ONE LIFE TO LIVE!

Mom and I attended not one but TWO fan events for the best soap opera ever - One Life To Live! I've been watching steadily since about 1989. Through multiple personalities, serial killers, switched babies, reconstructive surgeries, dead and back from the dead - I've seen it all! And Mom got into it, too!

So this summer Mom and I treated ourselves to our first ever OLTL fan event. The first event was this past Friday evening at the Marriott Marquee in Times Square called Girls Night Out. Now I know I haven't gotten into the second event yet but I have to say my mother and I LOVED Girls Night Out! It was a blast and our favorite part of the entire weekend. It was a smaller, more intimate event with 4 major characters/actresses - Melissa Archer (Natalie Buchanan-Vega), Bree Williamson (Jessica/Tess Buchanan), Ilene Kristen (Roxy Balsom), and Renee Goldsberry (Evangeline Williamson). And newcomer Tika Sumpter (Layla Williamson) also came along and won everyone over immediately.

It was great! There was a question and answer session with all of the actresses. Then they went around to all the tables and talked with everyone there and took photos with everyone. Mom and I purchased some photos there so we had them autographed. They even sat down with us at our tables and answered any questions they had. And these ladies had NO ego issues. I mean zero. They were so down-to-earth and sweet and generous. I was really nervous meeting all of them but they put you at ease right away. Renee is appearing in Two Gentlemen Of Verona so she arrived a little earlier and stayed as late as possible so that every last person could meet her, talk to her and take pictures with her. With such a tight schedule she still came.

There was a raffle for some random items, some photos, some knicknacks, etc. So Mom and I decided to just give it a shot and see what we might win, if anything. And we won a GREAT prize! A matted promotion photo of Melissa Archer and a placard that has Melissa's name on it that was used at Disney's Super Soap Weekend at the Q&As. Since Melissa was there she signed it for us when we won. Fun! We were especially excited since she is one of our favorites.

And the event itself was very well organized, evenly paced, and a lot of fun. Debby O'Connor who headed up the event and also runs several fan clubs, as well as her amazing team, did an incredible job. It was worth every penny. Mom and I will DEFINITELY attend next year.

Then on Saturday was the big huge crazy event - the OLTL Fan Luncheon which has been held for more than 15 years annually. A few hundred people show up to this event and it's held in a huge ballroom at the Marriott Marquee. A large amount of the cast shows up to this each year and this year was no exception. It had a huge turnout of stars. Mom and I were overwhelmed by how many were there!

It started with the raffle. There were dozens and dozens of items - autographed items, props, costumes, etc. Each item had a cup that you could drop your raffle ticket in. This way you are picking the items you'd like to win. We had 20 tickets and split them up. Instead of dumping multiple tickets into cups for a few items, we decided to take our chances and just use one ticket. This way there were 20 possible wins and it would be more fun as they called the numbers. And we won something again! One of the things we tried for an Ultra Violet work shirt worn on the show and that's what we won! (Ultra Violet is a club on the show that the characters hang out at and thgat Rex runs.) Mom was SO sweet and let me keep it. :o) And John Paul Lavoisier who plays Rex signed it for me!

Then there is a small (microscopic!) meal and they bring all the stars out. Fun! They did a Q&A with all of them, and distribute fan awards (Best Couple, Best Newcomer, etc). Then the ridiculousness begins! There were tables set up along the perimeter of the ballroom and they set up the stars - some by themselves, some in groups - and you could go wait in line to meet them. It's impossible to meet all of them due to long lines and time constraints. Plus some of the actors had other commitments, acting jobs, auditions, etc so a few weren't able to stay the entire time.

Basically what we did was after we saw who was in attendance, we picked the people we wanted to meet most and tackled those lines first. At the very top of our list was Robin Strasser who plays our beloved diva, Dorian Lord. We have been watching her for years and were very excited she was there! And at the same table was Tuc Watkins (David Vickers) and Patricia Mauceri (Carlotta Vega) - jackpot! And I very much wanted to meet Kathy Brier (Marcie Walsh) because I'm fan of hers not only from the soap but also her work in theater. OF COURSE Michael Easton (John McBain) was very high up on the list of people we wanted to meet. But when the line actually formed it was the longest. Some ended up waiting for over an hour on that line alone! Not surprising really because he is the major heartthrob of the moment. So we just took pix *of* him instead of *with* him. And we got to exchange a hello/goodbye at the end of the day anyway. The amazing time we had with the ladies the evening before made it easier to pick which lines to wait on, too.

It was thrilling! Here is the list of cast members that were there...


Kristen Alderson (Starr Manning)
Melissa Archer (Natalie Buchanan)
Kathy Brier (Marcie Walsh)
Kassie DePaiva (Blair Cramer)
Michael Easton (John McBain)
Melissa Gallo (Adriana Colon)
Renee Elise Goldsberry (Evangeline Williamson)
Catherine Hickland (Lindsay Rappaport)
Nathaniel Marston (Michael McBain)
Mathew Metzger (Duke Buchanan)
Timothy D. Stickney (R.J. Gannon)
Robin Strasser (Dorian Lord)
Heather Tom (Kelly Cramer)
Tuc Watkins (David Vickers)
Bree Williamson (Jessica Buchanan)
Robert S. Woods (Bo Buchanan)
Eddie Alderson (Matthew Rappaport)
Mark Dobies (Daniel Colson)
Ilene Kristen (Roxy Balsom)
Patricia Mauceri (Carlotta Vega)
Josh Casaubon (Hugh Hughes)
Tika Sumpter (Layla Williamson)
John - Paul Lavoisier (Rex Balsom)
Forbes March (Nash Brennan)
Paul Satterfield (Spencer Truman)
David Fumero (Cristian Vega)
Thom Christopher (Carlo Hesser)
Shannon McGinnis (Ginger)
Whew!

But the best part, by far, of the entire weekend was the fact that I got to enjoy all of it with my Mom. Love you Mom!!