gaudreaur
08-13-2004, 4:11pm
Ren’s fan convention highlights
Last year, I wrote up a short piece detailing my highlights of the fan convention. Many have already done so on this site and others, but I wanted to share my highlights from an organisational standpoint.
Thursday
I make the short trek over to the Senator Hotel and park my vehicle. First guest that I meet is Andrea on the elevator. However, I do not know that she is here for the fan-con and it’s only when I see her follow me into the lobby of the hotel that I put 2 and 2 together. How rude of me not to say hello in the elevator.
In the lobby I met up with many old friends from last year’s convention, plus a few new ones who I`d had contact with online for the past year. Amongst the new ones who I`d talked to were Alanb, Grace as well as John and Janna. I also had a chance to meet Roger’s wife Kaye. It was also nice to see our local media come out and take an interest in our little event. Media this time around has to be commended for promoting us with fervour before and during the convention.
Since I had plenty of things to do, and since Tracy kept calling me on my cell phone and screaming at me, I figured it would be a good idea to head over to the STC to see what was going on and needed to be done. The final touches were still being made on exhibits and other conventioneers were slowly arriving and visiting the foyer.
That evening, returning delegates had a special get together before the start of the convention. It was a chance to rekindle old friendships and to present returning members with an inaugural group name-tag. If you’re part of that inaugural group, you’d better come to the next fan-con so we can give you your name-tag. A short while later, all our other delegates started to arrive. I have to admit that it was quite overwhelming to see all these people come to town to join us for our small event. :) I went around the room and said hello to everyone I think. My goal was to learn everyone’s name by the end of the weekend and I failed at it miserably. Thank God for our convention nametags.
During the evening we were treated to a wonderful native ceremony where they did a blessing and shared with us their gift of song. I still remember how quiet the room got when Lawrence took the microphone and spoke a bit about the significance of the size of the drums. You could have heard a pin drop.
Afterwards, all guests enjoyed some complementary beverages and of course one of Shania’s favourites: butter tarts. Those who know me well, know that I`ve been watching my weight for the past year. However, I couldn`t pass up the opportunity of just ONE butter tart. I`ll have to walk an extra hour this week to work it off.
Where’s JD? Stuck in Nashville.
Friday
Friday morning saw all guests come back to the STC for the tour of the exhibit areas as well as the backstage are. Tracy and her staff have done a FANtastic job working on exhibits or the past few months. The smiles on everyone’s faces that day really brightened up the mood. Everyone was flying high.
Tracy did a fantastic job, as always with the backstage tour. I’m pretty sure everyone was blown away. The addition of Shania’s wardrobe to our exhibits will surely be fantastic.
Following the tours at the STC, all groups were split into 3 choices of tours. Some stayed on site and enjoyed the Gold Mine Tour. Others went off to Cedar Meadows and explored the wildlife park. And others went to Milson Forestry to take the tour there. Only positive comments were heard by everyone.
A quick lunch at the MacIntyre curling club was held around 12:30. I have to stay the staff at the Curling club were great with us and the meals were all top-notch.
Now here’s where one of the surprises was revealed. The stage was installed on the ice surface at the Curling club. The ice surface is on a lower level of the curling club and there are huge windows at the front to separate the lounge from the ice. We purposely left the lights off on the ice area so the stage wouldn`t show. Unfortunately though, the aluminum on the stage reflected the lights from the lounge and a few people noticed it. Now I was watching the faces of people in the buffet line, right in front of these large windows and I am glad to say that the MAJORITY of people did NOT notice the stage. Tracy thought everyone had seen it and spoiled the surprise after lunch. Way to go Trace!
Where’s JD - Stuck in Nashville.
After lunch, off we went down highway 655 to uncle buck’s trout pond. This was a lot of fun. As a Timmins resident, I knew where uncle buck’s was and I sent people there but had never been there myself. We spent the afternoon catching trout which later became part of our buffet dinner. I caught 6 fish myself but let others real them in. I baited numerous hooks for the women (and some men) who were afraid of touching the worms. (You know who you are!!) It was nice to see Chris catch the last fish of the day. It was also nice to see Tom fishing as in all his trips to Timmins he had yet to go fishing. Will was supposed to bring him, but Will is not much of a fisherman.
