Official European Kevin Sorbo Fanclub

FedCon – 6. - 8. May 2005 Bonn

Editorial

The FedCon 14, also called "Project: Wormhole". At the end of last year it seemed so far away to all of us, but then the time passed much faster than expected. I know a lot of you were not able to participate for various reasons and I do respect all of them. The same reasons kept people away from London, so we have decided to fill this newsletterwith a huge picture show of three days FedCon in Bonn, the next newsletter will have a huge picture show of the two days in London.

I hope this will enable all of our members to get a glimpse of the events. Like they say on TV; "We love to entertain you!" but, before we start to show you the Sci-Fi event with Kevin Sorbo and many other actors and actresses from various galaxies, it is time to say thank you to some people. A heartfelt thank you to the FedCon 14 and all its many helpful and kind stewards. You are a great team! Especially I would like to thank Marja Kettner and Brigitte Scherr of the FedCon press team for the fantastic andfunny press conference. Thank you very much that we were allowed to participate!



Another big thank you to Claudia Kern, Kevin's personal convention assistant on the three exciting convention days. Without Claudia's assistance and endless support we might have missed some things but due to her support, we are now able to do things we only have dreamed of before.

The Official European Kevin Sorbo Fan Club is very proud that we have been involved and received first class support. Thank you Claudia Kern.

And last, but never ever least, a very special big thank you to Dirk Bartholomä, the big boss of the Federations Convention. Without his full support and care, including the free of charge meeting room, things might have looked differently. We all would love to come back!

And I think Kevin himself on the very last day made it quite obvious that he would love to come back too! So dear Dirk, do your best and invite Kevin to come back soon, you have the full support of the Official European KevinSorbo Fan Club. It would be the best thing to have him back in 2006, so Kevin can play guitar again ???

And now about the FedCon 14 itself. The big problem is how does one report about three days with one event following another? Well, the guest list itself was already pretty exciting: There were 20 confirmed guest stars, 16 of them were actors or actresses who all had something exciting to tell. Then there was Rick Searfoss a true NASA Shuttle Pilot who, unlike all of us (actors included), had already seen the real universe from close range in outer space.

As you can imagine, the official press conference on May 6th 2005 at 11:00 hrs was well packed. It goes without saying that the actors and actresses were there too. Only Enterprisestar Jolene Blalock was missing. It seems she is too shy and afraid of these things. This was the first official press conference for me. The first time I had to compete with real TV teams and real journalists to ask questions.

Karl, as usual, was the club's photographer and installed his equipment. By the time he was finished the actors had already come in. By the Gods, it was so good, especially because we were interrupted by Lord Darth Vader and Captain Picard. All of us, the actors and actresses too, had to smile. I was not a bit nervous after that. The whole conference was a very good opportunity to meet some other journalists too and introduce our fan club to them. Some of them were very kind and mailed us some pictures of Kevin to be printed in our newsletter.

After the press conference was over, the real con started, meaning we had to queue again to get our con passports as well as our bags and meet the other club members, some for the first time. What a big hello that was! Even I knew some of them only from their letters or e-mails, so it was pretty exciting. We were from six different nations. If this was not about the real idea of Europe than I do not know what it is.

At 13:00 hrs the huge iron doors of the main entrance opened and everybody queued to get in. The first impression? Hm, huge giant advertising boards and many, many exciting merchandising tables. There was ice-cream and cool drinks for free. At least 100 merchants with tons of allkinds of merchandise from all over the world. And, of course, all the beautiful costumes of the other visitors! Wow, I had been told stories about this event, but I did not expect this huge variety and the beauty of the costumes. There were some real eye-catchers among them!

Unfortunately the time of our club meeting with Kevin had to be changed twice. We were lucky that there was an information board, so almost everybody could participate. Two people missed the meeting, they were stuck in the Leonard Nimoy autograph session queue and could not come. I am very sorry about that, but we did not anticipate such a time change problem. Kevin was booked to do some single interviews as well as the press conference, we wanted to support him in that and had to be flexible in our time frame.The club meeting itself was very good and funny. After the first shy ‘hello’, Kevin got all of his presents. We all especially loved Heidi Stolte's dark blue handmade pullover. Kevin himself thought it might be a little too big for him, but we all thought that is much better than a pullover that islike a second skin… All further details about the club meeting, the members’ questions etc. we will have in the next newsletter. Karl taped the whole event on DVD, so there is much to show on the next club meeting.



