed.

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