July 26, 2009

The last day of our ‘Last Hurrah’ – boohoo! But it was a really nice fun-filled day which started with a talk from Mrs. Martha Mann who was one of the costume designers from Road to Avonlea and Anne of Green Gables Series. She also worked on the new Anne movie.  Dan Matthews brought some costumes for us to look at and for Mrs. Mann to discuss. Everyone really enjoyed her behind the scenes perspective on what it took to dress the actors and also she had some inside stories to tell about the actors and actresses, such as Shirley Maclaine. She signed autographs and took pictures with everyone. Then it was time for a break and lunch. People wandered around Black Creek.

Soon Dan and his dad, Mike Matthews arrived for the AUCTION!  There was a “slight” delay but all was well when someone got there, namely me, after I dropped off Martha Mann. Anywho, lots of goodies were auctioned off –AoGG dolls, DVD sets, Mozart goods, lots of actual props from the shows, specialty baskets made by Sullivan and committee members (lovely candle/PEI preserve baskets, Mag tool boxes, Marilyn bags). All in all a very lively, fun and entertaining time was had by all. Mike and Dan were fantastic as usual!! And we ended up raising over $5000 for the Good Shepherd which a representative from GS was on hand to receive and thank everyone who participated. Lastly, our perfect last guest was the elegant Marilyn Lightstone who was our closing speaker. She was just wonderful, enthusiastic and so appropo. She mingled about beforehand and everyone was so excited to meet her and take pictures and have her sign autographs before she even began. She started off her speech by sharing a letter she received from one of the Avonlea fans who couldn’t make it to AvCon and marveled at how our love for Road to Avonlea, its times, characters and stories brought us all to be a circle of friends. And that is what we are–friends and we ended AvCon ’09, the Last Hurrah with many friends in our circle, indeed. Thank you everyone!

July 25, 2009

Doors opened at 9:30 am at Black Creek Pioneer Village, which was also used as a filming site in RTA. Elisa and I registered, checked in, gave out door prize tickets, and handed out AvCon ’09 goodie bags which the committee members assembled the night before and consisted of an AvCon ’09 pencil, Snickers bar, fruit snack packet, and an AoGG commemorative coin). There were about 75 registered attendees.  The fans mingled and walked around looking at the tables littered with awesome raffle and door prize giveaways and baskets.  There were AvCon scrapbooks on the table and information about The Good Shepherd, our charity this year.  And fans were able to buy raffle tickets to try their luck of winning some fantastic prizes (PEI Preserves, RTA jacket, candles, DVDs, RTA books, etc).

Then things got going and after some technical difficulties, we were graced with a short video presentation put together by Kevin Sullivan who was unfortunately unable to be with us.  Kevin welcomed everyone to the last AvCon event and thanked the committee members for their hard work and for inviting him. He announced that a new high definition digital restoration of RTA seasons 1 & 2 would be out in the fall with brilliant quality and lots more details that no one has ever seen. He talked about the challenges of writing good RTA scripts and trying to create a dream world that reflected the times of 1900s PEI. He said he had no idea that the series would have such an “overall appeal” to so many people but felt the stories of a tight knit community which had people sticking together no matter what is what touched so many people. Patricia Hamilton, Mag Ruffman, and Cedric Smith made brief appearances in the video and talked about how they felt about Avonlea and the storylines and what other people’s reactions were to the show.

Then, our first actual guest of the morning was James O’Regan (Constable Abner Jeffries). As always, he was enthusiastic, funny and entertaining. The crowd loved him. He talked about his time on RTA and also discussed his current projects and acting career. He signed autographs and posed for pictures with the fans, and while he was doing this, we drew lots of numbers with the help of fans and gave away lots of door and raffle prizes.  We broke for a lunch, and people were free to eat at the Halfway House, at the BBQ court area at BCPV or go out or bring their own lunch. After lunch, Mag Ruffman and John Welsman arrived, and they were all together for a bit before James had to rush off in his taxi to catch his flight back to Ottawa. John Welsman spoke about his beautiful music that he composed for RTA, and Mag Ruffman presented a wonderful slideshow she put together of her personal life and also her experiences with her fellow RTA actors.  They both signed autographs and posed for pictures. They were joined briefly by an extra from RTA, a gentleman named Richard Walker.  And then Mag also had to rush off to catch a flight out of Buffalo. While we waited for our next guests, Ruth organized a fun game for the attendees which consisted of some of them getting a name tag with an obscure RTA character put on their backs and having to guess who they were by asking other attendees  questions that were only able to be answered by “yes” or “no”. I must say that was very very hard, since one of the characters was not even human! 

Alas, our next guests arrived: David Fox and Michael Mahonen. Oops, before I forget, Ian D. Clarke did pop in briefly to let us know he arrived after driving several hours from Kingston, Ontario only to have his car break down near BCPV.  He called a tow truck and left right away. Needless to say, we were all very disappointed. I think a few people were able to snap some pictures of him before he rushed off. Well, Mickey was, as usual, warmly welcomed and spoke about his experiences on RTA and discussed his current projects. He did his Gus Pike accent in anticipation of being asked since that’s what everyone wants to hear when he comes to AvCon.  David Fox was debonair and very friendly, although he did not wish to speak. He signed autographs and posed for pictures at the table alongside Mickey. We ended our time at BCPV but the fun did not end there. Most of us trekked to Swiss Chalet for our group dinner and we were joined by John Welsman, Michael Mahonen, and David Fox. Unfortunately, David Fox had to leave before dinner arrived as it was getting pretty late before anyone got their dinners. I think Swiss Chalet was not prepared for such a big crowd that night even though we made reservations well in advance.

