Going to the ATWT fan Luncheon ~ March 27, 2004

     When Lilly said, who wants to go to ATWT fan luncheon? Right away I said me! Soon after that we convinced Lois to come with us, and off we were going. Little by little we got more and more people to come until we had a full table, the first ever Roger Howarth table.

 Many were the reasons we wanted to go, of course there is no need to mention the one about the slight chance of RH coming, but for us it was more than that.

We were going to meet each other in person, for the first time, how cool is that? Finally we were going to give faces and expressions to internet names and posts and have fun.

Above all, we were going to have fun.

Before we knew it, going to the luncheon took a whole new turn, a brand new reason. Just like the way the concept of The RH Factor was born, so was our new reason to go, we were going to show all fans of ATWT that RH had fans that love and support his acting.

 Soon after that, we were working away, on stuff for fans, stuff for the cast and stuff for the people in charge of doing the luncheon. And I personally have to thank TAT, because when I sat down to design what we were going to use as per graphics to support and promote RH and the Factor I was a bit worried, I just did not know how to start.  Then I saw her wonderful images over at ARWT, and I said OMG that is it. The look I was looking for, classy, elegant and distinguished. All the stuff taken to the luncheon were made and inspired by TAT fan art. So, thank you TAT, you ever Roger loving heart is so appreciated here and lots of love for you.

     We made 100 gift bags for fans, 100 nametags. We made 10 mugs for the cast who work closely with RH. We made gift bags for the rest for the cast. We had 130 pens made. We complemented all that with homemade magnets, coasters and key chains.

Here are some examples of what we took there.

   The goody bags were made for fans, cast,

people who organize the event and press.

They had notes on them that looked like this.

Also inside the fan goody bags there was a postcard already address to rh at the studio that looked like this. Consequently the name badges looked just like this as well.

Meeting each other Friday

I got lost, well what can I say, I do not know the city all that much. ;) And I have to first and foremost before going any further, thank Lilly, she arrange the whole thing, from getting the table for The RH Factor at the luncheon to booking the hotel, but most important, she was our tour guide, Lois and I would have been lost in NYC.  Lilly is a class act and a go-getter, we had a blast. Of course, I have to thank Lois, she is the most amazing lady ever, what an incredible honor was to meet her and spend this time with her and Lilly.

As I was saying I got a little lost ;) and Lilly came to the rescue. Later at the hotel room and I showed them all the goodies I made. Both Lilly and Lois were very impress, and they said, wow people will notice us, and I said well that is the point lol. They were so happy with all the stuff they bought me diner that nite. Lilly had these INCREDIBLE shirts made that said I love RH on the front and 15 reasons why we love RH on the back. Great shirts, we loved them so much, we all wore them that nite. And hopefully I get the pic to show you.

But as in everything in life on one hand we were excited to bring our goody bags on the other hand we were a bit worried people will not welcome us with open arms. After all RH is a newcomer and we did not want to push the issue too much. The last thing we wanted to was to annoy long time fans. But anyways ahead we went.

That nite we met up with Jeanne and her friends and went to Planet Hollywood. Jeannie is such a sweetheart, and she is so RH hungry, she only discovered him on July so we spent the whole nite chatting RH. She had a lot of questions we had a lot of answers. We had so much fun!!!

L day, the day of the Luncheon

Got there at 10 am, people were there already. We met up with Diane and her hubby Mark. Both Diane and hubby Mark were so nice, aww, she actually brought gift for us!! Thank you Diane. Then I started down the line, and soon people were opening up to us,  yes we like Paul Ryan, is what I heard over and over again. Our intro question was.. do you like Paul Ryan? and soon people were taking the nametags and goody bags. As I worked down the line, I ran into this girl that said, ohh yea, I saw him yesterday, and he let me take a picture of him.. needless to say I was like WHAT!!!. She was such a good sport, she showed me the picture, and yes RH did pose for her. Of course we asked for it, and she said, no, she would not want to disrespect him, to which I say, well listen you come to our site and check us out and you will see our top priority is to respect RH. For one, we will NEVER post the picture on our site unless RH said it was ok, and since we have no contact with him, (at this point I explain to her he has no idea who we are, and that NO, we are not his official site, I had to repeat that over and over all day long lol) I told her the picture was safe on that account, but to still come and check us out.  Soon after that we were let into the ball area were the luncheon was to take place. Big place.

We kept talking and talking to many fans, and then I met Gloria, an older lady who absolutely loves RH. OMG, she was so excited over the magnet we gave her. She was like "I know I'm old but I have not felt this way about any other artist since Frank Sinatra" (she refers to how she was a Sinatra Belle or Rose), and I felt so good, to hear other people say how much they love RH. Gloria was a treat, so was her daughter Maria. And one after the other one, they were like yes, we like Roger Howarth, he is a great actor. Some were like yes, I went to your site the other nite. To which I was even more happier. I walked around all day with a big ole silly smile on me.

As we mingle, I gave the ladies sharing our table a special goody bag, with a pen and a keychain, a autograph booklet and a nametag. They were so happy with their bags. Soon Mindi took the stage and she said how this year was sold out thanks to the new fans.. we were happy about that.  As Mindi thanked all the people involved and they raffle ATWT memorabilia out, they had a Paul shirt and it was the raffle with the most tickets in it. Which by the way we did not win arrgghh ;( Apparently some other fans had bought more than us.

