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2005 Gathering Convention Report
So this year for 2005 I was on staff as the Dealer Coordinator. In the end I think that went well but I feel like I should have had twice the dealers we did have. Go me for volunteering myself last fall. lol I should have gotten dealers starting with the end of the 2004 con. You live and you learn.
With the past two conventions of me on staff and for the most part feeling responsible to work the Art/Dealer room I don't really have much to talk about. Did I have a good time? Yes I did. Let me elaborate. For the most part I'm skipping over people's names because this thing would be way longer and I'd feel bad as I'm likely to miss someone.
Friday, July 22, 2005
The Gathering for us starts a full week before the official start. After a full day of work we go pack up our car late Friday night. Why were we leaving then? Because of our plan to attend Sea Dog Nights! For those not in the know, Sarah and I belong to a pirate entertainment/reenactment group called BOOM which is short for Brotherhood of Oceanic Mercenaries. The website, which Sarah and I did much of the work on, is http://www.BOOMPirates.com
So we packed up our pirate stuff and our Gathering stuff which included my laptop, my printer and my sword. I left my pistol behind to be on the safe side. ;)
We left home at around midnight and drove from just south of Seattle to just south of Portland until I felt I needed a nap.
Saturday through Monday
We got in the last of some great piratical fun. There was Sea Dog Nights which was interesting as it was filled with SCA and other performer types. That was down near Eugene, OR. We also had a extra good time entertaining at a private party Sunday in Vancouver, WA and spent Saturday and Sunday night with friends in Portland.
Monday morning we said our good byes and made the trek to Las Vegas. We had planned to go through Ashland, OR which is just at the southern end of Oregon. Since we slept in it was about 6PM when we got to Ashland. Since it felt like we missed a lot by getting in to Ashland so late we figured we'd stop back this way again.
The car didn't like Mt. Ashland which put a bit of strain on the breaks with several miles of 6% down slope. The car just kept speeding up so I had to break every so often so we didn't speed down to the top speed of 110 which is on my speedometer. I've only gone up to 80 in it before. We continued south on I5 until we passed Sacramento then found a place to sleep for the night.
Tuesday, July 26, 2005
We continue on and on through California down to Bakersfield then go roughly east from there to Las Vegas. We probably should have found someplace to stay along the way but we both were looking forward to getting into Las Vegas so we went all the way to the Palace Station. Our reservation was for Wednesday with check out on Monday. Well it turns out there was a huge furniture convention in town so all the rooms were booked. What?!?! Oh yeah and this furniture convention is not open to the public. It's dealers only and wow they've filled up all the remaining spaces we have. So 6 hotels later we find a motel 8 that has rooms available in nearby Boulder City. I should have just called my aunt and uncle and said we had no place to stay. Oh well. Maybe we will next time. :)
Wednesday, July 27, 2005
Checked into the Palace Station and got all our stuff in the room. Then I dropped my car off to get the AC fixed and the front brake pads replaced as I wasn't going to have the time myself. I spent time fixing up the database and getting everything ready for the Art Show this would be a recurring theme tweaking, updating or enhancing to get the most out of the Access database with all the art show information. For dinner we met with my aunt and uncle and had a very rich and tasty French meal. That was quite enjoyable.
Thursday, July 28, 2005
The big activity Thursday other than working on getting everything ready for everyone that registered for the convention was the Tournament of Kings. It was a good show. Unfortunately Greg and Thom were stuck in a snafu of airline issues so they were unable to attend. We were in the Dragon section so it was amusing when the evil dragon knights would come out and kick ass. It happened far too infrequently if you asked me.
Friday, July 29, 2005
Frantic day with much setup. Fortunately we had set the room up last night so it was manageable. The dealers were ready to go quickly. I had to really scramble to find an electric screwdriver. We had peg board, 2x2s, screws and an electric screwdriver with no screw bits! Noooooo! Do not want!!
Aaron saved the day finding and asking a maintenance worker to borrow his electric screwdriver. We were behind schedule an hour but we worked hard and got all the art up quickly after assembling the art display boards.
I got a $3 cup of hot water and tea bag for Dreamie so she'd have her morning tea and not feel like total crap anymore. It was a necessity but I must say curse you Starbucks! I could get a 100 count box of tea bags for that price. ;p
Saturday, July 30, 2005
The celebrity poker tournament was entertaining. I stood behind Thom and watched in horror as he went all in when he didn't have the cards to back it up. It was entertaining to watch and in the end it came down to one hand between Chris Rogers, Greg Weisman and Gorebash. Chris won.
After that I wandered a while and then dropped in on Hudson's Rant. It was funny and I'll leave it at that.
Sunday, July 31, 2005
The two big things about the day I remember are the masquerade and the banquet. I enjoyed the food and ambiance much more than the hotel buffet. The food was far better and the atmosphere was comfortable and inviting. Mix in that every table had a few door prize winners on top of everyone getting a gargoyle candle holder and it just was perfect. I had mixed feelings about the dessert happening as the masqueraders were entering the room but that was probably due to the fact that I took pictures of all of them before getting into the room. So I didn't get to sample everything but I did get some good treats. I hear I missed the best chocolate stuff. D'oh!
There was a great Brooklyn this year that won best of show and it was well deserved. There were many great costumes this year of which I have pictures of them all. I was a pirate as had been the case for the past 3 years now. :)
Monday, August 1, 2005
Until we closed the Art and Dealer room it was all about selling anything that was left. Over time artist filled in and picked up their artwork that hadn't sold. For the most part it was a blur of me filling out receipts, taking payment and getting people out with there items.
It was a relief to get all the Disney art packed up and safely out of the Art Room. It was fantastic to have at the convention and a wonderful show of support by Disney. Still I felt the need to go and check that the priceless works were okay every so often.
I also managed to get a few minutes to extend my checkout time by an hour. And get all my stuff into the car as we planned on leaving later in the evening.
That night we decided to go with the rest of the staff and see Penn and Teller. It was a great show. Thanks Chris! We had a good time.
I could go on now about the trip back but I'll just say it was a non stop drive back to Seattle, WA that took 21 hours and left me wanting lots and lots of sleep.
I know this all doesn't sound like much but it was a great time and I'm glad I was on staff for the 2005 Gathering of the Gargoyles convention. :)
"Farewell, my enemies!"