Fame Family Experience
The Very First Fame Convention - The Fame Family Experience May 4th to May 6th 2019. The Holiday Inn Lime Street Liverpool.
Welcome Party Saturday 4th May 2019
The Fame Family Experience started at 7.30pm at the Holiday Inn Liverpool with the Welcome Party.
For me one of the greatest aspects of the Fame fandom is meeting other fans in person. Everyone coming together to Celebrate our love of this wonderful show and it’s cast. This was my reasoning behind putting on the Convention.
As I greeted people at the entrance and they collected their wrist bands it was obvious that everyone was in the mood to Party and we’d got a great party planned.
The Amazing Tom Urie was our DJ and Host. I’ve known Tom for best part of 20 years as an online Friend but we live in completely different parts of the Country and we’d never met in person.
As soon as we announced there was going to be a Reunion Tom contacted me and wanted to be involved. Originally I’d booked a DJ provided by the Hotel but it seemed more appropriate for a fan to be involved. I knew Tom was an actor a singer and a musician but had only recently discovered he was a DJ too.
We met for the first time in person earlier that day. He was sharing a flat with us but as soon as he arrived it was straight to the concert venue to introduce him to Loretta so they could have a little rehearsal time for the duet. Then it was a mad rush to the Hotel to set up.
As we sorted out the balloons and photos for the tables Tom set up his keyboard started to play. He sang “I Was Only Trying To Help” and I was blown away, with tears welling up in my eyes at how good he was. He was only using the song as a warm up but I asked him to perform it on the night too as it sounded so good.
Tom obliged and sung “The Show Must Go On To” and the fans loved him. Literally from the start people were up dancing and having a great time.
Tom also encouraged people to come up and sing as he played keyboards. It was wonderful. No one had rehearsed but everyone sounded so good. I was simply amazed by this talented bunch of fans. I’d been hesitant about adding a karaoke part to the party but wish I’d advertised it so that more people could have taken part.
Our special guest was Loretta Chandler who sang her favourite song from the show “Easy to Believe” as a duet with Tom and again it was wonderful. Tom and Loretta have actually talked about recording the song as a duet so watch this space as we’ll let you know if it goes ahead. Loretta finished her performance with “Fame”. Much to my surprised she pulled up fan Brian Mattocks from the audience to sing with her. I’ve been friends with Brian for years and I knew that would be a very special moment for him. It was such fun to watch.
Our Italian friend Stefano Mendogni arrived. He’d previously asked me if he could say something about our friend Fabrizio Sabbatini who had been battling ill health but was so looking forward to attending the Reunion but sadly passed away. We had photos of Fabrizio on every table as we wanted him with us. Stefano made a speech and then he and Loretta sang Starmarker, with the fans in tribute to Fabrizio. It was a very touching moment.
The buffet food was great and some fans; Like Steve Parkes, Evelyn Harper and Caroline Smith dressed up for the best dressed competition. They were all so good that we declared them joint winners.
I felt so many emotions that night but most of all pride that the fans were having such a good time. The dancing and partying continued and people posed for photos in front of the magic mirror.
So many people have spoken to me or messaged me to say what a fantastic time they had that night and what a wonderful start to the Reunion it was. Some have even said it was the best part of the weekend for them.
I want to thank the fantastic Tom Urie and Loretta Chandler for sharing their amazing talent with us. Stefano Mendogni for is wonderful words. Michael my Rock and to all the fans who embraced the event with such passion.
Thank you all xxx
Events Day
On Sunday 5th May 2019 fans began to gather at the holiday Inn for the Events day of the Fame Family Experience. A great day was planned with the Cast Q&A, Loretta Chandler Q&A, Erica Gimpel video Q&A, Carol Mayo Jenkins video Q&A, a live link up with David Greenlee and the Fame Quiz.
The first event was the cast Q&A but they were running late so we could start on time. This caused problems as some people were only attending certain events and the schedule was out the window from the very start.
When the cast arrived host Tom Urie had us sing "Starmaker" to welcome the cast into the room. Sadly Lee who had been ill all week messaged me the night before to say he wasn't going to be able to attend. He was resting his voice so he would be able to perform ion the concert later that day. Also Valerie was running a little later than the rest of the cast and arrived a few minutes after them.