In the evening we dinner at the Mac and finally unveiled the stage. Thanks to Tracy for setting the mood with Shania’s opening intro music. Thanks to Mutt as well for setting that up for us. It really put the fans in the right frame of mind. The reaction in the lounge was incredible when that music came on. Everybody just rushed towards the railing to examine the exquisite stage that had been set up and was now illuminated. What a moment!
After dancing and playing around the stage, we had a wonderful fashion with our beautiful models Kara and Lorie. They did a wonderful job although they were quite nervous.
But the night was not over yet. At this point, Tracy spoke to the crowd about going outside to see the new lights we had installed on the MacIntyre headframe (my idea by the way... came up with it at 2 am the night before). So people grabbed their cameras and out they went through the side door to see the headframe. What a surprise when they discovered Shania’s bus there for all to see. Shouts of joy could be heard clear across Pearl Lake. I still remember the reaction on Joanne from Field’s face when she came out and asked Tracy where the headframe was. Tracy said we’d show her Shania’s bus instead. It didn`t click right away. She kind of looked disappointed till she realised that it really WAS Shania’s bus.
Later on, off we went to Will’s parent’s tavern, called the Central House. Locals affectionately call it the Zoo and no Colleen, there are no animals there... except for the customers. A wonderful night of karaoke was had by all. Even I got into the fun and sung a song, but by that point, most of our guests had left so there is no evidence of it. Highlight of the night for me was Grace driving my vehicle home and me trying to tell her to stay on the right side of the road. That was fun Grace. I won’t talk about what you did with my vehicle the next morning. ;)
Where’s JD and Cory? - Stuck in Toronto (something about a stubborn hawk)
Saturday
Where’s JD and Cory? - Here with us at the STC...
Saturday morning came really quick. We were all at the Centre, bright eyed and bushy tailed for our FUN golf tournament. Hats off to Frank for setting this one up. A great time was had by all. I was on one of the holes for a beat the champ competition and I must say there are some very good golfers out there. Much better than I.
Afterwards, we headed off to another lunch and another quick visit of the bus, but this time on the STC site so everyone could get pictures of the bus in front of the STC.
Then it was off to Timmins High and Vocational School for a tour of the school and a trivia contest. We had a great time at the trivia contest. I even discovered my long lost brother Will. Those who were there will know what I`m talking about. Congrats to Francesca our new trivia champ. I have to admit that we had a hard time with the trivia contest this year due to a computer malfunction. Our trivia questions had all been lost. But Tracy and I winged it and had a bit of fun with it. We have some fresh ideas already for next year.
After a bit of time to freshen up, we headed back to the Mac for dinner right next to the stage. We had many award presentations and I had a fantastic time hosting that event. I also have to give a huge thumbs up to JD and Cory who took the time to work the room and spend some time and each and every table. You really amazed us all with your generosity and friendship.
The auction was a great event for everyone. I don`t think we ever expected to raise as much money as we did. I believe the final amount was about $8 200, which is more than the amount we announced on Saturday. I think we had a drunk accountant.
I was also speechless when Richard made a presentation on behalf of the fans for the local food bank. Fans raised over $1 000 dollars to feed the hungry in Timmins. This blew me away. It just goes to show that like Shania, her fans are a giving and generous bunch. Way to go, gang!
It was also great to present Tom with the nailed to the floor award. Chris tried to keep his feet well nailed to the floor at Timmins web and Tom had a hard time finding out what the surprise was. But to Tom’s credit, he had found out about the surprise earlier in the day and like the true gentleman that he is, did not share it with everyone.
The next event was talked about often on the boards and is when JD and Cory brought us all out on stage to teach us the drum corps part for “I’m outta here”. Suzie Q sang the Shania vocals with Cory and JD singing backup. What an honour for her. Even I got lost in the moment when I concentrated on playing my imaginary drum during the song. For the short instant I was on stage for this song, I was lost in the moment. What a feeling!
Afterwards, it was time to party. A bit of karaoke and a wonderful video dance by the same two fellas from Much music who were up last year. Richard did not disappoint any of us with his Shadow dance version of In My Car. Even Andrea and I took our shot at shadow dancing later in the night. It sure is fun! I hear that even Tracy was dancing that night... surely someone has a picture of that! Great music, great refreshments and greater people.. Who could ask for more?