July 24, 2009

It was with much anticipation for all the committee members when we gathered once again two years later at the Black Creek Pioneer Village parking lot to launch our last AvCon event.  It had been a long journey of hard work and planning for all of us. We were sad to be without our Shelly Taylor (AvCon ’04 alumni) and Nan Conner (working diligently behind the scenes) who has each been an integral part of AvCon since the beginning in 2004. We watched as newbies and past attendees arrived one by one, family by family. There was a lot of buzzing about while everyone caught up with each other, introductions made and pictures taken. There was a definite excitement in the air.  And it all went up a notch with the arrival of Dan Matthews, SE’s location manager  and Mark Reitsma (a.k.a. Paperboy of the Anne3 message boards).

This year, we were fortunate and grateful to Sullivan Entertainment who organized and financed a bus for all the 56 filming site attendees (no more car caravans, getting left behind at red lights and getting lost). Kevin Sullivan and SE have always been supportive and cooperative in our AvCon endeavors, and we are so very grateful for their generosity and kindness. We were also happy to have sponsorship from Bruce Macnaughton of the PEI Preserve Company in New Glasgow, PEI.

Just like in 2007, the filming sites tour was sold out, and unfortunately we had to turn people away due to space constraints.  Zsolt checked everyone off as they boarded the bus, and Angel & Marcel kindly offered to drive their van for those needing to leave early or were overflow from the bus.  Throughout the filming sites tour, Dan narrated and told us stories about each of the filming sites and what went on behind the scenes. Mark was, as Dan put it, “my paparazzi” and he documented and filmed everything most of the day.

First stop:  RTA and Anne 4 Stunt Bridge near Leaksdale where Aunt Hetty fell into the water in Old Quarrels, Old Love with Romney Penhallow, and it was also used for Alex and Roger’s fight scene in Family Rivalry. Everyone roamed about and tried to get different shots of the water. The area looked much smaller in person than on screen.

Second stop:  L.M. Montgomery’s house in Leaskdale. We were lucky enough to be able to go inside and take a self-guided tour of the house and also take pictures of both the inside and outside.

Third stop: Pine Grove Church in Uxbridge, a beautiful white painted church, which was used in several episodes of RTA.

Fourth stop: Junior Ranger Camp where the scene of the haunted woods was filmed in AoGG. Other RTA scenes were filmed there, especially ones with horses.  Then we took a break for lunch in Uxbridge and ate at Tim Horton’s, Swiss Chalet or McDonald’s.

Fifth stop:  The famous King Farm a.k.a. the Macdougal’s house. Everyone enjoyed meeting Mr. and Mrs. Macdougal and spent some time talking to them and wandering around the property. We were grateful that they let us come since Mr. Macdougal recently recovered from a serious illness. The committee members brought a basket of goodies from each of their hometowns to present to them. Mark also filmed some fun trivia question & answers and interviews with a few of the Avonlea fans. I was very impressed with the RTA knowledge of the Taylor and Webster girls.

Sixth stop: Anne’s “Kissing Bridge”; Emmanuel International, Stouffville.  We all walked across it and if I remember correctly, I wanted  Angel and Marcel to reenact the famous kissing scene,  but they didn’t go for it.

Seventh & last stop: Diana Barry’s house/Avonlea Manse; Bruce’s Mill Conservation, Stouffville.  Dan knocked at the door but no one seemed to be home (or maybe they were scared to open the door to us crazed fans). However, we did all get out and took a look around and even had our group picture taken in front of the gate area! Then we all headed back to Black Creek Pioneer Village tired but thoroughly amazed and extremely satisfied with all of the sites we saw and thankful to Dan and Mark for their time and expertise.

Keep your eyes on this space for a more thorough report of the weekend’s events.

In the meantime, check out the photo gallery at the Anne of GG website! (Video will be added eventually as well.)

We have also started a thread on our message board for any attendee who needs, or is willing to give, a ride to someone in need. (Click on “Discuss” and look under the “AvCon 2009″ section.)

Traditionally, on AvCon Saturday, attendees get together for dinner. If you are attending AvCon (and ONLY if you’re attending) but were/are unsure about joining us for dinner, please send an email to committee(at)avonleaconvention.org; and we will send you the necessary information. (We do not, and will not, have this published publically for the safety of everyone attending.)

AvCon 2009 details, schedules will be available soon here and we are also sending them to registered attendees by e-mail. Stay tuned!

If you have registered but were/are unsure about coming for whatever reason, please send an email to committee(at)avonleaconvention.org and we will send you the information. Afterward, if you want to join us, let us know how many people will be in your party (yourself included) so we can give the restaurant an accurate headcount.

It is also important to note that the restaurant is not in walking distance from Black Creek, nor will public transportation be available. If you need a ride to the restaurant, you will need to ask one of your fellow kindreds for one. Who knows? You might strike up a friendship. After all, the purpose of the dinner is to relax and interact your fellow fans. :)

We will also be having Mike Matthews return as our auctioneer for Sunday’s charity auction.