BURBANK, CA, USA
 Fri., Sat. & Sun.
January 21-23, 2005
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                                            Celebrating 10 years of Xena
                    134 episodes,  6 Seasons and 10 Years of Xena Fandom
                                         September 1995 - September 2005

Creation Entertainment - Official Xena Convention 2005
Artwork by Lucia Nobrega

Convention report by Virginia and Lourdes | Photos by the lovely TwinXenas

January 21-23, 2005, Burbank CA

The 10th Xena Convention. An anniversary. The circle has come full
course. It was in 1995 when Xena: Warrior Princess graced the American
television. It began as a spin-off from the legendary show, Hercules,
and took off like a rocket and the rest was herstory.

This has been our 8th Xena Convention and each has its own magic that
we will treasure forever. There was so much to do and see. This
convention has been so much fan-oriented where the creativity and
resourcefulness of the fans were manifested. Artworks from very talented Xena
artists were showcased at the Xena Art Show. Body arts were displayed
for the Tattoo Contest. Fantastic music videos were shown from the
comedic to the very moving ones with awesome clips and perfect music.

A convention would not be complete without the costume contest. The
celebrity judges were Katherine Fugate, Steven Sears, Alison Wall and
David Franklin. The costumes were great and creative and the fans did
their best to work the stage and impress the judges.

Yours truly were dressed up as Empress Xena and Gabrielle, the
visionary voice of Athens from "When Fates Collide". It was our little tribute
to Katherine Fugate. The host, Adam Malin said that, "Katherine’s
stoked." We did not see her stand up because we were facing the audience,
but we heard her yell, "Good job." Thank you, Katherine!

(1st place) was awarded to a woman dressed up as Meg coming out of the
cake from "Soul Possession" and as Annie so she was Meg/Annie. Her
little ditty was catchy and funny.

(2nd place) was a tie between Deborah Abbott dressed up as Kabuki Xena
and a woman dressed up as Ilainus who did some belly dancing with her
long sword.

(3rd place) was awarded to a woman dressed up as Anthrax from "Many
Happy Returns".

As always Deborah Abbott was impressive. We weren't sure whether she
was drunk or acting drunk while ashes of Akemi spread onto the stage
which Hudson Leick jokingly referred to it as Xena when she was on stage
after the costume contest. Wendy Woody did a marvelous portrayal of
Gabrielle as Tyrella from "If The Shoe Fits."

Fans were dressed up as Fin Xena, Xena, Callisto, a Valkerie, a
Shamaness, 2 Gabrielles from "Legacy", an Amazon, Gabrielle, Tataka,
Arminestra and a woman holding Pandora's Box which she opened and revealed the
hope for Season 7.

Dressing up has been a highlight for us. We enjoy making the audience
laugh and smile and having our pictures taken. This has been the
second time when a fellow fan asked for our autographs. <double blush>

This was our first time to see Danielle Cormack (Ephiny) on stage and
she was so engaging. She was sporting a beautiful, long, dark hair.
She jokingly teased the audience that if there will be a movie, then she
would like to be Xena. She also did an impression of Alti.

Hudson Leick (Callisto) did not disappoint. She looked glamorous.
Just like from previous conventions, she did her famous Zodiac
impressions. Her classy gown went up for $3,000!

The Xena Puppetry Show written by Steven Sears and performed by the
renowned puppeteer Len Levitt and crew did an ingenious and fabulous show.
It was hilarious and moving at the same time. We were close to tears
by the end of the last song. Puppet Gabrielle kept asking Puppet Xena
what was it that makes them come back again and again. The fans. They
dedicated a song to the fans. They did it for us.

Deborah Abbott and Wendy Woody’s "Deliver X" short film was very
impressive. The cast was perfect! Deborah was convincing as a life-size Xena
doll. She could talk, too, with a pull of a string. Wendy Woody
played a Xena collector whose package just arrived in the mail. The
package was the life-size Xena doll. The doll became her new best friend.
They did things together and were happy together until Wendy’s
girlfriend came between them. The delivery guy wanted a piece of the doll, too.
The doll went off on her own and started traveling the world and
occasionally sends Wendy postcards of the places she has visited with her new
friend, Gabrielle.

Katherine Fugate (screenwriter of "When Fates Collide") then came out
on stage and answered the fans' burning question. Sorry but from where
we were seated, we did not hear what she said about the movie because
the fans started clapping and drowned whatever she said. However, from
all the cheers from the fans, it sounded that there might be a movie
sooner or later. She brought surprises (gifts) which consisted of "The
Prince And Me" posters, cd, backpack and homemade necklaces for the fans
who had thought-provoking questions for her. She shared that she's a
homeowner now and that she has a bit of a trouble identifying which
screwdriver (the plus or the minus) is right for a job. A fan asked her
if she was in a village and met Xena and Gabrielle, who would she be
friends with. She paused and said, Gabrielle because of the bard thing
going on, the blonde hair and the height while to Xena she would tell
her she could cook, clean the house and she needs someone to look after
her.

And last but not the least, upon arriving at the main theatre and
admiring the banners which decorated the walls, we noticed a life-size cake
at the side of the stage. Hmmm, it both got us thinking that maybe
Deborah Abbott, the Xena look-alike, would be coming out of it for the
costume contest. We asked her about it and she laughed it off.

Little did we know that it would be no other than Lucy Lawless and
Renee O'Connor who would be surprising everyone. Before their appearance,
a lone spotlight was on the cake and we put two and two together and
knew that they would be coming out of it somehow. While we were waiting
for them to appear which took a while, a thought suddenly popped into
my (Lourdes) mind that Lucy and Renee would be wearing their go-go
outfits when they do come out of the cake and I whispered this to Virginia.
We were both amazed that my (Lourdes) hunch was right. Lucy first
came out in her go-go outfit then in a short while followed by Renee in
her go-go outfit, too. What a hilarious and grand entrance which
garnered thunderous applause! The scene reminded us of our 2001 costumes
(Go-go Xena and her body double) when we surprised the audience.

We truly enjoyed Lucy and Renee's singing and dancing and their being
TWOgether on stage. They in turn changed into regular clothes as they
answered the fans’ burning questions. While Lucy was changing clothes,
the emergency alarm went off. It was a false alarm as we waited for
the annoying sound to die down.

We are happy beyond words to be a part of the 10th anniversary
celebration of a show we so love. The fans, the behind-the-scenes people, the
stars and Creation organizers Sharon Delaney, Gary Berman, and Adam
Malin made it all possible. Thank you so much!

AUSXIP - Australian Xena Information Page
AUSXIP Lucy Lawless - Xena  |  AUSXIP Renee O'Connor - Gabrielle