The evening ended around 2am for most people although a select group continued to party well into the morning sun. I`m guilty as charged on that one.
Sunday
Sunday morning saw us all at the Day’s Inn for the farewell brunch. Meeting JP is always a treat as he has so much to say. JP really gets what it is we are trying to do at the STC. His comments were positive and I wish more people in town could hear him speak. The short video he showed us of Shania was great. Gasps were initially heard due to the outfit she was wearing, but you could have heard a pin drop when she sang for JP. Very touching moment.
Some of us at this point started our way home, and others came back to the STC. I brought small group of people underground who missed the tour on Friday. That was fun. I hadn`t been underground in a while. I guess you could say I missed the opportunities that had been given to me previously. Others milled around the STC for JD’s drum clinic. I missed a large part of it, but JD sure knows how to hold his audiences attention. It was kind of cool to see him all dressed up. You were looking pretty slick JD.
It was a sad moment as people started departing. Many hugs were given and emails exchanged. All in all, I think everyone had a pretty good time. I know that Tracy and those involved all had a blast organising the convention and meeting with all of you as well.
I’ve never hidden the fact that we created a lot of hype and buzz for this convention. Tracy and I have been pounding the boards with messages since January to drum up support and I think our results were quite positive. Now we’ve got almost 70 Shania Twain Centre ambassadors all over the world who will be doing it with us.
Shania fans all on their own can be pretty special, but when you gather them together as a group, they can move mountains. The convention is all about you guys. You are the ones who make it special. Our love for Shania is certainly a common interest for all of us. But it’s our generosity of spirit and heart that really makes this convention what it is. No amount of planning can ever change that.
So now the planning begins on the next convention. Tracy and I will start batting around ideas probably in the next few weeks. If any of you have idea, suggestions or things you’d like us to include in the next convention, feel free to email or PM us those ideas. We incorporated a lot of fan ideas into this year’s convention and will do so once again.
Please accept my most sincere regards and I look forward to seeing each and every one of you next year or before.
Ren Gaudreau
STC fan con committee
Last year, I wrote up a short piece detailing my highlights of the fan convention. Many have already done so on this site and others, but I wanted to share my highlights from an organisational standpoint.
Thursday
I make the short trek over to the Senator Hotel and park my vehicle. First guest that I meet is Andrea on the elevator. However, I do not know that she is here for the fan-con and it’s only when I see her follow me into the lobby of the hotel that I put 2 and 2 together. How rude of me not to say hello in the elevator.
In the lobby I met up with many old friends from last year’s convention, plus a few new ones who I`d had contact with online for the past year. Amongst the new ones who I`d talked to were Alanb, Grace as well as John and Janna. I also had a chance to meet Roger’s wife Kaye. It was also nice to see our local media come out and take an interest in our little event. Media this time around has to be commended for promoting us with fervour before and during the convention.
Since I had plenty of things to do, and since Tracy kept calling me on my cell phone and screaming at me, I figured it would be a good idea to head over to the STC to see what was going on and needed to be done. The final touches were still being made on exhibits and other conventioneers were slowly arriving and visiting the foyer.
That evening, returning delegates had a special get together before the start of the convention. It was a chance to rekindle old friendships and to present returning members with an inaugural group name-tag. If you’re part of that inaugural group, you’d better come to the next fan-con so we can give you your name-tag. A short while later, all our other delegates started to arrive. I have to admit that it was quite overwhelming to see all these people come to town to join us for our small event. :) I went around the room and said hello to everyone I think. My goal was to learn everyone’s name by the end of the weekend and I failed at it miserably. Thank God for our convention nametags.
During the evening we were treated to a wonderful native ceremony where they did a blessing and shared with us their gift of song. I still remember how quiet the room got when Lawrence took the microphone and spoke a bit about the significance of the size of the drums. You could have heard a pin drop.
Afterwards, all guests enjoyed some complementary beverages and of course one of Shania’s favourites: butter tarts. Those who know me well, know that I`ve been watching my weight for the past year. However, I couldn`t pass up the opportunity of just ONE butter tart. I`ll have to walk an extra hour this week to work it off.
