E.L.F. 2006 - Saturday
Saturday morning dawned late for me. I took Joseph downstairs in search of a bagel and a decaf coffee. The coffee shop only had pastries and cookies, so we availed ourselves of the breakfast buffet in the restaurant. They seated the Reeve family right next to us, and Joseph, who has a habit of throwing any object when it is no longer of any use to him, threw his used napkin on Daniel Reeve. Sorry!
Returning upstairs, we donned our Hobbit dress for photo-ops with Sean Astin. Joseph was not particularly interested in looking like Frodo Gardner, and voiced a preference for "Elmo." (When you think about it, "Elmo" does sound like a Hobbit name.) After some struggle, I got him in his short pants and braces and puffy cotton shirt. When he balked at the waistcoat, I decided not push my luck. Sarah and I, dressed as Rosie and Elanor for the day, laced up our bodices and drew on a bit of feet fur with a body crayon. Sarah can draw an excellent poodle upside-down on her leg, so I let her do the drawing for all of us. I packed a bag for the day with camera, cell phone, shunned waistcoat, and shoes for all. We padded off to the elevator, and when we got to the 1st floor, we were greeted by a crowd of women who squealed with delight when they saw my little Frodo Gardner. He was at first taken aback, but when he realized they liked him, he was quite pleased and happy to wear the costume from then on.
We met up with Sue, wandered around the disappointingly spare exhibit room, and popped in the main auditorium for some of the filler programming. Sue stayed for a presentation by Lynette Porter on "Heroic Hobbits" while my crew went to stand in line for our photo ops with Sean Astin. My kids looked just adorable. Joseph drew "oohs" and "ahs" wherever he went. I thought our outfits looked pretty good, even if they were a collection of found and purchased items. While I have grand ideas, I don't have a sewing machine, and I don't have the time to buy fabric and hand-sew something. I'm certainly not going to be distressing leather or making armaments, or even making real furry feet. Even if I could figure out how to make hobbit feet, what are the chances I could get both kids to wear them? Same with the pointy ears – we're only going to be so accurate. Luckily, Sarah has naturally pointy ears.
Joseph's green corduroy pants with attached suspenders came from the bottom of his closet – they had once been part of his Christmas suit from two years ago so they were now the perfect length for hobbit trousers. I picked up his ivory shirt last year at a Renaissance Faire. It was collarless with a single button, and extra puffy because it is too big, but the suspenders helped to tame it. The eschewed vest was part of the same Christmas outfit. (Wait for it, it reappears on Sunday.) Sarah wore a handmade (by someone else) pink and ivory brocade skirt and bodice complete with a bell hanging from the bodice, also bought at the Renaissance Faire. I thought the bell was a nice Hobbitty touch. I wore a cotton poet's shirt with a large lace collar (actually a nightshirt in a previous life), a mid-calf length skirt with a green floral print, a lacy petticoat, and a solid green bodice. The shirt and the skirt were culled from a garage sale I hosted earlier this year. The bodice and petticoat were purchased, but the petticoat doubles as a peasant skirt, and I actually wear it in real life.
After a short wait, Sean Astin made his entrance and the kids got a wink and nod as he went by. Picture taking goes remarkably fast at these things, and Sean was his usual congenial self. He's very good with kids, and last year he put Sarah on his lap. This year we were standing, but he asked them their names and talked to them. The picture turned out great, and as soon as I get a jpeg version, I will upload it.
After the pictures, the babysitter took the children to change clothes and try out the pool (very cold). I headed back to the auditiorium still in costume for Daniel Reeve's second presentation. He mostly discussed projects other than Lord of the Rings this time, King Kong in particular. We learned how painstakingly difficult it was draw King Kong's head on a map so that it resembled a coffee stain.
Shortly afterward Sean Astin made his entrance. He was his usual genial self. He treats his fans like regular people. He thanked some people in particular for some of the gifts they brought him, naming each gift and speaking directly to the person. He talked about his work on 24. Most of you know that he got the job through a chance meeting at his chiropractor's office, no thanks to his agent. He initially signed on for seven episodes, but the scripts kept coming. He'd flip through them to see if he was killed off yet (and, yes, he's been killed off). Someone asked him if he ever had any "Sam" moments, and he answered with a long story about "saving" his family from a very large spider. Autographs went quickly as he had a plane to catch at 6:00.
You may be aware that Elijah Wood had been scheduled for E.L.F. but cancelled in June. I'm sure that many people bought tickets in anticipation of meeting him, and I am very glad that I met him at the previous E.L.F, or I would have been sorely disappointed myself. On the positive side, Elijah Wood's absence meant no fangirl invasion on the day of his appearance, gumming up the convention for the rest of us. The audience by and large would remain the same group of serious fans each day. Another plus, and I mean no disrespect, but though I can be relatively at ease meeting Sean Astin or Billy Boyd, I turn to mush in the presence of Elijah Wood, and if I can manage audible speech, I get all tongue-tied. So I was really ok with his absence. The organizers tried to compensate the fans, first with a "to be announced" slot on the schedule, which became a video, which then became a live video, which then became an interactive live video feed, possibly overlapping Sean Astin's presentation. None of that happened, not Saturday, not Sunday, for reasons we may never know. All ticket-holders did get autographed photos of Elijah, but I'm sure some people felt cheated. Interestingly, no such attempt was made to compensate for John Rhys-Davies late cancellation the week before.
