I
got into Calgary on Thursday afternoon, checked into my hotel, and met up with
my friends Sue and Kerry. We had an awesome dinner in a Chinese restaurant near
the hotel, which was near Chinatown, then headed off to bed. We were all
planning to walk in the Parade of Wonders which was the start of the Expo, and
we were all jet-lagged.
The
next morning we met up in our costumes and headed to the Eau Claire Market
where they were lining us all up for the parade. I wore my TARDIS dress, so I
got to walk with all the Doctors, right behind the Delorean from Back to the
Future. John, Eve, and Gareth were
parade marshalls, and were riding in a gorgeous BMW in the front. It was cold,
and really windy, but once we started, it was really fun. There were tons of
people on the sidewalks along the route, lots of kids waving and people taking
pictures. I had a blast.
We
ended up at the Olympic Plaza, where the Opening Ceremonies were going to take
place. As soon as their car pulled up, John was out and running around. Casper
Van Dien was there, and he and John were fooling around on the stage. John
spotted my friend Sue, who he knows, and ran out into the crowd to take a
picture with her with his phone!
The
Mayor was there to open the expo, and he was really cool. He’s a serious nerd,
and he was wearing a Doctor Who t-shirt. Naturally, he was thrilled to have the
Torchwood crew there, and he and John teased each other all through the
ceremony. Everyone was given a white
cowboy hat, and Gareth liked his so much he wore it most of the weekend.
Then
it was on to the Stampede, where all the activities were taking place. I had
photo shoots with both John and Gareth that afternoon, both of them are so fun!
Then it was back to the hotel to get ready for the Hub event that evening.
The
event was held at the Fairmont Palliser Hotel, which is beautiful. There was a
lot of very nice food and drinks, which I have to admit I paid very little
attention to, as I was anxious to see John, Eve, and Gareth. They came in about
half an hour after we all got there, and made their way to the little stage
area set up near the back, which happened to be where I had perched! They were
all in a good mood, there was a lot of joking and talking, mostly by John!
Surprise! lol
Eve
talked John into singing (with a little help from us) and he sang “I am what I
am” for us, which was awesome. His voice is so gorgeous, even acappella. He talked to a couple of fans near the front,
he and Eve told some stories, which were hilarious, and then they started
mingling. Gareth was already making the rounds, but John and Eve pretty much
got trapped near the front of the stage, as everyone just kept coming to them
to talk, ask questions, take photos, etc. I managed to talk to both John and
Gareth and have someone snap photos with my phone, but I never could get near
enough to Eve.
I
did manage to talk to John’s partner Scott for a while, as he was at a table
near mine near the stage. He is so charming, very sweet, and even better
looking in person! It was a really fun night, and when they all said goodnight,
my friends and I were too wired to go back to our hotel, so we were thinking
about going for a drink somewhere. We headed through the lobby, and we caught
sight of John and Scott outside the hotel bar! Obviously, we went no further!
It
became apparent that the Fairmont Palliser was where all the talent appearing
at the Expo were staying. While I was waiting for my drink, James Callis came
in, then Cary Elwes, then Erin Gray! They were all sitting together at a table
right beside me, it was very cool. However, I was more interested in the tables
outside the main bar in the lobby, where John was sitting with Scott, Eve,
Gareth, and some other people. We sat down at a table nearby, but by the end of
the evening we were all sitting together! We had been talking to Eve, and she
invited us to join them. It was amazing, I still can’t quite believe it. Everyone
was so nice, and funny, and charming. Best night ever.
Next
day, I had another photo shoot with John, then the Torchwood panel. It was
brilliant. They were all so funny. There are lots of videos of the panels, so I
won’t re-hash. Look them up on YouTube, totally worth watching. John had a solo
panel on Sunday, also brilliant, of course, watch that one, too. My final photo
op was on Sunday, with all three of the Torchwood cast, which was great, and
one of the reasons I had finally decided to go to Calgary. I had never had the
chance to meet Eve before, and I really wanted to see them all together. Made
the rounds of the autograph tables to say goodbye to everyone that afternoon.
It was a great convention, one of the best I’ve been to, and really well run.
Can’t imagine how it could get any better, but we’ll see. Heading to Philly in two
weeks! lol
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