Stargate My Heart! (Part Three)
THURSDAY: INSIDE THE STARGATE 20TH ANNIVERSARY PARTY!
I made it! The Stargate 20th Anniversary party was spectacular!
Framed Stargate photographs everywhere. Uniforms on display, shiny Stargate collectibles in special cases, and the bar even had a special “wormhole” drink, in which I happily partook.
All the MGM execs from the panel were there talking with the fans. I immediately spotted the photo booth with props and began posing with a blow-up alien. Hey, don't judge! Later, we all had fun taking photo ops with the Legion M crew. I walked around in awe, looking at everything and breathing in the atmosphere. I took as many pictures of the decorations as I could, then went around and took pictures with everyone I knew. I ran up to Ryan Nixon, “Where is Mercedes? I want to take a picture with her!” Sadly, she was already gone. I'm telling myself there will be a next time. The man that won the costume contest was on-point, and I won a screen used replicator piece during the trivia contest. “Where was Jack O'Neill born?” I yelled out, “Illinois!!” He asked me what town. Doh! I didn't know, but they were nice enough to still hand me a prize! Yes, I nerded out about this little treasure in my hand!
The evening was more than fantastic… it was a dream come true. When MGM's Sam Toles walked by me, I reached out and touched his arm to get his attention. When he looked at me, I gave a genuine “thank you” with one of my biggest smiles. His face brightened and smiled back “you're welcome.” He knew exactly what I was thankful for because he saw it written all over my face.
The rest of the evening, I continued running around taking pictures with Wormhole in hand. I did my best to soak it all in. I also met new friends and fellow Legion M'ers. One lovely lady in a homemade stargate dress had the earth's symbol tattooed on her arm. Love her! I couldn't believe I was lucky enough to be there with all these hardcore Stargate fans and incredible people. I was so thankful that Legion M had provided this experience. Have I mentioned how much I love Legion M? ;)
Oh, and I'm happy to report that since all of this, I have started watching Stargate again – yes, from the beginning with my 8 year-old son. He knows that mom and dad always watched this show together, and now I'm enjoying introducing him to the world of Stargate. He is loving it!
**Quick time jump to a discussion on Friday evening during our Legion M mixer. I showed a few Legion M friends the image I had made of Steve going through the stargate. While discussing it with Paul (Legion M co-founder), it developed into a warm conversation that I will forever cherish. We talked about the loss of special people in our lives and about how meaningful the ICONS project can be. Imagine being able to see and hear that person again with the VR Technology that lets you move around them. I think we both were fighting back tears by the end of he conversation, I know I was.**
When the Stargate party ended, I went into a 5-year-old tantrum: “I don't wanna leave!” To my enjoyment, I went with Paul, Damian, Mike, Julianne, Shao, Leesha, and Terri P. to The Basement where the one and only Bernie Bregman from Nerds Like Us was hosting the Bangarang party with Dante Basco (aka Rufio)! Remember, Bernie also MC'd the Stan Lee houseparty. We were just in time to watch Dante's new short film, BANGARANG, the cosplay contest, the massive dance floor, and get our pictures taken on their red carpet. Truly a perfect ending to a dream-come-true day!