2003 ATWT Luncheon Description
NOTE: We are currently missing
the larger versions of these pics...sorry!
By Loretta
I was fortunate to have attended the annual As the World Turns Fan Club
luncheon this past Saturday on April 12th. Sorry this took so long for me
to
write up, but I had to go back to work a few hours after my flight landed
back home.
Hope you guys enjoy this! (click on the thumbnails to see the full picture)
On Thursday morning my friend Lauraine and I departed McCarran
International
Airport for JFK in NYC. Our flight immediately left at 1:20 am. It was a
bumpy flight, but nothing that a glass of wine wouldn't take care of! We
arrived at our hotel around 11:am. We stayed at NYC's elegant Marriott
Marquis Hotel (where the luncheon was held) located in the heart of the
city's neon jungle, Times Square. After we checked in, I first made a stop
to
Starbucks (visit #1) for a cup of coffee. Luckily for me, there is a
Starbucks right inside the Marriott Marquis Hotel. After watching As the
World Turns in our room, Lauraine and I managed a nap, which we really
needed
after flying all night. Thursday night we took it easy and walked around
Times Square, had dinner at Maxim's Deli, then strolled up to St.
Patrick's
Cathedral and Rockefeller Center. This was Lauraine's first NYC trip so
it
was fun to show her around, since I've been there other times.
Friday morning started out with me making my morning trip to Starbucks
(visit
#2). At noon Lauraine and I braved the rain and left for the Manhattan
Chili
Co. restaurant to meet other fans from an As the World Turns message
board.
It was fun to finally put names and faces with the user ID names one uses
on
a message board! We took pictures and got to know one another. These
were
a lovely group of people and I cherish the new friends I made this day.
Spending a few hours with these people was like being with family. After
lunch, all of us trotted back to the Marriott Marquis to watch As the
World
Turns together. Watching ATWT along with other fans is quite an unusual
and
fun experience!
After Friday's ATWT episode ended at 3pm, Lauraine and I headed for New
Jersey to visit my aunt and my cousins in Hillsborough, located one hour
from
NYC. This was a lovely visit and my family just adored my friend
Lauraine.
We got back to our hotel around 9:30 pm, so Lauraine and I roamed around
Times Square again, managing another visit to Starbucks (visit #3) and a
pastry shop.
I greeted this rainy Saturday morning with another trip to Starbucks
(visit
#4). Since Lauraine does not watch ATWT, she left to visit a flea market
near 26th and 6th Street while I headed for the fan club luncheon.
The luncheon was held in the hotel's Westside Ballroom on the 5th floor.
At
11:00 am the doors opened. We were first given name tags to wear, which
allowed us inside the ballroom. Before the luncheon officially started,
you
could do a little ATWT shopping, since there were many items for sale,
like
black and white 8x10 cast photos (some never before seen, at least by me),
ATWT coffee mugs and totes. You could purchase raffle tickets to win some
clothing items worn by the stars like Marshall Travers' tan rain coat, a
Molly blouse and copies of The Intruder Magazine (which featured color
covers
each of Marshall T. Travers and Jessica Griffin).
I soon met up with several of my new friends from the message board, among
them was dear Roger who had made Mitzi Sticks (like Pixie Sticks) for us
to
hold up when Ann Sayre was introduced. This was a stick similar to a
ruler,
which held a face sized color photo of Ms. Sayre. Thank you Roger!
Noon arrived and we headed to our tables. I was assigned to table number
21,
towards the back. Lunch was speedily served starting out with chicken, a
potato casserole (I think) and fruit. Dessert soon followed. Lunch was
very
delicious and the staff courteous.
At 1:pm, it was time for the ATWT cast to be introduced to the stage.
First
Martha Byrne was introduced; she was followed by Michael Park, Terri
Colombino, Mark Collier and Scott Holroyd, who acted out scenes from recent
ATWT episodes with a few lucky members from the audience who won this
raffle
prize. The raffle winners were given scripts to read along with their
partner, which was either Michael, Terri, Mark, Martha or Scott. This
part
was so much fun to watch.
(Peter Parros)
Around 1:30 the stars were each introduced and they walked on stage. Lots
of
the cast showed up: Martha Byrne (who besides dealing with laryngitis, was
terribly sick, so she had to leave early), Terri Colombino, Mark Collier,
Trent Dawson, Ann Sayre, Ellen Dolan, Eileen Fulton, Brett Groneman
(Will),
Napiera Danielle Groves, Don Hastings (looking distinguished in a suit and
tie), Helen Wagner (who also had to leave early), Jon Hensley, Kelley
Menighan Hensley, Anthony Herrera, Scott Holroyd, Colleen Zenk-Pinter,
Elizabeth Hubbard, Christopher Tavani, Lesli Kay, Grayson McCouch, Paul
Korver, Craig Lawlor (Adam), Peyton List, Cady McClain, Michael Park,
Bailey
Chase (Chris), Lammon Rucker, Peter Parros, Tamara Tunie, Jessica Dunphy,
Alan White. The cast was greeted with wild cheers and many received
standing
ovations (like Helen Wagner).