After the club meeting we met for the club photo session.

As Kevin did not like the rather boring beige background of the meeting room, he decided that we all should meet in front of a big Andromeda wall. On our way to that wall we met Monika Schnarre who had just left an interview with Robert Vogel of TV Highlights. As you will see, Kevin invited her to be on the picture too and, of course, Robert is on the picture. We were all very happy that the journalists from the Sci-Fi Channel Germany did not insist on being in the picture too, otherwise it would have been endless.

We were all very lucky because Claudia-Janet was rushing all over the event floors but was kind enough to take the club picture. No, to be precise she took two pictures, typical of Claudia. And then she was gone again, on to her next interview date. Well, she was working non-stop all three days long!

After a big good-bye Kevin had to leave for another interview and we all met to have some coffee, tea or something cold. Wow, how much excitement and how fast 45 minutes can go by. We were all very happy! After that we learned that we were able to get the first opportunity to get personalized autographs from Kevin.

And we all used that chance! No big surprise, Kevin posed for free for those photos.

At 17:30 hrs the opening ceremony began, all sorts of show acts were offered, cool costumes and the visual "Do’s and Don'ts" of the FedCon. Marc B. Lee, the master of ceremonies; quickly managed to become the favourite of the fans again for the three convention days. One has to admit he is very funny and a good entertainer.

At 19:00 hrs the guest stars entered the stage for the very first time. If Kevin was not sure if he could compete against all those Star Trek stars and their audience before his first appearance on stage, he certainly was after it. We all gave him a very warm and loud welcome on the main stage. At the end of the opening ceremony all guest stars reappeared together on stage. Kevin was very kind and helped Jolene Blalock who seemed to be very shy and almost afraid of this stage appearance. But Kevin lent her a hand and so Jolene did not panic. On the next day, Saturday, it seemed everything was happening all at once. Kevin himself was up early and seemed eager to sign personalized autographs from 10:30 hrs. His queue got longer and longer. Some of the con stewards were totally excited that Kevin had had breakfast together with all the other hotel guests. We can only imagine what fun that had been. But Saturday was also the most packed day! All decks were almost bursting and crowds on the floors were slow moving. I can only guess but I think there must have been almost 4000 people, maybe more. All official autograph sessions and photo shootings were packed with people. There was not a single fan who was not peeking at the information board to be informed about his special date with the star of his or her dreams!

Kevin’s stage show in the evening was after Leonard Nimoy's. And Leonard Nimoy was the uncrowned king of these three days. Luckily Kevin had brought the Andromeda outtakes film which had been made for the party of the 100th episode. This film was shown after Leonard Nimoy had left and the main stage was Kevin's. We were all laughing out loud. When Kevin himself finally appeared, any critics were shown that they were wrong, Kevin took hold of the audience at once. He told us all about BOBBY CANNON and answered all the never-ending questions from the audience. It goes without saying that someone asked him to whisper the sentence that had made him famous over here into the microphone: "That ain't Jim Beam!" I could hear people hammering with their feet on the floor. They all loved Kevin. Unfortunately these 45 minutes also passed too quickly. Somehow I am under the impression that every time something is good and very exciting, time passes by much faster.

After the Kevin Sorbo Stage Show, most of us went home and did not participate at the FedCon Disco. A big mistake, because Kevin later participated at the disco. So some of us really missed ‘Kevin the dancer’ on the dance floor. But I was told he had his Weissbier. How Kevin danced is a big secret. The FedCon people like to give stars space and privacy even when they are among the fans. They do not like gossiping, paparazzi

or stalkers. Something I really support from the bottom of my heart.Sunday began similarly to Saturday, the only big difference was that it began without me and Karl. We were on our way home. As some of you knew beforehand, I had to undergo a really difficult and unpleasant hand operation, so I was not able to stay longer.

