Thy Sweet Love Remember'd (Beauty and the Beast convention)
| Convention | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Thy Sweet Love Remember'd (Beauty and the Beast convention) |
| Dates: | July 8-10, 2011 |
| Frequency: | |
| Location: | New Orleans, Louisiana |
| Type: | |
| Focus: | Beauty and the Beast (TV) |
| Organization: | |
| Founder: | Deb Fowler |
| Founding Date: | |
| URL: | convention website |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Thy Sweet Love Remember'd was a Beauty and the Beast (TV) convention that was held in 2011 in New Orleans, LA.
The convention hosted an art auction, a vid show, a costume contest, a banquet dinner and many other activities.
Portions of the convention were streamed live over the Internet.
The convention also published a convention fanzine, Thy Sweet Love Remember'd (Beauty and the Beast zine).
Part of a Series
This con was part of an organized series of annual national Beauty and the Beast fan gatherings held in North America.
About
From the convention flyer:
Each year, somewhere in the United States, fans from all over the world gather together to celebrate the continuing legacy of Beauty and the Beast. This year, our gathering will be in New Orleans, Louisiana. Our conventions have become more like a family reunion with your chosen family. If this will be your first convention, be prepared to be hugged a lot, because we will be so glad you have found your way home. As our Tunnel Family gathers once again, we will share a segment of time that will live forever in our memories and in our hearts. We will share laughs galore, and a few tears. We will continue to honor our traditions such as our beautiful and moving candle lighting ceremony, art auction, costume party, talent show, banquet, Sunday morning brunch and our dealer room. You’ll enjoy several rounds of Beast Bingo, panels, play games, watch music videos, and cherish special moments. We will remember others less fortunate than ourselves with our charity auction.
Videos and Photos
Convention videos and photo albums have been collected by the convention organizers here.
Con Reports
[...]
One of the first con activities of the weekend was mask-making with Winter Rose. The masks are my favorite part of New Orleans. There are masks in almost every store and I've decided that shopping for a Mardi Gras mask is THE MOST DIFFICULT THING IN THE WORLD. This is true even if the mask is not for me, and this is true even if the mask is for me but I already have two at home from last time. As you go from store to store there are millions of them and each one is prettier than the one before. I think to me they symbolize all the magic, mystery and romance of "Masques." But it's also true that they are little individual works of art.[...]
After lunch we did Karen's candy dish paper craft. I love paper crafts and this one was ingenious! I also enjoyed the card making - it was good making beautiful cards with such a good purpose. I really love sharing creative time with so many others. The creativity of B&B fans has always inspired me to develop my own creativity more. Bev's Drawing Vincent panel was another favorite hour of mine this year. It was as good as I had hoped and it made me promise myself to continue practicing something that I used to love doing but haven't done in a long time.
Other panels, as I recall, were the Dirty Minds game that I know has been played before but this was the first time I was able to play. The Cheasapeake group has a terrific sense of humor! There was line dancing with Peggy that was a lot of fun. There was Beast Bingo several times and of course making up the care bags for the charity.
The Friday night festivities were lively and fun. I know there must be some that I can't recall right now but I remember songs from Suze and the Fruitcakes, Winter's 1000 Nighties poem and Vincent in a fabulous Mardi Gras tux! The Cheasapeake group led the second line parade that ended the night. I loved catching my very first Mardi Gras beads – thrown to me by Deb. : )
The banquet centerpieces were beautiful. Being a book lover I really didn't think anything could top last year's, but the gazebos with V&C's silhouettes were superb and it was magical to walk in and see them there. These silhouettes have been used before as large banner decorations and I love being able to have my own little copies of them now.
We also got an update on the bench that was dedicated to Chan, in Oscoda, MI. We think we felt her presence immediately after that, when the sound system went crazy during a video. We seemed to be picking up loud music from one of the nearby bars. Deb said that she thought it was Chan, since we had just been thinking of her, and everyone readily agreed.
[...]
A big surprise during the auction was that there had been scraps of fabric from Vincent's cloak waiting for someone to do something with them all this time. Peggy made a very moving presentation of the cloak that she lovingly made from these scraps. It was not a copy of V's so much as Vincentesque. It was really beautiful and we all got a commemorative card with scraps of the fabric on it in our tote bags. Up until that moment I didn't really comprehend what was on the card. I know someone once talked about cutting up one of V's actual cloaks - and I hoped that no one did that! But this is a very special keepsake that I will treasure. Later, I was also lucky enough to win the the rose pouch that Laura G. made from the same scraps. It's amazing how much it looks like the real thing and I am honored to own it!
