Report from the 10th Gathering by Sue.

 

Well, I finally got smart!

Kicked back, put up my feet and let others get frazzled while I sipped on my delicious café latte made by the affable Stephen, owner of István’s Café.

Yep, roped Chloë into being Official Meeter and Greeter and Lucky-Door-Prize-Ticket-Dispenser…

Convinced Trish, Terri and Mel that their idea for Xingo!, a Xena-Bingo game, was so good that I could not possibly carry it with the appropriate aplomb it deserved…

And handed the reins to Bec and Mark to organise and control their Xena Jeopardy Quiz...

Even had young Áron handing out the prizes, relinquishing my coveted role as the Prize Fairy.

And they all did a fantastic job! Too good, in fact. So good that I’m afraid I may have lost these jobs to them permanently.  L

Marvelous Mel even provided prizes of first-rate, top-quality T-shirts for Xingo! with Trish and Terri offering their Xena video tapes as alternatives. A stack of fun - we’ll be doing that one again!

I even managed to get rid of…I mean, bestow, a whole bunch of accumulated left-overs from previous quizzes and games, together with some quite valuable, worthwhile Xena prizes. (Remember that my concept of “worth” may be very different from yours – probably is – very different.) Well, anyway, it’s all gone now! Wait on, this is not so funny – what’ll I do for the next Gathering?

The night went quite well, really. Actually, it went the same way as all the others, it’s just that we’re getting used to the stuff-ups, stuff-arounds and derailing of schedules.

The three Xena comedy episodes were a treat giving us insight into the magic comedy timing of Lucy, Renée and Ted in “A Day in the Life,” “Fins, Femmes and Gems,” and “In Sickness and in Hell.”

The highlight of the evening was the Xena Charity Auction superbly and efficiently run by Stripe and Feral (they do have real names!) In all, our little group raised $1036 for CAPS and the Kevin Smith Foundation and this was…wait for it…a record! Yes, our little group managed to contribute the most, so far, of any fan gathering auction run by S & F! Onya, Xenaphiles!

10th Gathering

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ALL the Xena paraphernalia offered was sold; the only items passed in were non-Xena items proving that we are a dedicated, if not one-eyed, group.

After our appetites for Xena were sated and our pockets emptied, the gathering decayed into a melee with me desperately and unsuccessfully trying to drag everyone away from the tableful of Xena goodies Stripe and Feral had for sale. So much good stuff and so little ready cash! Ah well, maybe next time. And there will be a next time! Anyhow, we finally drew the Lucky Door Prize. Or, I should say, prizes. Again, Stripe and Feral very generously donated and extra two Xena prizes, one being the newest CD by Joel Tobeck (Strife).

By now, we were seriously running late. Stephen and Lisa were wearily tidying up tables and chairs around us as we screeched through a very prestissimo and tuneless rendition of “Happy Birthday” for Bec and Terri, one of whom turned 21 and the other whose age I dare not mention.

All-in-all, it was a fantastic evening. As I looked around, I marveled at how much like a close family we were, getting together for a special event. We greeted each other warmly and showed genuine interest in what each had been up to since we last met. And I thought, “Yeah, this is what it’s all about.” I smiled a silly, goofy smile and someone asked me if I had indigestion.

Yes, a truly good night.

Now how can we possibly top a night like that?