So the next events all happened without me and I can only tell you what I have heard from the rest of the gang. Kevin's hands were still in good shape and he was not tired. He started to sign personalized autographs again. Most people were waiting to get their pictures from the "Photo with Kevin" event and a personalized autograph on it. After some delay they got them and the negatives of these pictures at 11:30 hrs. Luckily Kevin had enough time to sign them all. According to my sources the floors were still packed, but not as busy as Saturday. The rest of the club gang managed to get another club photo with Kevin. A nice idea! Kevin himself seemed to enjoy the event and the convention itself, he was very relaxed on all three days. Not tense or tired.In the afternoon, as a part of the closing ceremony, Kevin played guitar and sang a song. When I heard about that later in the hospital, I was sorry to have missed it. But all the reports and the calls of the members cheered me up again.

So thank you! Kevin himself told everybody that he would love to come back soon. We hope that the organizers see it the same way and will invite Kevin to come back. Next year the FedCon will take place for the very first time in Fulda. If Kevin is invited, I can only recommend everyone to come and visit Fulda because Fulda itself has much to offer. It is one of the few almost fully preserved Baroque Cities we have. Very beautiful!

Yours,

Hannelore


FedCon 14 – May 5th, 2004

As I am unable to give a full report of the FedCon in Bonn, I will concentrate very subjectively on Kevin and his club, meanwhile doing great unjustness to the many fine actors, one genuine astronaut and many more persons that gave their best during the convention. Slightly out of breath I arrived at the huge entrance hall of

the Maritim in Bonn on Friday, May 6th. No later than 13.15 pm in the Foyer, Hannelore had said. Thanks to the GPS-system installed in the taxi that had brought me from the airport Cologne-Bonn to the Maritim, I still had a chance.

Hundreds of people full of expectation filled theroom, building queues to places I could not see. Finally I decided to take a queue marked with a resemblance of my ticket number and slowly moved with it. It was, of course, the wrong queue, as I was told half an hour later. While waiting, I heard an unknown lady right behind me tell her companion that she had been translating questions for Kevin until late last night. I turned and said: ”You must be Kerstin! Those were the questions I sent to Hannelore.” A small wonder had happened – in a room full of people I had met Kerstin Schildt, one of the club’s translators! What wonderful omen. While talking, we even spotted Hannelore at the entrance to the Foyer, and all was well. After having been referred to the right queue, nothing moved there for an eternity until I got my FedCon-bag with all of its important and less important contents. When I finally reached the place where Hannelore had stood, she was gone, but not without leaving guards behind – Kerstin and Jenny from Greece tried to fish out club-members from the crowd. The last haul was Iris Biedermann and her mother. All of us hurried upstairs where we were supposed to meet Kevin at 14 pm for his half hour with the club, but Claudia-Janet Kaller (Great to see her again) told us, that Kevin was in a changeable mood today and would see us at 16.30. So there was time to hug the people I already knew – Hannelore, Karl, Claudia, Regina Ziegler from Austria, Tracy from England, Mariola from Spain – and to be introduced to nice people I didn’t know yet – Tanja Willing, Kevin and Matthias, son of Hannelore and Karl, who was there not quite on his own volition, as he later told me (hope he had some fun nevertheless).

There was time too, to take first bearings, which wasn’t easy, because everywhere people were milling about. Phantastic and lovingly made costumes gave a very colorful and brightening touch to the crowd. The look alike of Jean Luc Picard could easily have passed for the Captain himself. The ground floor of the Maritim was huge, containing several restaurants, a large hall that was now used by merchants, several smaller rooms that were reserved for panels, and “Main Bridge”. This was a kind of luxuriously furnished theatre with many blocks, a gallery and gold framed chairs, offering room for hundreds of people and contributing to a festive, dignified atmosphere. During the panel of Gary Graham I got my first glimpse of the lovingly decorated stage with a large video-screen and a Stargate, through which the actors entered and left the stage, always announced by the charming and very professional Master of Ceremonies, Marc B.Lee.