[...]
Sunday activities included the brunch, art auction and a great role playing game in which Vicky and Amber, as V&C, were the stars. But the thing that stands out most to me is the Closing Ceremonies. This is only the third year that we have done the Closing Ceremonies in this way, but it has already become a not-to-be-missed moment. I know that sounds odd – the end of the convention has never been a favorite part for anyone. But Deb's idea to form a circle was outstanding. I don't know for sure, but I assume that it was JoAnn's idea to expound on that concept and have the virgins stand in the center just like Catherine. I wish I could have been a virgin at these last two cons and experienced that! The feeling in the room is truly amazing. I am suddenly overwhelmed with the desire to hug everyone! This little bit of magic makes the end of the con so much easier. There is more of a feeling of completeness when you finally do leave the room now. I can hardly believe we went so many years without it.
Following almost right after that was the Cat's Meow and what was probably the best Sunday night at a con EVER. From the minute we went in and they sent us upstairs I knew it was going to be good. It was like we had our own special room. The way it looked down on the stage was awesome! They mentioned B&B so many times and at one point I looked up and there was a scene playing on the screen. My sister was watching at home and she said at times you could only hear what was happening on stage because the monitor showed B&B clips. I really thought it was so nice that they would do that for us. I can't really believe that was me on stage. I was so happy that Sonia taped it so I could see that I didn't look totally stupid! ; ) It seems that the good feeling from the Closing Ceremonies, paired with a Hurricane and roomies that encourage me to step out of my comfort zone, all came together that night for one amazing and unforgettable time! My sister said everyone in the B&B group was great and she also said to tell the girl who did Flashdance (Vicky) that it sounded to her exactly like the original. [1]
[...]
To give hope to those that are less fortunate is a call to everyone in the tunnels of the world. Dark times come to women whose dream of a child is destroyed by losing it. A word in a card, a few comforting things – a mug, socks, tea … should tell them, that there are people in the world sharing their grief. The cards were made with love and caring, the bags were packed with tenderness, to bring light to those that are in darkness.
The market was open, while everyone had fun with Beast Bingo. Luck was kind to the lady and the alien, each won once and got more beautiful things to fill up the trunk. And of course the lady could not resist to the tempting goods merchant Larry was offering.
Aliens are good at pretending to walk or talk like humans to blend in with ladies and gents, but if you ever want to unmask one, make it dance. Line dance works fine. The first few steps might still work, as long as there is no music involved – but trust me – two feet and music at the same time is more than any alien can manage! Lady Peggy did her best, but there is no hope in that – just laughs!
This called for a break! The alien had to work out a way to untie her feet, and the lady joined an afternoon chamber party. In the presence of Sir Devin and Sir Vincent the illustrious ladies scared possible boredom away, by sharing the story of “Sleepless in Providence”. Like noble ladies do, they did their sewing and prepared the clothes of their men. They got their most beautiful outfits ready to impress later, at the social hour and the banquet, with their breathtaking radiance.
Never before the great hall was decorated more gorgeous, never filled with more love and caring! How can someone create something like those center pieces? Even the alien was touched by its beauty! The feast was delightful, the food delicious, the company divine.
Well-fed and satisfied the noble folks leaned back, to be – once again – surprised by the turn of the events. The magnificent Lady Deb made clear, that there was no jester needed to entertain and raise money for those life seemed to have forgotten. Wonderful artifacts of the world Below were auctioned. No words will be wasted here, since not even aliens have the power to put this into words – it had to be experienced, including the science of DNA.
After this lovely feast the fellowship walked into the night, to find the rhythm of the city. They parted after some time to come together a little later in the lobby. The dark spirit of Reservation Glitch appeared once more to block the room of Lady Lisa, the lady and the alien, who fought him fiercely. The fight went back and forth, Lady Cathy and the fairy godmother Joyce came to rescue, and the dark lord Reservation Glitch was defeated once more. He used his last power to strike three more times by sabotaging the keys, but had to flee in the end!
[...] [2]