After getting my autographs, I changed out of my Hobbit costume for an early dinner with Sue and the family. Then it was back to the room to dress everyone again for the costume contest. This time Joseph was happy to wear his vest. Contest entrants included a very realistic Haradrim, father and son Rohirrim warriors, a Gandalf, an Easterling Lady, several Eowyns, miniature and full-size both in courtly white and casual green, a Frodo, various Elves including a trio, though I'm not sure exactly who they were, and a crowd favorite, the Ring. I don't know how the judges decided because all the costumes were excellent, and some were quite detailed. In case you're wondering (or are perhaps looking for Halloween ideas), the Ring costume was constructed out of two hula hoops and a wide band of gold fabric with Elvish writing. The children and I made a nice showing (Sue thinks we should have won), and for our efforts we got a $25 gift certificate and many requests for pictures. Third prize went to Frodo, 2nd prize to the Rohirrim warriors, and 1st prize, a $250 gift certificate, to the Elf trio.
The talent show followed the costume contest, and many of these were costumed as well. Some of the crowd favorites were a young boy who performed Aragorn's soliloquy at the Black Gate, some free-style poetry, a skit involving Frodo, Gandalf and a lawyer for New Line Cinema, and a nice rendition of "Into the West." I'm sure I've forgotten something worthwhile, but the overwhelming winner was a Wood Elf from the costume contest. She sang an original song entitled "I Would be a Wood Elf Myself" while accompanying herself on acoustic guitar. It was very folksy, the microphone wouldn't stay in place, and she forgot some lines and dropped her pick, but it all seemed to add to the charm and humor. Thankfully, I don't have to try to remember all the lyrics, because she posted them here. Wood Elf
After the talent show, Emerald Rose began their set. They are a Celtic Rock band, and they soon had everyone dancing. My kids were like whirling dervishes, but at midnight when Joseph could stand up no more, I finally took them up to the room. Sarah wasn't ready to leave and wanted to return, but it took an hour for Joseph to wind down and fall asleep. By that time the party was over and the remnants had moved to the bar, but for some reason they frown on taking young children into bars in New Jersey. I took the little party animal back upstairs and we went to bed. The next morning she informed me that she would like to have a band at her birthday party.
Coming eventually, Sunday!
Returning upstairs, we donned our Hobbit dress for photo-ops with Sean Astin. Joseph was not particularly interested in looking like Frodo Gardner, and voiced a preference for "Elmo." (When you think about it, "Elmo" does sound like a Hobbit name.) After some struggle, I got him in his short pants and braces and puffy cotton shirt. When he balked at the waistcoat, I decided not push my luck. Sarah and I, dressed as Rosie and Elanor for the day, laced up our bodices and drew on a bit of feet fur with a body crayon. Sarah can draw an excellent poodle upside-down on her leg, so I let her do the drawing for all of us. I packed a bag for the day with camera, cell phone, shunned waistcoat, and shoes for all. We padded off to the elevator, and when we got to the 1st floor, we were greeted by a crowd of women who squealed with delight when they saw my little Frodo Gardner. He was at first taken aback, but when he realized they liked him, he was quite pleased and happy to wear the costume from then on.
We met up with Sue, wandered around the disappointingly spare exhibit room, and popped in the main auditorium for some of the filler programming. Sue stayed for a presentation by Lynette Porter on "Heroic Hobbits" while my crew went to stand in line for our photo ops with Sean Astin. My kids looked just adorable. Joseph drew "oohs" and "ahs" wherever he went. I thought our outfits looked pretty good, even if they were a collection of found and purchased items. While I have grand ideas, I don't have a sewing machine, and I don't have the time to buy fabric and hand-sew something. I'm certainly not going to be distressing leather or making armaments, or even making real furry feet. Even if I could figure out how to make hobbit feet, what are the chances I could get both kids to wear them? Same with the pointy ears – we're only going to be so accurate. Luckily, Sarah has naturally pointy ears.
Joseph's green corduroy pants with attached suspenders came from the bottom of his closet – they had once been part of his Christmas suit from two years ago so they were now the perfect length for hobbit trousers. I picked up his ivory shirt last year at a Renaissance Faire. It was collarless with a single button, and extra puffy because it is too big, but the suspenders helped to tame it. The eschewed vest was part of the same Christmas outfit. (Wait for it, it reappears on Sunday.) Sarah wore a handmade (by someone else) pink and ivory brocade skirt and bodice complete with a bell hanging from the bodice, also bought at the Renaissance Faire. I thought the bell was a nice Hobbitty touch. I wore a cotton poet's shirt with a large lace collar (actually a nightshirt in a previous life), a mid-calf length skirt with a green floral print, a lacy petticoat, and a solid green bodice. The shirt and the skirt were culled from a garage sale I hosted earlier this year. The bodice and petticoat were purchased, but the petticoat doubles as a peasant skirt, and I actually wear it in real life.