The first floor was dedicated to the FedCon too. Here smaller rooms were provided for photo sessions, games, fan clubs, a model building exhibition and works of art. I’m sorry to say that I didn’t find time to visit the latter two, there was so much else to see and to do. In a hall on the first floor a long table had been erected for the actors to write their autographs. This place was very well frequented as many fans used the opportunity to exchange a few words with their favorite stars. Helpfully a large blackboard told to the fans who was there at the moment and who was not. But I didn’t need this to detect Kevin right at the end of the table because he was towering over his neighbors even while sitting. It was a pleasant shock to see him there in person again, looking as handsome as ever. Unwearyingly he wrote autographs, smiled, talked to the fans and very often stood up to have his photo taken together with a fan who wished for it. Those actions might well have replaced his training for the day. Claudia’s authority provided me with an excellent place for watching, and I was lucky enough to catch Kevin “womanizing” with his assistant in a nice little photo series. But soon now it was time for the club meeting with Kevin which Hannelore, God bless her, had arranged. We were led to a small room decorated with a large poster of William Shatner as Captain Kirk. The luckier of us sank into deep leather chairs, the others to the floor, but in spite of the shortage of chairs we did reserve one for Kevin.

While we were waiting for him I tried to smuggle the pullover I had knitted for Kevin among the heap of presents that Hannelore intended to give to him, but this woman stayed hard as steel and told me to hand it over myself. When the door finally opened, it was not Kevin, but Sebastian from the security. Kevin had not wanted to leave the last autograph-seekers back in disappointment, so it was a rather long wait. We were compensated for this when Kevin entered the room – confident, easy, relaxed. One after one gave their name and where they came from, and very often Kevin responded to that. The club-members who had brought a present handed it over now. To Jenny who had met him already in his hotel floor and had given him a book about important places in Greece he promised a visit to Greece, and when Regina presented him with little dolls and figurines that had been made by the handicapped people she works with, he asked for an address where to he could send his thanks. When it was Hannelore’s turn to hand over all the presents of club-members that could not partake, the pile on the table behind him grew rapidly. Paper wrappings he ripped open rather brutally, saying: “It’s like Christmas!”, reminding me of a child that can’t wait for the contents.

I was the last one in the row, and I’m afraid my memory is a little clouded since then up to the end of the meeting. I remember muttering something like: “This is the largest piece I ever did. I told you in London in 2004 that I would like to do it, and you didn‘t forbid me. So.....” Kevin asked: “May I open it?”, to which I answered rather feebly:” It’s yours”. While unwrapping the pullover, Kevin wanted to know if I had made it myself. When he found the booklet I had enclosed containing the traditional meanings of the Nordic patterns I had knitted into the jumper he briefly flipped through it, said that he would read this later when there would be time. His mother would appreciate all of this. He showed the first page – “Kevin’s pullover” - around to all of us and added proudly, pointing to the second Kevin in the room: “Not yours!” He even stood and measured the piece to his size – it looked good on him and seemed to fit him, though I still had some doubts about the length of the sleeves.

Kindly and concentrated he then answered all the questions that were presented to him. He gave an account on the contents of the sitcom “Bobby Cannon” he planned to do. At this moment he was confident that it would start in August as the producers had liked the pilot. When Tanja asked him about any bad habits he had he countered boldly: “Farting!” After some consideration he admitted that he talks too much about films, what the actors do wrong and music that does not fit to the scenes. Hopefully someone else will be able to fill in the gaps in this report, but my brain seemed empty.

All to soon the precious time was over. In the hall a group photo was taken. To my pleasure it included Monika Schnarre who had also acted in Andromeda and seemed to be a very nice, natural and congenial person.

Around 7 pm the Opening Ceremony started in Main Bridge with a funny film in which Marc B. Lee was beamed from one Sci-Fifilm to the other and finally landed on the stage in person. I don’t want to go into details here but I think the Opening and the Closing Ceremony gave the FedCon a very festive and cheerful frame, which I missed very much one week later at the Expo in London. Needless to say that Kevin looked stunning and graceful as ever at his first appearance on stage.