After the stars made their way to their assigned tables to meet their
fans,
my friend and I searched to see what stars were at what table. Two stars
were seated at each table, with a sign above them stating the star's name
and
character they played on the show. Since the lines were so long,
obviously I
first had to head to my favorites. We immediately got in line to meet
Anthony Herrera (James Stenbeck). Anthony was seated with Elizabeth
Hubbard
(Lucinda Walsh). I had brought along with me some photos of Anthony
portraying James Stenbeck from the early 1980's (many were with Colleen
Zenk
from various storylines). Anthony loved looking at these and told me to
make
sure Colleen Zenk Pinter also got a look at them. Anthony (dressed to
kill
in a blue suit and tie) was so sweet and kind, and you could sense that he
possesses a hint of the mischievous side of the James Stenbeck character
he
portrays. We chatted a little and he graciously posed for three pictures
with me! Anthony was definitely a hit with the ladies there!
We next headed across the room to Jon and Kelly Hensley, who were also
gracious. Jon was very polite and even more handsome in person, and Kelly
has
porcelain skin! I was telling Kelly the difference between her and
actress
Melanie Smith's (the former Emily) portrayal of Emily Stewart and how each
of
them brought new elements to the character. I told Kelly how I loved
the
Emily-Rose-Carly friendship and she agreed.
Dunphy & Chase, with Loretta
Next I met Jessica Dunphy, who was seated with Bailey Chase. I
complimented
Bailey on the way he plays Chris Hughes and how I felt he "acts like a
real
Hughes," meaning he portrays Chris as a nice, caring, and gentle person. I
wished Bailey good luck with his new role. Jessica Dunphy is a doll and
definitely unlike Alison Stewart. I complimented her on her fine acting
and
Jessica explained that she loves going to work since her co-workers are a
joy
to work with. I told Jessica that even though you want to strangle the
Alison she portrays, there are also times you just want to take care of
her,
like when her teddy bear got taken away by her nasty jail roommates!
Jessica
is such a sweetie and so beautiful!
My friend and I then made a right to stand in Michael Park's line, which
was
incredibly long. I stood in line for about 15 minutes. Noticing how
equally
long the line to meet Scott Holroyd and Colleen Zenk Pinter's was, I
ditched
my friend (sorry Bill!) and headed for their line. I've admired Colleen's
work for so long that I could not leave without meeting her. After about
half an hour of standing in line, I was then at their table. Scott has
such
a golden gorgeous face, but he is also such a polite young man! I told
Scott
that I hated to see him leave the show, as I loved his portrayal of Paul
Stenbeck; since I feel he manages to bring out Paul's qualities (good and
bad)
which he inherited from his parents (James and Barbara). Next, I turned
around for Colleen, who has quite a sense of humor and seemed to love
discussing her Barbara Ryan character. Like I did with Anthony Herrera, I
shared my photos with Colleen (of her as Barbara in various storylines
from
1980 through 1982). Colleen loved looking at these and explained to me
where
each photo was taken and the story line it was from, etc. We discussed
Barbara's early storylines as well as the previous days episode where
Barbara
tries to beat the doggie door open! Colleen is a doll and she made sure
I
got several (like four!) pictures with her and Scott. Colleen is of
course
drop-dead gorgeous in person.
Trent Dawson was seated with Ann Sayre. Trent in person has quite a
unique
sense of humor! Ann and I chatted about her Mitzi character she portrays.
I
told Ann I always felt that Jack would be a good match for Mitzi and she
said
several fans have also indicated this opinion to her. Ann was a doll and
she
has perfect skin! I managed to get a picture with both Ann and Trent, and
Ann even signed my Mitzi Stick for me.
When the luncheon ended at 4:pm, most of the stars had to leave, but a few
stayed on to make sure their fans got to meet them. Lammon Rucker stayed
on
past 4:pm. I made it to Lammon's table. Lammon was seated with the
actress
who portrays District Attorney Evelyn on ATWT, and I sincerely apologize
that
I cannot remember her name (she is lovely in person). I told Lammon I
just
adored his Marshall T. Travers. Besides being so handsome, Lammon is the
sweetest man and so kind to his fans.
Napiera Danielle Groves was sitting near Lammon and she is totally lovely
in
every sense! Unfortunately I could not get a chance to meet her.
Groves & fan
The stars were incredible! My only complaint was that the lines to meet
your
favorites were so very long, which made it impossible to meet everyone who
attended.
Saturday afternoon the rain turned to a lovely blue sky and higher
temperatures. Lauraine and I took the subway to Greenwich Village. We
browsed through SoHo and made some great purchases, especially jewelry.
We
ate dinner at Da Nico in Little Italy and bought some pastry at Ferrera's
Bakery. We splurged and took a cab back to our hotel and with the way our
driver dashed down Broadway, we managed to get back in one piece.
Sunday, a gorgeous sunny day found Lauraine and I checking out of our
hotel.
After checking our bags in with the bell-hop, we strolled down to Madison
Ave. and bought lunch at a grocery store, which we ate in Central Park,
which
is lovely during this time of year, since many cherry blossom trees were
in
bloom.
A shuttle picked us up at 3pm and delivered us to JFK, where our smooth
flight
departed at 6:40pm right on schedule. We landed back at McCarran
International at 9:pm and Lauraine and I said our goodbyes. I want to
thank all the lovely people I met for making this weekend so special! You
guys who know who you are, are the best!
More pics from the event!
Page updated 6/6/11
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