Disney Fan Clubs
Topic: NFFC California Convention Update 3

#	Author	Message
1	schnebs Fri 5/23/2008 8:03p	It's almost summertime, and maybe you've started to make plans to see the big summer blockbusters or to give the kids something to do while they're out of school. While you're making your summer plans, don't forget to make plans to join us for the 2008 NFFC California Convention! The Special Events Committee is hard at work getting everything ready for July, and while there are several items that are still being finalized, we can pass along some additional information about what to expect. First off, our Legends Committee has announced the first of the three individuals who will be honored as NFFC Disney Legends at the Luncheon with a Disney Legend on Saturday, July 19th. Joe Rohde, an executive designer and vice president at Walt Disney Imagineering (WDI), has led the conceptualization, design, and production for Disney's Animal Kingdom since the park's inception in 1990 and is currently in charge of design and development for the park. Joe began his career at WDI as a model designer and scenic painter in 1980; in addition to his work on Disney's Animal Kingdom, Joe worked on Epcot's Mexico and Norway pavilions, numerous attractions for Disneyland's New Fantasyland, and the Adventurers Club at Walt Disney World's Pleasure Island. Joe's a dynamic speaker with many interests, and it'll be fascinating to hear him talk to us about his work at Disney and his adventures traveling around the world. We're expecting to conduct a total of 13 seminars during the California Convention, on July 16th, 18th, and 19th. Among the seminars we'll be conducting will be a presentation of classic Disney cartoons by Disney creative director, artist, and animator David Pacheco. David's presentation will feature nine Disney shorts that have either been rarely seen or have been seldom seen in their unedited versions, such as "The Three Little Pigs" and "Who Killed Cock Robin". Disney merchandise designers and artists Kevin Kidney and Jody Dailey will be joining us at the California Convention. Members who saw Kevin and Jody's tribute to Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room at Convention a couple of years ago can tell you how much fun one of their presentations can be, so you won't want to miss what they have in store for us this year! We'll be holding a seminar on Disney podcasting at this year's Convention. A Window to the Magic's Paul Barrie, Greg McNaughton from Micecast and Imagineering My Way, and Michael Geoghegan from the Official Disneyland Podcast will be joining us to talk about this new and exciting way to experience Disney on your computer or portable MP3 player. Finally, ACME Archives will join us at Convention to talk about the process of creating their beautiful pieces of animation art, and they're sure to have some new art pieces to share with us. As you can see, we've already got some interesting speakers and topics lined up, and there's more to come! Our folks on the Special Events Committee have been working hard on getting everything ready for our Convention dining events, and we're looking for members to help make some of those events extra special! At our Welcoming Reception on Tuesday, July 15th, our members will be providing the evening's entertainment, as we present the return of "Puttin' on the Disney Hits". If you've ever lip-synced or sung along to your favorite Disney song or attraction audio, come be a part of the show - here's your chance to show your talent and creativity to your NFFC family! For further information on the event, please read the article by Eric Roque in the May issue of the Fantasyline Express, coming soon to a mailbox near you. To be part of the event, please e-mail Eric at hartrock@psend.com. The next morning, Wednesday, July 16th, we'll start the day with our Collectors Breakfast, where we'll be celebrating the 85th anniversary of the Walt Disney Company. But the Collectors Breakfast is just another breakfast without you and your items - if you have a special item or collection, a photo of a treasured Disney moment, or even a story of how Disney has made your life special, come to Convention and share it with us! On the evening of the 16th, we'll be having our special Chapters Reception, where we'll be honoring the NFFC's Chapter Members of the Year and giving our Chapters the chance to show and tell our members about how they bring the Disney and NFFC magic to their home towns. Chapters, here's your chance to honor the folks that have made your local meetings and events so special this past year, and to let members who aren't yet part of your Chapter know about what you've been up to; we'll even provide display boards for you to post information about your Chapter and to post photos of your Chapter events. If you're not a member of a Chapter, stop by the Chapters Reception and discover all the fun you've been missing! On Thursday, July 17th, we'll take a break from Convention activities to spend the day at The Happiest Place on Earth, as Disneyland celebrates its 53rd anniversary. Be sure to wear your Convention T-shirt, which will be provided