On Saturday morning during the autograph session I asked Kevin if the pullover fitted him or if the sleeves were perhaps too long. To my great relief he said that the pullover fitted, and that he likes to chop up the sleeves. On a photo that shows him together with Monika Schnarre he wrote his name in the most beautiful readable letters, and on the identity card of the club I even got “With love...” . (I followed Karl’s advice later on and had the card shrink-wrapped a second time ?) I didn’t have to pay for the autographs. When it was time for the photo session with Kevin I mustered all my courage and stepped right in front of him, hoping that he would put his arms around me like he did for Teresa in London 2004. I remember flinching when his hands touched my shoulders and his chin came to rest upon my head, but a moment later this position felt quite comfortable and could have lasted much longer... The picture came out very nice. Kevin looks on it as if he says: ”She’s mine!” As I am a fan, he is right, of course.

At 14 pm the great autograph session started. With the help of an ingenious if somewhat dizzying system the queue of fans was led through Main Bridge to get free autographs from Andrew Robinson, Corin Nemec, Stephen Furst and Dominic Keating as well as the prepared ones, for which I had chosen Kevin and Brent Spiner. I had to be careful not to give the wrong picture to the actors for their autograph because many of them were depicted in full costume and makeup on their photos and quite unrecognizable from their normal self.

Hannelore’s word of mouth advertising functioned very well, and so the club-members met afterwards for a little chat in the entrance hall. While we were unable to get some coffee we had at least captured some settees, and it felt good to rest our feet for a while.

Kevin’s panel – alas, the only one he gave - had been placed directly after the fabulous Leonard Nimoy (“Spock”) who seemed to be the most popular actor at the FedCon. Several of us feared for Kevin – could he move the people as his predecessor had done? We shouldn’t have feared. Kevin started his show with a hilariously funny video he had brought. In it the crew of the Andromeda fooled around and mocked themselves. Also it showed several very funny scenes that went wrong during the shooting. A great start! Charmingly and precisely he answered the questions. It is a shame that I don’t remember much of what he said, I was too busy just watching him. He described a day working on “Hercules” with 12 to 14 working hours. The most impressive event in the last two years? His children. Asked about the cooperation with Anthony Quinn he gave us the G-Point – story again which he had told in London in 2004. One fan wanted him to repeat the famous sentence from his days of doing advertisement, and after a few seconds of concentration he said: “This ain’t no Jim Beam”, in his best warm, deep and smoky voice. He added: “I don’t drink the stuff”.

The fans were enthused, and he had to come back to the stage once more. On Sunday afternoon we were told via the club’s excellent internal message system that Kevin would pose for another group photo. This had been arranged by Claudia, thank you!

Alas, Hannelore and her family had had to leave earlier that day, and so they missed the very impressive Closing Ceremony. It was a firework display of wit, action and colors, and each star gave his or her best again. We had the unique pleasure to hear Kevin play the guitar and sing a naughty little song written by Jimmy Buffet. Startrek.sat1.de had the text/lyrics of the song:

“Why not get drunk and screw?”
I really do appreciate the fact you’re sittin‘ here
Your voice sounds so wonderful
But yer face don’t look to clear
So bar maid bring a pitcher, another round o‘ brew
Honey, why don’t we get drunk and screw?
Chorus:
Why don’t we get drunk and screw?
I just bought a water bed, it’s filled up for me and you
They say you are a snuff queen
Honey I don’t think that’s true
So why don’t we get drunk and screw?

After having heard Kevin sing, I almost regret that “Andromeda” is no musical... During the great finale Kevin brought a camera again, as he had done in London in 2004, and filmed the audience and all the stars on the stage.

It has been an unforgettable weekend, full to the brim with pleasure, fun, nice experiences and friendly people. I look forward to the next FedCon with the hope that Kevin will be there again.

Yours,

Heidi Stolte




Fan Club - The Legendary Journal

Visit of FedCon on May 6th and May 7th 2005

My greatest highlights? Now that‘s quite easy.

Our FC-meeting on May 6th was classy! Ithink that Kevin felt good, too, because during the two days he hardly was as relaxed and informal like he was in this meeting. Admittedly I needed 10 minutes to look at him closer, for at first came the introduction of all members, and with Kerstin (who translated very well) sitting on the arm of my chair, Kevin looked more often in our direction. O.K., this was something! I‘m very curious about the group photo and I found it groovy that Monika Schnarre came to it, too. She was very lively and congenial. The new hair color fits her much better.

