Imagine hundreds of pre-teens in thick black mascara, fake fangs and themed t-shirts (plus a few out of place soccer moms) crowding together in one place to see the supporting actors in the film version of a bestselling book about sparkly vampires written by a Mormon mom from Arizona. Yeah, a few years ago we would've laughed at that suggestion.
Now we're sure it's exactly the scene that will play out at this weekend's Official Twilight Convention, which starts this Friday, June 18 at 2 p.m. following registration. The three-day event promises Twilight/New Moon/Eclipse discussion panels, celebrity autograph signings, quizzes, merchandise and even breakfast with The Wolf Pack if you spring the extra dough for it.
Which celebs will be there this year?
| Actor Peter Facinelli (Dr. Cullen) hams it up at last year's AZ State Fair. |
Due to the possibility of schedule changes, the Creation Entertainment folks can't guarantee all of the listed celebrities.
Last year, Twilight's Alice and Emmett had to cancel at the last minute, to the dismay of ticketholders. But we're in the home stretch now with just three days until the con kicks off, so there's an excellent chance you'll spot:
- Carlisle Cullen (Peter Facinelli)
- The Wolf Pack: Embry (Kiowa Gordon), Jared (Bronson Pelletier) and Paul (Alex Meraz)
- The Volturi: Felix (Daniel Cudmore) and Demetri (Charlie Bewley)
I've met Kiowa Gordon and Peter Facinelli at Twilight events before and they're both sweet and funny, so you can expect really genuine panels at this year's con. Other activities include a Volturi Vampire Ball with a costume contest and a guest performance by Scorpius Dance Theatre, Karaoke with Dr. Cullen on Friday night and a talk with Twilight casting director Lana Veenker.
Most events will be emceed by The Hillywood Show, a Vegas-based performance troupe that makes awesome fan-friendly parodies of movies and TV shows.
Now for the bad news: You had better be a really big fan, because this is not a cheap event. General admission tickets are $20-25 per day or $69 for a weekend pass. That's if you want to sit in the back of the auditorium and miss the major events.
For $149, you can score a weekend pass with preferred seating and autographs from all of the celebs. But you still miss out on the Vampire Ball.
For that, you'll have to spring an extra hundred bucks if tickets are available or just upgrade to the $299 Gold Weekend Package, which gets you the best seats in the house and pretty much everything else except the celebrity breakfast, private meet-and-greets (an extra $200-250) and photo-ops. Visit the event website for more details.