free to all paid registrants, for the group photo, and have your thinking caps and a good pair of walking shoes ready for the Convention foot rally! On Friday, July 18th, we're having a birthday party! November 18th will be Mickey and Minnie Mouse's 80th birthday, but we don't feel like waiting that long to start celebrating, so we're making Mickey and Minnie's birthday the theme of our Celebration Banquet. You can't have a birthday party without some great entertainment, so our entertainer for the Banquet will be comedian Dick Hardwick, an alumnus of the Golden Horseshoe Review. I've had a chance to preview and hear about some of the decorations planned for the Banquet - I think that both you and our mice of honor will be really impressed. And of course, what would NFFC California Convention week be without the Strictly Disneyana Show and Sale, which will be held on Sunday, July 20th? We can always count on our vendors to have some really cool stuff for our members and the public to see and buy. As always, our Conventioneers and NFFC members will have first dibs on the shopping, with the Show and Sale opening to Conventioneers at 9:00 a.m. and to all NFFC members at 10:30 a.m. Most evenings during California Convention week, the NFFC Hospitality Suite will be open, giving our Conventioneers a place to relax, meet each other, and talk about all the great things they've done and seen each day. Our Chapters have the opportunity to host evenings at the Hospitality Suite; The Studio Chapter from Los Angeles will host the suite on Friday night and Orange County's Chapter at the Park will host the suite on Saturday. If other Chapters would be interested in hosting an evening at the suite, please contact the Vice President of Chapters or a member of the Board of Directors or the Special Events Committee and let us know. We'd love to have you as hosts! In addition to the Convention seminars and dining events, we'll be holding a couple of special events during California Convention week that'll be open to all NFFC members, even if you're not attending the Convention (but why wouldn't you want to attend?). On Sunday, July 13th, we're inviting everyone - even if they're not members of the NFFC - to join us at Union Station in Downtown Los Angeles as Charles Phoenix takes us on his "Disneyland Tour of Downtown LA". If you've had the chance to see one of Charles' shows of vintage slides, you know how much fun one of his performances can be. Now imagine Charles leading a group of people around Downtown LA, pointing out the classic and the kitschy as he shows us how much Downtown LA is just like Disneyland! Even if you've never experienced one of Charles' performances, consider joining us for this tour - it's going to be a lot of fun, and I guarantee you'll never look at Downtown LA in quite the same way again. For more details on the Disneyland Tour of Downtown LA, including a registration form, please visit the NFFC website at www.nffc.org or look in the February, March/April, and May issues of the Fantasyline Express. Don't wait too long, though - seats are limited to the first 50 people who register. On Saturday night, July 19th, we're holding a very special event for the benefit of the NFFC's west coast charity, Ryman Arts - the "A Key to Their World" Dinner. We've taken our famous "Part of Their World" dinner event and kicked things up a notch, with the goal of giving many young art students the tools to make their dreams of becoming artists come true and making their world - and our world - a better place. You'll have the chance to have dinner with some of the people who have helped create the Disney magic, including Tinker Bell model Margaret Kerry, Jiminy Cricket's voice Eddie Carroll, Imagineers Marty Sklar and Bob Gurr, and artist Elisabete Gomez, as well as Ryman Arts executive director Diane Brigham; we'll also be holding a silent auction with items donated by our special guests. We've extended invitations to many talented and fascinating people with connections to Disney, so watch for further updates on the "A Key to Their World" Dinner - this is sure to be an event you won't want to miss. For further information on the event and updates on the guests who have agreed to join us for this event, be sure to visit the NFFC website. Well, that's it for now - we'll have another California Convention update for you soon; you can find earlier updates in the "News" section and on the discussion boards at www.nffc.org, the "Disney Clubs" section of the Laughingplace.com discussion boards, and in the March/April and May issues of the Fantasyline Express. You'll find Convention registration forms on the main page of the NFFC website and in the May issue of the Fantasyline Express - the pre-registration deadline for the California Convention is July 1st, so don't wait! We hope you'll join us for a wonderful week at the Crowne Plaza Resort in Garden Grove and at the Disneyland Resort.
2	schnebs Tue 5/27/2008 8:38p	A correction to the above post: The name of our guest at the "A Key to Their World" dinner should be Elisabete Gomes, not Gomez. Sorry about that!

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