As a blonde I didn’t like her so much. On May 6th I watched Kevin during an unofficial autograph session. It was amazing, how relaxed and often laughing he mastered his bath in the crowd. He often stood up to have his photo taken with fans. Really impressive and not common at all, considering so many management-prescripts.

At Kevin’s Panel on May 7th the outtakes were stunningly good! You can see once again that a star is only endearing when he has much humor and makes mistakes sometimes. People without mistakes are really boring! The panel after the outtakes proceeded a little bit hectically, though. If Kevin had an important date afterwards?

The Opening Ceremony with the Master of Ceremonies, Marc B. Lee, was top class! Most of all the beginning, where Marc promenaded through all Sci-Fi-series – this was really witty!

Actually he staged his show amazingly during the 2 days! The appearances of the stars I found too short, though. Certainly many people felt sorry for Jolene Blalock, who I think is a nice person. It is enchanting and incomprehensive as well that such a good-looking, successful actress can be so shy. Kevin thought so too, perhaps, and seemed to try to comfort her during the Opening Ceremony, in view to her following panel – without success, alas.

So much to Kevin! Now to Dominic Keating & Jolene Blalock: The panel with both of them was devastatingly funny! I think, Dominic could have continued the panel for 3 more hours without boring anyone. I would like to see him on stage together with Gordon Michael Woolvett, but I’m afraid several people in the audience would virtually die of laughter. The bunch of flowers for Jolene was truly nice, but this almost made her loose her thread again. But her laughter has something in it, and Dominic succeeded in this very well for several times.

The Stunt Show was classy! I love strong women like Xena, for example, she almost always wins. Well, here it wasn’t like this, but fighting against 9 men! Nevertheless, a classy show, and the injured boss...well done though it was quite careless , to fight like this with a cast including a cannula!

On May 6th I saw a panel with Richard Arnold. He talked impressively about his experiences at many Star Trek –sets from 1970 until today and the interesting encounters with the actors. In between the not scheduled Roddenberry son Eugene turned up. Both of them mixed quite informal with the guests later on, as well as for example Marc B.Lee and Rick Searfoss who could be met several times at the snack-bar.

On May 7th I finally found the courage to get an autograph from Kevin. When I stood before him with week knees I could only just answer to his „hello“, but when it should have come to „Kevin“, I just gulped. When he gave the autographs to me, I extended my hand to him. He stopped short, looked at me, put the pen aside and gave me his hand ......and somehow even then I found the exit too..…

On May 7th I was impressed by Leonard Nimoy. It really is an experience getting to know someone from the first and super successful Star Trek-series. But the panel itself came across to me as too much rehearsed and inflexible. I liked the Costume Contest (freak show) from May 7th only in parts. Some costumes were classy, but the show to go with it didn’t quite correspond with my kind of humour. Furthermore the variety of costumes was considerably greater than those that had been introduced. Perhaps it would have been better to encourage more people from the audience respectively bring them on the stage? Some costumes were classy, for example the guy who wanted to be Conan, or the awesomely dressed up (choirboys) Klingons, whereas some of this species quite evidently couldn‘t fill out their costume ......it belongs more to a Klingon than a set of foul teeth! Nevertheless there were quite authentic impressive Klingons, too! Xena looked great to, the Jedi-knights, and so on...

Alas, I had no opportunity to experience Brent Spiner, and the panel with Monika Schnarre fell to three quarters victim to the lunch. But that what I did see of her was very congenial. The remaining stars were not so very much my cup of tea, but if the organization of the Fed-Con had been better, I would have watched one or the other as well. The appointed times partly overlapped with the mealtimes (compulsory times for the buffet). I must criticize the lack of seats, too. Because on both days the program contained a „sagging number“ in the afternoon, many guests crowded in the Foyer and...........................

With 2 Euro for each drink the cash box was soon exhausted, too. With so many guests the Maritim should have been able to make some concessions towards us, however the buffet – after all 60 Euro for three days = 4 meals – was very recommendable.

I will place this „out of concurrence“, but I greatly enjoyed getting to know my fan club! Deliberately I give no names, unless somebody will be disappointed because I forgot his name, but you are a truly great band!!!