After a short wait, Sean Astin made his entrance and the kids got a wink and nod as he went by. Picture taking goes remarkably fast at these things, and Sean was his usual congenial self. He's very good with kids, and last year he put Sarah on his lap. This year we were standing, but he asked them their names and talked to them. The picture turned out great, and as soon as I get a jpeg version, I will upload it.
After the pictures, the babysitter took the children to change clothes and try out the pool (very cold). I headed back to the auditiorium still in costume for Daniel Reeve's second presentation. He mostly discussed projects other than Lord of the Rings this time, King Kong in particular. We learned how painstakingly difficult it was draw King Kong's head on a map so that it resembled a coffee stain.
Shortly afterward Sean Astin made his entrance. He was his usual genial self. He treats his fans like regular people. He thanked some people in particular for some of the gifts they brought him, naming each gift and speaking directly to the person. He talked about his work on 24. Most of you know that he got the job through a chance meeting at his chiropractor's office, no thanks to his agent. He initially signed on for seven episodes, but the scripts kept coming. He'd flip through them to see if he was killed off yet (and, yes, he's been killed off). Someone asked him if he ever had any "Sam" moments, and he answered with a long story about "saving" his family from a very large spider. Autographs went quickly as he had a plane to catch at 6:00.
You may be aware that Elijah Wood had been scheduled for E.L.F. but cancelled in June. I'm sure that many people bought tickets in anticipation of meeting him, and I am very glad that I met him at the previous E.L.F, or I would have been sorely disappointed myself. On the positive side, Elijah Wood's absence meant no fangirl invasion on the day of his appearance, gumming up the convention for the rest of us. The audience by and large would remain the same group of serious fans each day. Another plus, and I mean no disrespect, but though I can be relatively at ease meeting Sean Astin or Billy Boyd, I turn to mush in the presence of Elijah Wood, and if I can manage audible speech, I get all tongue-tied. So I was really ok with his absence. The organizers tried to compensate the fans, first with a "to be announced" slot on the schedule, which became a video, which then became a live video, which then became an interactive live video feed, possibly overlapping Sean Astin's presentation. None of that happened, not Saturday, not Sunday, for reasons we may never know. All ticket-holders did get autographed photos of Elijah, but I'm sure some people felt cheated. Interestingly, no such attempt was made to compensate for John Rhys-Davies late cancellation the week before.
After getting my autographs, I changed out of my Hobbit costume for an early dinner with Sue and the family. Then it was back to the room to dress everyone again for the costume contest. This time Joseph was happy to wear his vest. Contest entrants included a very realistic Haradrim, father and son Rohirrim warriors, a Gandalf, an Easterling Lady, several Eowyns, miniature and full-size both in courtly white and casual green, a Frodo, various Elves including a trio, though I'm not sure exactly who they were, and a crowd favorite, the Ring. I don't know how the judges decided because all the costumes were excellent, and some were quite detailed. In case you're wondering (or are perhaps looking for Halloween ideas), the Ring costume was constructed out of two hula hoops and a wide band of gold fabric with Elvish writing. The children and I made a nice showing (Sue thinks we should have won), and for our efforts we got a $25 gift certificate and many requests for pictures. Third prize went to Frodo, 2nd prize to the Rohirrim warriors, and 1st prize, a $250 gift certificate, to the Elf trio.
The talent show followed the costume contest, and many of these were costumed as well. Some of the crowd favorites were a young boy who performed Aragorn's soliloquy at the Black Gate, some free-style poetry, a skit involving Frodo, Gandalf and a lawyer for New Line Cinema, and a nice rendition of "Into the West." I'm sure I've forgotten something worthwhile, but the overwhelming winner was a Wood Elf from the costume contest. She sang an original song entitled "I Would be a Wood Elf Myself" while accompanying herself on acoustic guitar. It was very folksy, the microphone wouldn't stay in place, and she forgot some lines and dropped her pick, but it all seemed to add to the charm and humor. Thankfully, I don't have to try to remember all the lyrics, because she posted them here. Wood Elf
After the talent show, Emerald Rose began their set. They are a Celtic Rock band, and they soon had everyone dancing. My kids were like whirling dervishes, but at midnight when Joseph could stand up no more, I finally took them up to the room. Sarah wasn't ready to leave and wanted to return, but it took an hour for Joseph to wind down and fall asleep. By that time the party was over and the remnants had moved to the bar, but for some reason they frown on taking young children into bars in New Jersey. I took the little party animal back upstairs and we went to bed. The next morning she informed me that she would like to have a band at her birthday party.
Coming eventually, Sunday!
posted by Mary Joan | 10:40 PM
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