We found out that RH signed photos were the first ones to be sold out, YAY RH.

Then Mindi introduced Martha Byrne. And she in turn introduce the cast.

Cast there..

Lily, Margo, Carly, Rosanna, Mitzy, Emily, Alison, Chris, Hal, Sarah, Aaron

Casey, Ben, Jessica, Will, Luke, Henry, Pilar, James, Walker, Lucinda, Jack,

Kim, Tom, Lisa.

The Actual Cast Meeting !!!!!

The first person we saw was Michael Parks, he had other arrangements so he could only stay for a little bit. As soon as I saw him I ran to where he was. I said, Michael, we have a mug for you, he was like ohh wow how nice. So, he is looking at it, and he reads, The RH Factor then immediately after that he says,, ahh The RH Factor, I said, do you know us? to which he reply, oh yea we know you. I was so happy, he said that.

First person we got on line to see was Cady, and she is so beautiful. We asked her about RH and she said wonderful things about him. We gave her the mug and she was so happy about it. here are the pics. 

  Then we went to see Lucy. Aaron was sitting there with her. I told her we understand why she had a crush on Paul and we all laughed. She loved her mug and as we gave Aaron his goody bag, he was WAIT, where is my mug?? to which Lilly reply; well, you have to share scenes with RH..  but I felt bad so, I promise him a mug, to which he high five me. Here are the pics.

Then we went to see James. He is so sweet, nothing like James. We bought his book and he signed it To the RH Factor!!! Lilly asked him to kill some people for Paul, he then looked at us as if we were crazy. LOL.

Then we went to see Martha, who I have to say, did not sit down the entire time. She was on her feet and greeting everyone with hug. Such a class act. When I gave her the mug, she said, well I saw people with it and I was wondering if I was going to get one!!! To which I reply, of course you rock!!. Then I told her how much she made me cry with Lily and her feelings over Rose's death. And that I missed Rose. She said, well TPTB wanted Paul single so they killed Rose off. Then I told her how much I enjoy the eppie when Lily jumped into the pond and she told me that was what the show submitted for the Emmy best Show tape. Mitzy was sitting next to Martha, so I gave her a goody bag and she was a good sport about it. She had a doll that said, Mitzy for Mayor 2004. Cool I said, I will vote for her. Mitzy was so pregnant, Martha joked she might give birth right there.  

After that we went to see Carly who was sitting with Hal. And Maura West is such a nice person, she is very much just like Carly, when I saw her facial expressions, I said OMG Carly is here . When I gave her the mug, she was so grateful, I mean it was a mug, but she made me feel as if it was the best gift she ever gotten in her entire life. She told me her son, would drink out of that mug his orange juice everyday. I was like aww thanks.

Hal asked, where is my mug?? To which Maura made some comment about it, kidding him. And I felt so bad, I said I will mail you one. I promise. Here are the pics. The Pic on the right is Maura telling us how much she loves the mug.

 

 

We went to see Jenn and Jordan, they were sitting together.  And Jenn was so impressed with her mug as well. Jordan was a good sport about not getting one, but I will too send him one. Jenn was so sweet and gracious, she talked to all and was so open. She had a long line.

 

 

We went to see  Henry and Pilar. When Henry came on he received the biggest applause he is just loveable. Trent is very much like Henry, he was having a blast. Women were sitting on his lap and he was being such a great sport. Poor Pilar was just sitting there, of course she is new, so not many people relate to her yet!! I spoke to her, in Spanish so that was a treat.

Off we when to see Katie and Mike. What great people they both are. Mike is a sweetheart and Katie was so classy. Katie was so glad to know we were ATWT fans now, and ask to stay that way.

 We saw Réal, Walker, that man is so handsome in real life. His eyes have a unique color.

The had a table for the kids, and I have to tell you they were so funny.

Then I went to see Jessica and Ben, I told them how happy I was about their marriage. They look so well together, a perfect match. And Dr. Ben is a certified hottie. He had some tight jeans on!!!!

That was pretty much all my pics. We wanted to see the people we made mugs for first, and by the time we were done, Kim, Tom, were gone. And I was so sad because I really like them and I wanted to say hi. Allison and Chris had a huge line that by the time I got on that line it was time to go. So, we did not get to see them.

We do not have a lot of RH related news because we purposely did not ask about him, we wanted the cast to know we like them as well. All we will say was "we are RH fans". Then we talk about their character and their storylines. But every time we said we are RH fans they will say, "RH is so nice", some will say more stuff. But the times in the lines were short and we needed to move so it was a small exchange. 

All in all we had a blast. The entire cast was so nice, open and warm. The ATWT fans are also very classy and cool. Can not wait until next year.

One regret, we did not go to see RH at the studio because we felt it would not be safe, and he was there!!! So we missed him. Maybe next year we will get to see him.

Last but no least, I want to thank all the Lady Knights. Although, all the manual work was done on my end, they were there every step of the way, nothing was done unless everyone one of us agreed. I will make something and then we will decide on it. They contribute with the money. So, if anything, our time at the luncheon was a complete success because of our hard work as a group!!

Thank you, Kari, Lilly, Lois, Starr, Steph, TK.

Vivian Meléndez

Lady Knight Puertora