Vulkon Cleveland
April 26-28th, 2003
Holiday Inn - Independence, OH

Guests

Robin Atkins Downe: Machida - "Reptile Boy" (BtVS)

Iyari Limon: Slayer in training - Kennedy (BtVS)

James C. Leary: Clem the loose skinned demon (BtVS)

Andy Hallett: Lorne - the host (AtS)

James Marsters: Spike (BtVS)

Ahhh, the excitement, the drama, of Cleveland!

[pause]

Okay, the excitement, the drama, of seeing James Marsters in Cleveland!

The Cleveland Vulkon was fantastic, for the most part. There's been a ton of discussion and transcripts and other fun stuff posted in other places, so I won't bore y'all with lots of details that don't involve me. Actually, though, it'll still be boring, but hey, you're here now, read anyway!

Cocktail Party

The cocktail party went really really really well. Everyone was so nice, and it was just a comfy time to hang out. It was fairly organized, even though the room was a tad small and on the dark side. But at least my pics turned out!

Fun was had by all. When I got my photo taken with James, I told him that I was having a fantastic time, and I'd only been there since 4:00pm. So I got a high five. :-) Then, later on during the party, I got to sit at James' table and talk some with him and three other people, which was a blast. I mentioned his last appearance on Politically Incorrect and how impressed I had been that James had done research prior to his appearance. James was a bit embarrassed, because he felt like he had gone off on one of the other women on that show.

All of us then talked a bit more about history(James' favorite period being the 1950s) and then about the episode Tabula Rasa. And then, I had to get up and let someone else have my spot. Not nearly long enough, but you know, James' knee kept brushing mine, due to the way the chairs were at the table. So I was happy.

Q&As--Saturday

The Q&As went well on Saturday. Of course, there was no Andy Hallett Q&A, due to his late arrival, but all in all, good questions were asked and a minimum of embarrassing ones. At least, from my perspective.

Poor James C. Leary . . . the fun he had, hanging out with fans on Friday night, mutated into misery on Saturday. :-) He was still such a treat to meet and talk with. I hung out at a party he was at on Friday night, where he talked some about his short film and just had a good time. Considering that the final nail in the coffin seemed to be the Smoldering Sex God, or as James re-named it, Purple Death in a Cup, I think drinking purple Gatorade might have been an unwise decision.

I asked Iyari Limon about how she prepared for coming to a con, as I had heard that this was her first con. She was very sweet and charming--nothing like Kennedy, which was a relief. She talked a lot about the other actresses playing Potentials, and said she and Indigo(Rona) seemed to get into a lot of trouble togther.

And then, the main event. James, as always, was funny, charming, insightful, and passionate about whatever he was talking about. And I asked him the first question! If you've seen transcripts, I'm the one who asked about how clothes, or the lack thereof, affect the way you approach a role or develop a character. He was very thoughtful in answering the question, and he seemed to like the question. The audience sure did, at least. :-)

Q&As--Sunday

I'm choosing to skip over the banquet and the karaoke, because a) they weren't that much fun and b) there's been tons of talk about how those went. So, anyway, Sunday! This is only my second con, but I've noticed that Sunday questions are usually better than Saturday. Why, I don't know, but that held true here in Cleveland.

James C. Leary was in much better spirits on Sunday(no pun intended!) since his hangover had cleared up. A funny, funny guy is James C. Leary.

And speaking of funny, Andy Hallett. Oh. My. God. He so needs to do a "no children admitted" Q&A, because that would just rock. That was one of the best hours I've ever had, in terms of laughing and enjoying myself. I asked Andy that as I had so loved seeing him sing Lady Marmalade, I was curious if there were any other songs he'd like to sing on the show. Andy talked briefly about how Lady Marmalade played such a big part in getting him where he is now.

Andy's stories are long, rambling, and incredibly funny. Ask him the school bus story if you ever see him at a con.

James did Shakespeare for us! And it was from The Tempest, not from Macbeth! I melted into a little puddle of goo when he did one of Caliban's speeches. I so wish I could get a chance to see him perform on stage at some point.

Lots of good questions on Sunday, and James was once again his lovely self. Sadly, he wouldn't sing for us, as he didn't have his guitar. So I'm begging people to bring guitars with them if you're going to ask James to sing. :-)

Wrap-up

I had a blast in Cleveland. This con was so well-run, that even disappointments were handled well, for the most part. I'm definitely looking forward to Tampa now, and I can only hope the cocktail party goes as well there as it did here!

By happy coincidences, I ran into some people I met at Shore Leave last year, and was able to hang out with them a lot. That made the weekend, for me. I have a cliched metaphor for cons: James is the frosting. The other celebrities are the frosting roses. But the people you meet? They're the cake. And while frosting is fun in small doses, who wants just frosting? I want the cake, too. And this con was like the best cake I've had, ever.

See y'all at the next con!