I greet you and Kevin, with hope for a reunion.

Yours,

Karin Wrona

(Translation by Heidi Stolte)




Fed-Con 14 from a “flying Dutch Member”

Since I don't have a car, which is a good thing because I also don't have a driver's license, I invited my friend

Jacqueline to come with me to the Fed-Con in Bonn. She has been my "driver" before and I was glad she was willing to come.

She picked me up at my house early in the morning on Friday, the 6 th of May. We had a nice 2 hour drive. After a few rounds around the block, we found our hotel and checked in. After we had put away our luggage, we had to find out how to get to the Maritim Hotel. It turned out we had to take the streetcar first and then switch over to the subway. It took about 20-25 minutes to get there. When I saw how big the Maritim Hotel was, I was wondering how I was going to find Hannelore inside. After all: I only knew her from our emails an her pictures on the fan club's website.....

I didn't have to worry. Claudia saw me (I guess she recognized me from my picture on the fan club site?), came over and gave me a big welcome hug. I knew I was in the right part of the hotel! After a while Hannelore and Karl arrived as well. We finally met face to face. I had been looking forward to that and I was very glad to meet them after all this time. We heard that the program had been changed, so I depended on them to guide me in this.

The first time my friend and I saw Kevin was when he was signing autographs. We watched for a while and then went to the balcony, where we had seats. We watched Stephen Furst for a while. A very funny guy! Later we met up with the club members outside the restaurant and got to know several nice people. And all that time dressed up fans were walking by, it was quite a sight. There was so much to see. We even saw dressed up people in the city center of Bonn. Is that dedication or what? I could (and would) never do that! After a soda we got the news that we could talk to Kevin for a while (fans only). We met in a private room and after a while Kevin came in. He seemed to be relaxed. First he got several presents and after that we all got the chance to introduce ourselves. Then it was question time. And you know what? I couldn't think of a single question. Of course NOW I have a question, ( so Kevin: if you ever read this, maybe you can answer it in hindsight? )

I'd like to know: from all the movies ever made and all the characters in those movies, which one would be THE dream-character for Kevin to play, who would he want as his co-star(s) and who would have to direct the movie? Will I ever get to know the answer? Anyway, Kevin turned out to be the nice guy I imagined him to be. After the questions were asked we all got together in front of a huge poster of Andromeda in the corridor for a group photo, where Monica Schnarre joined us. After that we all went our separate ways.

Jacqueline and I drank another soda, had something to eat and strolled around some more until it was time for the opening ceremony. We had balcony seats and that would have been good enough for me, except for the fact that, during the show, people kept walking back and forth in front of us and the people sitting in front of us were changing position, all the time. So I didn't get very much to see there. Pity.... But the things I could see were great. I enjoyed it very much. Later that evening we saw a bit of Brent Spiner when he was on stage. In between all of this we kept meeting up with the other club members. It turned out that Hannelore and Karl stayed in the same hotel as we did. So we had the opportunity to share a cab.

Since my room was right over the "Bierstube" I didn't sleep very well that night. The people there, having fun, were quite loud! On Saturday we went to the Maritim Hotel in the afternoon, because there was nothing that was interesting for us tot do in the morning. We would have liked to go for a walk in the park, but the weather was awful. It was raining cats and dogs. (when I was home again I had the worst cold ever!) So we went to the Maritim Hotel in the early afternoon. There seemed to be even more people than the day before! We met up with the others again and talked for a while. Then we went to take a look at the merchandising stands. There were a lot of goodies. Thankfully I was on a budget! So I bought 1 picture of Kevin. At first I thought I would try to get it autographed, but when I saw the line......... Well, I gave up on that idea. By the way, maybe a tip for the guys at Fed-Con: it would be a great idea if backpacks were not allowed in the merchandising rooms. I can't tell you how many times I was punched by them! We met up with the others again and were invited by Karin and Beate to go to diner with them, because they had two coupons that would go to waste otherwise. That was so nice of them. Thanks again guys! We had a wonderful meal with wonderful company!

Back to our balcony seats again, it was time for the costume contest. There were so many great costumes that I, for one, was very grateful not to be a member of the jury! After that there was the Special Action Concept Show.