Still it was great fun as the cast answered the fan questions and giving us a chance to get up close and personal. There were laughs and tears throughout the Q&A. Some fans were a little overwhelmed and when Paul and Carlo said their fondest memory of Fame was being with the fans that morning.
As the rest of the cast left Loretta stayed so we could get a one on one chat with her and get to know her better. For many U.K. fans Loretta was perhaps not that well known as her episodes weren't shown by the BBC but I have to say she is such a warm and bubbly person who quickly won the fans over. For me personally meeting Loretta and watching her perform was the highlight of the whole weekend. I'd met the rest of the cast with the exception of Paul before. Loretta was just so thankful to have been part of the reunion and it was lovely to see. After the Q&A she and I had a moment where we just hugged and cried.
We were plagued from technical problems throughout the day and our Audio and visual person decided just not to show up so that certainly added to my stress. Erica's Q&A was next and there were issues with the play back of that video but it was really informative and great to have Erica part of the day. Everyone who attended should have received the links to watch Erica's video without the video playback problems.
Then was Carol's Q&A which we actually ran twice, once during the lunch break for the people who were only attending that event and then after lunch for everyone else. Carol is wonderful and her Glitter wars story is just so funny. People can access both Erica and Carol's videos by making a donation tom Claire House. Contact me for details.
We also had a video from fame dancer Rocker Verastique which was great fun and out memorial video dedicated to the fans, cast and crew that we lost. Plus there was little promo we made with Debbie Allen. Sadly we weren't able to get Debbie to do it especially for us but this was the next best thing and Debbie's cardboard cut out was on hand throughout the day for people to pose for photos with.
Due to the schedule going out of the window our quiz was cut short but we still had fun testing the fans knowledge.
We then went to David Greenlee's live link up. Which sadly again we had issues with the internet connection freezing but we were so happy for him to join us.
After the answers to quiz questions the event came to a close. With everything that had gone wrong I was stressed out beyond belief and in desperate need of a drink but so many people thanked me saying they had had such a good day that made me feel so much better.
I'd like to thank all the cast who took and helped make it a great day. A special thanks to Tom Urie for hosting the events and just being a wonderful person. Also to Michael Kane my wonderful partner, right hand man and my rock. I'd have fallen completely apart without you guys. Most of all a huge thank you to the fans who supported the event, who hugged and brought me tears with your kind words.
Highlights of the Cast and Loretta Chandler Q&As with thanks to Larry for sharing the video
Carol Mayo Jenkins Q&A Promo full video can be seen for a donation to the Claire House Children's Hospice Charity (Contact me at mark1814uk@googlemail.com for more details)
Memorial Shown at the Fame Family Experience - We Remember the Fame fans, the crew, the dancers and the cast that we have lost over the years.
Also fan Beth Merritt Tallman, who I didn't hear had died until after the video was made.
The Goodbye Meal
On Monday 6th May 2019 at 12.30pm Fans met for the final time at The Holiday Inn for the Goodbye 3 course meal.
I for one was shattered after a very busy few days but the fans energy seemed endless. Fuelled by the events of the previous day and the promise of another concert yet to come.
Time was tight as the Coffee/Tea and cake event had run over a little and we had the concert to get to across the city for. However, the meal was delicious and the company was great.
After eating our meal, which sadly a few people were unable to attend, including Loretta who was then scheduled for rehearsals our wonderful host Tom Urie drew the raffle which we'd been selling tickets for the day before.
The memorabilia Prizes included David Greenlee's original Fame baseball cap and the Debbie Allen cardboard cut out. Tom was very funny as drew the prizes.
One thing that struck me and really helped to raise my spirits as well as a few tears were the beautiful words of thank you that so many expressed.
Many of us became pretty emotional as the event drew to a close.
So many had made great new friendships, that will last a lifetime.
So many were thankful for the opportunities to get up close and personal with the cast.
After lots of hugs, soon it was all over and people were on their way to the concert.