Where’s JD? Stuck in Nashville.
Friday
Friday morning saw all guests come back to the STC for the tour of the exhibit areas as well as the backstage are. Tracy and her staff have done a FANtastic job working on exhibits or the past few months. The smiles on everyone’s faces that day really brightened up the mood. Everyone was flying high.
Tracy did a fantastic job, as always with the backstage tour. I’m pretty sure everyone was blown away. The addition of Shania’s wardrobe to our exhibits will surely be fantastic.
Following the tours at the STC, all groups were split into 3 choices of tours. Some stayed on site and enjoyed the Gold Mine Tour. Others went off to Cedar Meadows and explored the wildlife park. And others went to Milson Forestry to take the tour there. Only positive comments were heard by everyone.
A quick lunch at the MacIntyre curling club was held around 12:30. I have to stay the staff at the Curling club were great with us and the meals were all top-notch.
Now here’s where one of the surprises was revealed. The stage was installed on the ice surface at the Curling club. The ice surface is on a lower level of the curling club and there are huge windows at the front to separate the lounge from the ice. We purposely left the lights off on the ice area so the stage wouldn`t show. Unfortunately though, the aluminum on the stage reflected the lights from the lounge and a few people noticed it. Now I was watching the faces of people in the buffet line, right in front of these large windows and I am glad to say that the MAJORITY of people did NOT notice the stage. Tracy thought everyone had seen it and spoiled the surprise after lunch. Way to go Trace!
Where’s JD - Stuck in Nashville.
After lunch, off we went down highway 655 to uncle buck’s trout pond. This was a lot of fun. As a Timmins resident, I knew where uncle buck’s was and I sent people there but had never been there myself. We spent the afternoon catching trout which later became part of our buffet dinner. I caught 6 fish myself but let others real them in. I baited numerous hooks for the women (and some men) who were afraid of touching the worms. (You know who you are!!) It was nice to see Chris catch the last fish of the day. It was also nice to see Tom fishing as in all his trips to Timmins he had yet to go fishing. Will was supposed to bring him, but Will is not much of a fisherman.
In the evening we dinner at the Mac and finally unveiled the stage. Thanks to Tracy for setting the mood with Shania’s opening intro music. Thanks to Mutt as well for setting that up for us. It really put the fans in the right frame of mind. The reaction in the lounge was incredible when that music came on. Everybody just rushed towards the railing to examine the exquisite stage that had been set up and was now illuminated. What a moment!
After dancing and playing around the stage, we had a wonderful fashion with our beautiful models Kara and Lorie. They did a wonderful job although they were quite nervous.
But the night was not over yet. At this point, Tracy spoke to the crowd about going outside to see the new lights we had installed on the MacIntyre headframe (my idea by the way... came up with it at 2 am the night before). So people grabbed their cameras and out they went through the side door to see the headframe. What a surprise when they discovered Shania’s bus there for all to see. Shouts of joy could be heard clear across Pearl Lake. I still remember the reaction on Joanne from Field’s face when she came out and asked Tracy where the headframe was. Tracy said we’d show her Shania’s bus instead. It didn`t click right away. She kind of looked disappointed till she realised that it really WAS Shania’s bus.
Later on, off we went to Will’s parent’s tavern, called the Central House. Locals affectionately call it the Zoo and no Colleen, there are no animals there... except for the customers. A wonderful night of karaoke was had by all. Even I got into the fun and sung a song, but by that point, most of our guests had left so there is no evidence of it. Highlight of the night for me was Grace driving my vehicle home and me trying to tell her to stay on the right side of the road. That was fun Grace. I won’t talk about what you did with my vehicle the next morning. ;)
Where’s JD and Cory? - Stuck in Toronto (something about a stubborn hawk)
Saturday
Where’s JD and Cory? - Here with us at the STC...
Saturday morning came really quick. We were all at the Centre, bright eyed and bushy tailed for our FUN golf tournament. Hats off to Frank for setting this one up. A great time was had by all. I was on one of the holes for a beat the champ competition and I must say there are some very good golfers out there. Much better than I.
Afterwards, we headed off to another lunch and another quick visit of the bus, but this time on the STC site so everyone could get pictures of the bus in front of the STC.
