I know it’s been a while since my last update. I’ve been focusing on getting well so blogging took a bit of a back seat. But I am happy to say that speech therapy has really helped and I’m more or less, talking normally again. There are still a few days I struggle if my throat is particularly dry however. And I have damaged my high vocal cords, meaning I can’t scream. Which may have come in handy for Hallowhedon last weekend (no that’s not a typo! I’ll explain soon…) 😉 Seriously though, I’m just happy to have my voice back. Finally.
Hallowhedon – A UK Joss Whedon Convention
If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you’ll know I am a big fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, as well as other Joss Whedon shows, such as Angel and Firefly. So when I heard that Showmasters (the team behind London Film and Comic Con) were hosting a Joss Whedon convention, I jumped at the chance to meet some of the cast.
But it wasn’t only the cast that drew me to the event. There were also a wide range of activities happening throughout the weekend too. From signing sessions to themed parties. I loved every minute of it. 💕
Friday afternoon – the opening ceremony
The convention itself was held in London, so we decided to travel down after work on Friday afternoon… which was a mistake! We got stuck in traffic and arrived with very little time to spare before the opening ceremony. Oops… We were a bit rushed to book into our hotel, pick up our welcome packs, and grab something to eat before it started.
Thankfully everything went smoothly and we even had some time to look through our welcome packs. Which included autograph and photo shoot vouchers, 8×10 images of each guest, and some goodies – pin badges, a convention booklet, and a Sunnydale High diploma (lol).
The opening ceremony is one of my favourite parts of the event – everyone is excited to be there and see the guests on stage for the first time. It’s also a great opportunity for the organisers to introduce themselves, greet everyone, and of course, welcome the guests to the event. The guests were James Marsters “Spike”, Nicholas Brendon “Xander Harris”, Mercedes McNab “Harmony Kendall”, Mark Lutz “The Groosalugg”, and James Leary “Clem”. Each of them were all very friendly, and I was happy to meet each of them throughout the weekend.
Friday night: A Night at the Tropicana
The opening ceremony was followed by the first Hallowhedon themed party – ‘A Night at the Tropicana’. Which was in memory of the late Andy Hallett’s character Lorne from Angel. In the episode his character is singing at the Tropicana and has a few back up dancers – the Lornettes with him. And, as the Hallowhedon parties encourage you to dress up, mum and I decided to dress up as Lornettes on the Friday night – our first cosplay! We had a lot of fun playing roulette with fake Tropicana money (which we also found in our welcome packs) and received some great comments on our costumes.
Saturday – photo shoot sessions
Our autograph and photo shoot sessions were split up between Saturday and Sunday – meaning we had a packed weekend ahead of us. The photo sessions flew by and before we knew it, it was time for lunch and the afternoon panel sessions! It was a bit of a blur really, but I’m very happy with how my photos turned out – see below. 🙂 My favourite is probably my one with James Marsters (Spike).
The ‘Hallowhedon’ Halloween party
It wouldn’t be Hallowhedon without a Halloween party, right? I was thankful to the crew who put so much effort into decorating the hall. And it was great to see so many people were dressed up in costumes and cosplay outfits. I saw a girl dressed as Bunny Anya, two girls dressed as Darla and Drusilla, and even James Leary (Clem) dressed as a cowboy! My friend Katie and I went as a witch and a cat.
Sunday – Autograph signings
The signing sessions are the chance for you to have a little chat with the guests while their signing your items. I had the guests sign my free 8x10s but also bought another 8×10 of James Marsters in Torchwood for him to sign. Which led to us to have a lovely little chat about the show and his experience filming.
Is there a Hallowhedon 2?
Short answer: Yes! 😀 … and I’ve already booked my tickets, haha. The convention will take place over Halloween weekend and the organisers also announced their first guest for the convention, Anthony Head who plays Giles in Buffy! Who I’m really looking forward to meeting.
Since I had a great experience cosplaying as a Lornette this year and want to do more cosplay in future. I thought I could put together a Kaylee Frye cosplay for Hallowhedon 2 next year. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the character, she’s from Joss Whedon’s Firefly. And wears green overalls with a few patches on them, which should be relatively easy. My parents think we should find a good match for the overalls at the South Cerney steam rally, and I’ve already found some of the patches she has at a shop in town. The one that might be a bit trickier is Kaylee’s bear patch.
There are a lot of USA sellers for the bear patch but none in the UK, and I don’t want to risk getting high customs charges for a $6.00 item, so I’ll keep looking for now. I have time! But if anyone does know where I could get a bear patch like the one in the link, please let me know. 🙂
How did everyone spend their Halloween? Have you ever been to a comic or fandom convention (Buffy or otherwise)?
1 Comments
Cologne and the Rise N' Shine Convention Germany – Chimmyville
January 24, 2021 at 17:51
[…] over the years. But never abroad. That was until my friend Sarah – who I met through the Hallowhedon events – invited me to come to the Rise N’Shine convention in Cologne. Germany! Which […]