Pasadena 2002 Convention Report

by Virginia and Lourdes aka “TwinXenas”
Twinxenas@aol.com

Another year, another Xena convention.  At last year’s event, we already decided that it would be our last con.  Since the show has already ended, there was nothing left to see and expect.   There was no more excitement.  We have already seen LUCY and RENEE and the great supporting cast, seen the amazing music tributes, funny bloopers, bought high-priced merchandise, joined the costume contests, and been surrounded by fans who were so giving and dedicated to the show. 

Alas, we have been bitten by the convention bug again and so we decided to attend another one.  Last Feb. 15-17, 2002 was our fifth Xena con.  We only attended Saturday and Sunday and only the day shows.   

We came full circle.  It was like our first Xena con experience.  None of our Xena friends were there so we did not enjoy it as much.  We watched people though many of them we knew by face.  The dealers rooms were not as big, spacious and scattered as last year’s.  General admission seating was at the 17^th row.  We had Preferred seats last year and we were at the 17^th row!  There were so many empty spaces.

We wore our Xena and Priestess Leah costumes on Saturday and only a handful were in costumes.   It is great to be twins.  We have each other to look silly with together.   On Sunday, we were Gabrielle and Aphrodite as Bruna & Hilda from Little Problems. 

With the tragic news of Kevin Smith’s death, everyone was sad including the stars on stage.  Renee O’Connor, Ted Raimi, Hudson Leick, Victoria Pratt, Alexandra Tydings, Alexis Arquette, Bruce Campbell, Steve Sears and Lucy Lawless (live telephone call) paid tribute to Kevin.  Touching words and remembrances were shared at that sad moment.   Renee and Hudson were on the verge of tears.  The stars then left the stage leaving Lucy, who was still on the phone, hanging.  After the big applause and a pause, Lucy said something.  Everyone forgot that Lucy was still on the line so everyone laughed and Sharon Delaney came out running to end the call.

Renee O’Connor’s hair is not short anymore and it’s not blonde, too.  Her hair is now dark red or dark brown.

Katherine Fugate was animated on stage and adorable in her red top.  She shared funny moments on the set and when she could not understand Lucy completely, she told her to speak “Xena” to her.

We missed out on Katie Stuart (Genia) and William Gregory Lee (Virgil) to get autographs.   We did not need to be Gold patrons nor did we need to have autograph passes to get Katherine’s and Josie Ryan’s autographs.  Besides we have already seen Virgil last year and that was enough for us.

Since the autograph line for Katherine was longer than Josie’s, we asked a fan to save our spaces in line while we fell in line for Josie.  Josie was not wearing any make-up, was wearing glasses and her hair was up in a ponytail.  She was all smiles when she saw us and appreciated our costumes.  Her autographs were personalized and flash photography was allowed to be taken.

We then went back to Katherine’s line and she was standing while signing autographs and posing for pictures.  As we approached the table, she was all smiles, too and announced that she could sense us.  lol  It was nice to see her again as we shook hands with her and posed for pictures.  We were cheek to cheek.   So sweet of her to remember our names.

Victoria Pratt was all giggly and laughing on stage as she talked about her new show.   She handed out pictures of her to people who answered her trivia questions correctly.

Alexandra Tydings has a new hairdo and hair color.  From where we were seated, it looked auburn.  She was not as lively as before due mainly to Kevin’s death.  On Sunday before she went to the annex to do the autograph signing, we spotted her going to the restroom so we also went.  She had a bodyguard.  We were fixing ourselves in front of the mirror then she came out from one of the stalls.   She looked tired.  She really tried not to make eye contact with anyone in the restroom.   No one bothered her.  We just observed.

Alexis Arquette came out in full drag (thick make-up, gorgeous blonde wig, midriff, tight sexy pants and nice pair of boobies).  At first we thought he was a fan wearing a costume.  He was funny on stage.

Hudson Leick was all-glittery, wonderful and funny.  She worked the stage.  Kept grabbing her boobies and referring to them as her lungs to the delight of the audience.   She screamed her infamous yell even though she did not really want to.  She was entertaining, as always.  She did not hand out “chocolate kisses” this time, instead she obliged to the suggestion of  $1,000 for a kiss for Kevin’s family fund.  She raised $5,000 and ended up kissing 3 women and 2 men.  She came back on Sunday to sign autographs for those with autograph passes.  We waited for the last person to receive her autograph to get a picture with her.  She said that she would stay until everyone who wants a picture taken with her gets the chance and she did.   While we were on line, she spotted us and her face brightened up with a smile and said, “Oh there they are!!!”  We were thrilled and we waved and smiled at her.  Then after we thanked her for the picture she said, “You girls are lovely.”  To which we said, “Why thank you.”

Tim Omundson and Adrienne Wilkinson came out on stage together.  They both sang and it was great to hear them sing and they talked about their upcoming projects.

Jacqueline Kim was reserved on stage.  She paused before answering the fans’ questions.   She gave an answer to a question without elaborating.  She loved the Mentor Video Salute that was shown before she came out.  She sang a lullaby and has a great voice.  She has a great admiration for Lucy Lawless as an actress.  She talked about the “kiss” in The Debt.  The water was tepid, stagnant and dirty and she and Lucy could not open their eyes underwater and she was in awe with Lucy because she was in the water the whole time.  She asked Lucy how they would execute the “breath exchange”.  Lucy then told her, “Close your eyes, put your head underwater and I’ll find your mouth” (Jacqueline said this with a perfect Kiwi accent).   She was just kidding with “...and I’ll find your mouth” instead Lucy said, “...and I’ll find you.”  Which she obviously did.  Jacqueline added that the scene looked like it was shot longer like they edited it twice to make it look longer when “it” was not really.

Michael Hurst was lively and engaging on stage.  He did the Maori dance again and it was dedicated to Kevin.

Autograph signing with the stars was going on while the costume contest was being held.  There were only 4 cute kids and 16 creative adults.  The audience judged the contest.   All the kids won and three of them were brother and sisters.  The kids were dressed up as:  5^th Season Gabrielle with the patched cloak, Fairy Godmother Gabrielle from If The Shoe Fits, Warlord Xena from Armageddon, and Ares from The Bitter Suite.  The adults were dressed up as:  Xena as a Grandma Valkerie, Angel Gabrielle, Jace, Angel Xena, sorta Indian Xena, sorta AITST Xena, Callisto, Bruna & Hilda, Indian Gabrielle, Xena & Hercules from the A Stranger In A Strange World, Saba Xena from The God You Know and another Callisto.  Honorable mention was given to Mr.  Jamester as Jace, 3^rd place were us, 2^nd place was Callisto because she screamed and 1^st place was Saba Xena.  She was great.  She looked good with and without the gold mask.  She was a reserved Xena compared to the all-time winner Deborah Abbott, who made the contest lively and fun.

Finally we knew what it felt like to win and it was great!!!   We used the prize money that we won to buy the Xena stuff we admired earlier in the day in addition to the t-shirts and pictures they gave us as prizes.  It was nice to be on stage making the audience laugh, getting applause, and having our pictures taken.  Several fans approached us and remembered us from last year and asked about our “tummies”.  Even Adam Malin, the host, remembered us from past costume contests.

A compilation of Xena Seasons Music Videos ended the event.  Great work!  It made us miss the show so much.  We made the most of the days we have attended because it will probably be our last Xena con.  But, who knows?  We might get bitten again as the new year rolls.

 

 

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