This is it...ScareFest has arrived. This is my first year (and maybe my last, but more about that later) as a volunteer. I arrived at my hotel around noon yesterday and lounged around in both my room and the lobby. Got a big hug from actor/stunt man Kane Hodder, who is known as the only actor to have played "Jason Voorhies" in four of the Friday the 13th movies.
Last evening there was a mandatory meeting of all the volunteers with the owners of the convention, Brandon and Nicole Griffith. They not only welcomed/thanked the volunteers for helping, but made a few announcements concerning what was expected and safety rules. The volunteers then split off into groups depending on what area they were going to "work" and took a "walk through" of the convention floor and what they would be doing in their area. It was definitely an experience to get a first hand look at some of the stuff that goes on behind the scenes of putting on a convention. I cannot imagine what headaches the Griffiths and their chief of operations, Layla Cook, have to go through all year long to put on such a top-notch convention.
As to whether or not this will be my one and only time as a volunteer, that is up on the air right now. Over the last several years I have been granted media passes and have taken pictures for my photography website, Sharry's Place. Since a lot of my time this year will be in the information booth, I won't get to roam the convention floor as much as I usually do. This has led to withdrawals. :-) It is my hope that I will get to talk with Layla about what I can do as a volunteer but still be able to be out on the floor most of my time here in order to take pictures. I'm not sure if there is a position open for that and if not, I'll probably go back to media passes and not volunteer. As they say...live and learn. Please don't get me wrong, I am NOT knocking this convention or the volunteers; some people aren't cut out to be volunteers. I most definitely have the utmost respect for all the volunteers as they have gone out of their way to help pull off a fantastic convention every year.
If you can't make it to this year's ScareFest, we invite you to keep an eye open on their website, www.thescarefest.com, for information on next year's convention. You will most definitely have a fun weekend.