Wow, that was awesome! It looked great! Next we saw mr. Leonard Nimoy. A lovely man and very funny as well. I enjoyed his part of the show very much. And then, the highlight of my evening: Kevin. He was very funny as well and I had a great time watching him on stage talking to the public and answering questions. All too soon it was time to go to our hotel again. And to say goodbye to everyone, that was the hardest part. Back at the Baden hotel, we had a drink with another fan (I'm sorry, I never caught your name, hon!) in the "Bierstube". That night I was so tired, that I slept a lot better than the first night.

The next morning we met Hannelore and Karl at breakfast, so we got to say goodbye to them before they left. All in all I had a great time. I'm glad that I got to meet Kevin and of course my fellow fans and team members. I think we made some friends in Bonn. I hope to see you

all again some day. Until then: be happy, be healthy and stay safe.


Love and hugs,

Francis Teunissen,

Arnhem, the Netherlands




A GERMAN EXPERIENCE

FEDCON XIV, BONN 6th-8th MAY

by Mariola Marrero All rights reserved.

You have to attend a FEDCON to know what a great sci-fi convention is about. It’s not that I have been in many but I doubt there’s a better one!!

who asked me for it. He looked at me and opened his great blue eyes and said hello. When I got closer he hold my hand and started to tell his helpers about me being one of the last people who visit the set of Andromeda....so he recognizes me! Well I was ready to enjoy the whole FedCon experience so I went to get a pic and autograph with Corin Nemec from Stargate and visit the merchandising stands. Lot of money spent!!

We, European fans had set up a meeting point in the lobby and used to gather there often and had a cappuccino with Tracy (She´s really nice!!) That evening we were lucky enough to have a private meeting with Kevin Sorbo thanks to Hannelore´s great effort and, since I guess that would be reported by the Team, I won’t talk about what happened but I must say for me was a relief to be able to speak to Kevin and make some questions....and got some answers!

The opening was a real ceremony and the master of the whole show is a great entertainer; Marc B. Lee. I got a souvenir picture with him and Dirk!

Ok, back to what matters....Kevin Sorbo made clear he knew who I was....and I could I really had a great time because I met some of the European fan club members for the very first time plus some I already met before. Hannelore, Karl, and all the rest of the Team, and all members were really nice and made me feel like home all the time.

Thanks to Claudia I had the chance to see the Cologne’s Dome and she was the perfect partner for a long and adventurous weekend!! The official language for the convention was English but the most spoken was German and I did regret I didn’t have the chance to practice it before......Next time!!

Also I have to say the organization people was very kind and useful trying to understand me and paying attention to my inquires....They all did a great job and I’m thinking about attending next year even if Kevin is not going to be there.....It’s too much excitement even without him.....

Of course with him was different!

I was looking forward to meet the man after my visit to the set in December. Would he recognize me? I was standing in the autograph line because I wanted one for a friend find out definitely just before our photo shot together. It was one of those treasure moments we like to remember sometimes and the pic turned out pretty well!!

During his panel, I remember only a few things but I can’t forget when somebody from the audience asked him about Kevin Smith.. His face then said it all.

I guess al the celebrities were surprised to see so many people in front of them...tough thing not to disappoint some!!

He did ok and I believe after his solo on stage, and also his kindness and nice manners during the different autograph sessions made a lot of people who didn’t have the chance to meet him before just fall under his spell. (The way we all have) That we could notice when the closing ceremony got interesting and the applause round was so huge you could tell how much they liked Captain Hunt and the Andromeda season 5 bloopers they showed before.... The limelight of the night was Kevin playing guitar and singing “Why don’t we get drunk and screw” in a karaoke way so everybody could join him....if we were not too embarrassed to sing those lyrics!!

He even attended the Convention party!! A very unusual thing. I hope he had a good time. I´m sure he had a time of a life too in Germany, so maybe next year.....

All the celebrities had something to offer and I´m glad I went to Bonn. I really recommend this fantastic show where everybody can be somebody!! Next year I´ll make sure I will step into a costume myself..…

Thanks again to all the fan club members who shared this madness with me and to the Team for the great job.

Mariola

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