Then it was off to Timmins High and Vocational School for a tour of the school and a trivia contest. We had a great time at the trivia contest. I even discovered my long lost brother Will. Those who were there will know what I`m talking about. Congrats to Francesca our new trivia champ. I have to admit that we had a hard time with the trivia contest this year due to a computer malfunction. Our trivia questions had all been lost. But Tracy and I winged it and had a bit of fun with it. We have some fresh ideas already for next year.
After a bit of time to freshen up, we headed back to the Mac for dinner right next to the stage. We had many award presentations and I had a fantastic time hosting that event. I also have to give a huge thumbs up to JD and Cory who took the time to work the room and spend some time and each and every table. You really amazed us all with your generosity and friendship.
The auction was a great event for everyone. I don`t think we ever expected to raise as much money as we did. I believe the final amount was about $8 200, which is more than the amount we announced on Saturday. I think we had a drunk accountant.
I was also speechless when Richard made a presentation on behalf of the fans for the local food bank. Fans raised over $1 000 dollars to feed the hungry in Timmins. This blew me away. It just goes to show that like Shania, her fans are a giving and generous bunch. Way to go, gang!
It was also great to present Tom with the nailed to the floor award. Chris tried to keep his feet well nailed to the floor at Timmins web and Tom had a hard time finding out what the surprise was. But to Tom’s credit, he had found out about the surprise earlier in the day and like the true gentleman that he is, did not share it with everyone.
The next event was talked about often on the boards and is when JD and Cory brought us all out on stage to teach us the drum corps part for “I’m outta here”. Suzie Q sang the Shania vocals with Cory and JD singing backup. What an honour for her. Even I got lost in the moment when I concentrated on playing my imaginary drum during the song. For the short instant I was on stage for this song, I was lost in the moment. What a feeling!
Afterwards, it was time to party. A bit of karaoke and a wonderful video dance by the same two fellas from Much music who were up last year. Richard did not disappoint any of us with his Shadow dance version of In My Car. Even Andrea and I took our shot at shadow dancing later in the night. It sure is fun! I hear that even Tracy was dancing that night... surely someone has a picture of that! Great music, great refreshments and greater people.. Who could ask for more?
The evening ended around 2am for most people although a select group continued to party well into the morning sun. I`m guilty as charged on that one.
Sunday
Sunday morning saw us all at the Day’s Inn for the farewell brunch. Meeting JP is always a treat as he has so much to say. JP really gets what it is we are trying to do at the STC. His comments were positive and I wish more people in town could hear him speak. The short video he showed us of Shania was great. Gasps were initially heard due to the outfit she was wearing, but you could have heard a pin drop when she sang for JP. Very touching moment.
Some of us at this point started our way home, and others came back to the STC. I brought small group of people underground who missed the tour on Friday. That was fun. I hadn`t been underground in a while. I guess you could say I missed the opportunities that had been given to me previously. Others milled around the STC for JD’s drum clinic. I missed a large part of it, but JD sure knows how to hold his audiences attention. It was kind of cool to see him all dressed up. You were looking pretty slick JD.
It was a sad moment as people started departing. Many hugs were given and emails exchanged. All in all, I think everyone had a pretty good time. I know that Tracy and those involved all had a blast organising the convention and meeting with all of you as well.
I’ve never hidden the fact that we created a lot of hype and buzz for this convention. Tracy and I have been pounding the boards with messages since January to drum up support and I think our results were quite positive. Now we’ve got almost 70 Shania Twain Centre ambassadors all over the world who will be doing it with us.
Shania fans all on their own can be pretty special, but when you gather them together as a group, they can move mountains. The convention is all about you guys. You are the ones who make it special. Our love for Shania is certainly a common interest for all of us. But it’s our generosity of spirit and heart that really makes this convention what it is. No amount of planning can ever change that.
So now the planning begins on the next convention. Tracy and I will start batting around ideas probably in the next few weeks. If any of you have idea, suggestions or things you’d like us to include in the next convention, feel free to email or PM us those ideas. We incorporated a lot of fan ideas into this year’s convention and will do so once again.
Please accept my most sincere regards and I look forward to seeing each and every one of you next year or before.
Ren Gaudreau
STC fan con committee