My first convention with the ‘Supernatural’ family

Written by: Abhiruchi Jain, online editor

Whoever said “money can’t buy you happiness” was spending his on all the wrong things. Buying tickets to the Supernatural Houston Convention was worth every dollar! It was special, not only because it was my first con in the U.S., but also because it was a dream come true to meet my favorite actors.

Being from India, getting to meet your idols up close and personal is next to impossible there. You can adore them by seeing them on the big screen or TV and maybe catch a glimpse of your favorite Bollywood star if you’re lucky.

When I heard that the stars of “Supernatural” were coming to Houston Feb. 12-14, my friends and I bought tickets to the convention immediately. Fast-forward five months and we were still clueless about what to wear. It was a major decision, obviously, since they were coming to look at us and not the other way around.

On the first day of the convention, we reached the venue two hours before the theater was open. I’ve never even arrived for a job interview this early. Priorities. We got to check out the vendors area where they had a lot of really cool merchandise. We also met many other convention-goers or as we, the fans and the cast, call ourselves: The SPNFamily (“Supernatural” Family). It was a lot of fun seeing fans cosplay different characters from all 11 seasons of “Supernatural”. My personal favorite was a 4-year old girl dressed up as baby Castiel who kept saying “Hey, Assbutt,” which is a famous Cas dialogue from the show.

At noon, we were greeted by the band Louden Swain, Richard Speight Jr. and Rob Benedict, together known as “Kings of Con” on the convention circuit. They are hilarious and the best emcees anyone could ask for.

The ‘Kings’ welcomed Kim Rhodes and Briana Buckmaster on stage first. For one whole hour, these two ladies were their funny, classy selves while answering fan questions.

In the afternoon session, Travis Aaron Wade held a panel discussion, followed by Tahmoh Penikett. Travis is a US Marine-turned-actor who plays the recurring role of Cole Trenton, also a former U.S. Marine. He was asked about his charity organizations and on-set moments with the lead actors of the show. One of the things that stood out for me was when a fan came and told Travis how he had helped her when she was going through a rough time after someone in her family had passed away. He spoke to the fan via Direct Message on Twitter and shared his own experiences of losing family members. It’s great to see actors go out of their way to help strangers when they are going through a tough time.

Tahmoh, the Canadian actor from the TV series “Battlestar Galactica,” was a last minute replacement for the famous “King of Hell”, Mark Sheppard. One of the funniest things that happened was when a fan asked him to be her Valentine since he did not have any plans, considering he came to Houston last minute! This was followed by a lot of hooting from the crowd and the not-so-shy Tahmoh asking her, “What would we do?”

After the program ended, it was time for autograph sessions with the stars. I was stunned to see how organized and detailed Creation Entertainment is with their conventions. From the printed schedule that had the minutest of details, to which room and which queue to stand in, they give you the best convention experience. I was a little overwhelmed when I got in queue as there were over a thousand fans and because I was about to meet the stars. I’m still amazed how I managed to have a proper conversation with them; I thought I wouldn’t be able to say a word! Richard and Travis were very nice as they spent time talking to each fan. Tahmoh was super sweet when he told me how much he loved my name and asked me to repeat it for him thrice so that he could pronounce it right. He asked me about India, told me he has friends from Mumbai and would love to visit one day.

It was then time for Friday night Karaoke party, and the theme was “Game of Tones.” The Karaoke Kings, Richard Speight Jr. and Matt Cohen, were dressed as “Game of Thrones” characters King Joffrey and Jon Snow, while Rob Benedict made a grand entry dressed as Khaleesi with her baby dragon. The crowd burst out laughing when Rob came on-stage and walked around in his long white gown, petting the fake dragon on his shoulder. They were joined by Kim, Briana and Osric Chau. Some of the lucky fans got to sing on-stage with the stars. It was a lot of fun to watch Kim grab the fans’ phones and take videos and selfies with them while they all sang.

A little after midnight, we made our way back home to sleep for a couple of hours before the second day of the con. To be honest, I didn’t really get much sleep because I was excited and nervous about meeting Misha Collins and Matt Cohen the next day!

If you think that’s a wrap, you’re wrong. I’ll be back with lots of more fun details from Saturday and Sunday. Welcome to the SPNFamily!