Saturday, 3/29/08: Meet Market
Saturday was the first official day of the convention. First panel was Frederick Lehne (Lane?). He entertained us with a song and then with story after story. He was a very animated speaker. Next up was Chad Lindberg, which was almost painful to watch. He was clearly uncomfortable, and despite the warm friendly vibes I (we all?) was trying to project towards him, he just kept floundering. He'd answer questions quickly and then look around like he was scared half to death of all the "freaky fans". Ah well, points for getting up there! Eric Kripke's panel was next, and was very enjoyable. He is an excellent public speaker, and I was really impressed with him. There are probably lots of things I'd like to remember about his panel, but they've escaped me for the moment.
We got a break for dinner with a group of ladies who knew people we knew, and then it was back downstairs for Steve Carlson's second show of the week. He was just as good the second time, and got a quiet crowd on their feet, which was great.
After the show was the Dessert Party, which is what this picture is from. Steve, Frederick, and Chad were the "celebrity guests", and it was the most bizarre thing ever. They had to get up on this little stage and stand there on display for several minutes. Steve bolted as soon as he was allowed to go, but Frederick and Chad came around and spent a few minutes "speed dating" style at each table. We had a nice, if quick, chat with each of them and enjoyed ice cream sundaes, so it wasn't a bad way to spend the evening.
We got a break for dinner with a group of ladies who knew people we knew, and then it was back downstairs for Steve Carlson's second show of the week. He was just as good the second time, and got a quiet crowd on their feet, which was great.
After the show was the Dessert Party, which is what this picture is from. Steve, Frederick, and Chad were the "celebrity guests", and it was the most bizarre thing ever. They had to get up on this little stage and stand there on display for several minutes. Steve bolted as soon as he was allowed to go, but Frederick and Chad came around and spent a few minutes "speed dating" style at each table. We had a nice, if quick, chat with each of them and enjoyed ice cream sundaes, so it wasn't a bad way to spend the evening.