Carry on my wayward Supernatural family…
It’s been a little while since this convention, sometimes it takes me some time to organise my photos, and thoughts post-con!
Supernatural conventions – i.e. cons specifically for the TV show “Supernatural” – have not only a cool fanbase, but the BEST music taste at the evening parties. Classic Rock non-stop. And of course, the almost obligatory checked flannel shirts! Starfury cons, I have found so far, are some of the most laid-back and intimate conventions out there. Kudos to Sean Harry and his team of staff, and all the volunteer stewards for making the weekend go so smoothly. Starfury Cross Roads took place at the Birmingham Hilton Metropole Hotel between the 18th and 20th May 2018. This was the first Supernatural con for Starfury; hopefully the first of many. Gold tickets for Cross Roads 2 are already sold out! Regular tickets are still available though, at the time of writing.
My friend and I try to book a room at the same hotel (using the Starfury booking link, of course) as that means you’re right in the thick of it for the whole two and a half days/three nights. And you get breakfast – which is very important! We have only gone for Regular tickets to all of the Starfury cons, and you get just as much contact with the guests as those in Gold. The main differences between the ticket types are the Friday night meet and greet for Golds only, and the reserved seating for Golds at the front of the Main Hall. But you get to meet everyone you want to at the autographs and photos, and still get a decent view of the stage even with a Regular ticket.
The guests for this event were: Mark Sheppard (Crowley), Mark Pellegrino (Lucifer), Kim Rhodes (Jodie), DJ Qualls (Garth), Ruth Connell (Rowena), Alaina Huffman (Abaddon), Keith Szarabajka (Donatello), Ty Olsson (Benny), Julian Richings (Death), and Katherine Ramdeen (Alex). TEN guests! Wow.
Talks (Q&As) go on throughout the weekend, with each guest appearing on stage 2 or 3 times, which is good because throughout both days there are also autograph and photo sessions which take place concurrently. This year my friend and I managed to get all of our photos AND autographs done on the Saturday, which meant we could sit and listen to the talks all day on the Sunday. One day of standing up, one of sitting down!
The autographs from the other guests present, I collected within the event programme.
As requested by Ty Olsson and DJ Qualls, here’s a signal boost for their graphic novel project. Check out The Hero Project on twitter for info.
Each of the guests had something unique to bring to the weekend festivities. Kim Rhodes was an absolute hoot – the standout of the event for me – a very friendly, enthusiastic, potty-mouthed, wonderful woman! She shared the stage often with the other ladies in attendance, particularly Katherine Ramdeen, who was a delight.
Save the Wayward Sisters spin-off with… TAMPONS! This was Ann’s fault…
Alaina Huffman, and Ruth Connell were also such fun to listen to and interact with. The boys also did not disappoint, the two Marks bounced off each other well in the Sunday talk, giving us stories of their lives and past jobs, as well as Supernatural-related anecdotes. Julian Richings and Keith Szarabajka had both separate and joint talks, and at one point we were treated to a reading of a short play written by Keith and performed by Julian and another lady (whose name escapes me sadly) about aliens coming to Earth – to destroy it! DJ and Ty shared the stage on Sunday and we learned a lot about them both, particularly the strange tangents that DJ goes off and does, learning new skills – such as Ancient Egyptian history, grading diamonds, and certain types of horticulture.
A selection of my favourite photos from the talks (around 40 here, more on Flickr!):
To see all of my photos from the event, view my Flickr Album (All Rights Reserved).
Each night there were the parties, and their fab choices of music as mentioned earlier. On the Saturday night there is also a costume competition, which was won by a baby!?!? Unfair competition, perhaps?! But he was dressed as an angel, so I suppose that’s alright! The Supernatural cons are a bit more family friendly… not all of them can be quite as extreme as the Hannibal and horror fans at the Red Dragon cons!
Overall I had a fun time at our weekend away with the stars of Supernatural. Next year the focus is on the British Men of Letters… with related guests.
Crown Jules Presents 