Well, Saturday started off celebrating my friend Kyra's birthday! So cool that we got to share in her birthday celebration in Tree Hill! Alex got her a sash and a crown for her birthday that she wore at the convention!
The first photo op that I had of the day was the one I was most excited for, the man behind the character of Nathan Scott:
JAMES LAFFERTY!!!
I was seriously so nervous to meet him. My hands were shaking as I stood in the line. I was honestly so starstruck that I didn't even ask for a hug or anything, I just said something stupid like, "Hi, nice to meet you." He asked what my name was, and I told him, and he thanked me for coming to the convention. And by some miracle, even through all my nerves, the picture turned out incredible, if I do say so myself.
Next, I met Stephen Colletti, who played Chase Adams on the show. He was so sweet and genuine, and he also thanked me multiple times for coming to the convention.
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After the photo ops I had that day, I went to the private autograph session, which is one of the "extra" events that you can purchase when you attend the Eyecon OTH convention. According to the Eyecon website, this is by far the most popular event at the convention, and I can completely understand why now that I have attended it.
The Private Autograph Session is a one hour meet and greet type event with ALL the celebrities in attendance at the convention. This gives you a chance to have a conversation with the actors in a much more personal type of setting.
At this event, you are able to take a selfie/photo with each actor there, and when you purchase the Private Autograph session, you receive three free autographs that you can redeem while there.
Here are my selfies:
I had a great experience meeting and talking with all of the stars, but I think the most memorable was with Austin Nichols, who played Julian Baker on the show. I was a huge Mary-Kate and Ashley Olson fan as a kid, and he starred in one of their movies, Holiday in the Sun. Anyway, when I went to get his autograph, he asked where I was from, and I told him that I was from Idaho. He was like "Wow, I have family in Idaho."
I did not expect him to say that. We ended up having like a 5 minute conversation about Idaho, and how his family that lives there works in falconry. The next day, on Sunday, when I went to take my photo op with Austin, he saw me walking up and said, "Idaho's back!" He remembered me, and that alone about gave me a heart attack!
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Another one of the "extra" events that you can purchase at the convention is the banquet. At the banquet, where you get the chance to have a meal with the stars, and really have a chance to mix and mingle in a more personal setting. The evening featured a one hour meet and greet with the celebrity guest of your choice and a delicious, all you can eat buffet style meal with about 10 people per table including the celebrity guest.
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| The cheesecake at the banquet was PERFECTION! |
I chose to sit with Lindsey McKeon, who played Taylor James on the show. She was the only female celebrity in attendance at this convention, and she was honestly super badass. I really enjoyed sitting with her and getting to talk to her. She told us about the podcast that she hosts, and how she is currently writing a few projects of her own!
When attending the banquet, your table gets a photo with every cast member in attendance. Here's the one my table took:
At the end of the banquet, the celebrities were being escorted out to attend the Saturday night party. A bunch of the celebrities were taking selfies with the people at their tables, and we pointed this out oh so casually (yeah right!) to Lindsey, and so she took a selfie with our group at the table, and ended up posting it on her Instagram story!
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| Drew Seeley made an appearance, and we had an empty seat at our table, so we invited him to sit with us! |
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Saturday was a jam-packed day, and ended with the Saturday night "Seven Dreams 'Til Tuesday" Red Carpet Movie Premiere Party. This event was held at a local brewery called Ironclad Brewery in Wilmington, NC. It truly is a beautiful space, and they had a red carpet photo area, so my friends and I definitely took advantage of that.
In case you don't know me, FUN FACT TIME!
I was obsessed with High School Musical in my early teen years, so the fact that Drew Seeley was at this convention was icing on the cake for me. I was able to get a photo with him on the red carpet, truly a dream come true.
Stay tuned for my next post, continuing to talk about my experience in Wilmington, North Carolina at the Eyecon One Tree Hill convention!
