September Feature

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After months of waiting, the day had finally come! There I was, waiting to board a plane to Kansas City! Wearing my "Hooked on Collecting" T-shirt, I was easily spotted by a fellow attendee from Maryland who was also waiting for the flight to Kansas City from Newark Int'l. We chatted about local clubs and what we thought we'd find when we got to Hallmark heaven. Then it was time to board the plane. Once in Kansas City, it was no problem hooking up with the shuttle for the hotel after landing - a Hallmark representative was standing right at the gate upon arrival. I was surprised to find there were actually 22 attendees from my flight. It took no more than fifteen minutes to gather everyone and their luggage, get it sorted by destination, and have everyone seated on the bus. A quick stop at one or two more gates in the same terminal and we were on our way!

Savoring my first trip west of Ohio, I was doing the tourist thing - nose pressed to the window so I wouldn't miss a thing and trying to catch snatches of all the conversations going on all over the bus. I spotted the "Welcome Hallmark Collectors" sign as we left the airport... guess they knew we were coming! I think that's when the whole trip seemed to be real!

It only took about thirty minutes to reach the hotels and disembark. While waiting in line to register for my room I barely had time to notice the reception area providing an assortment of beverages for attendees. A manned information booth was located nearby along with a message board. Heading off in search of the elevators I was greeted by an online friend. It was great finally putting faces to all those names.

After a quick stop in my room it was off to board the shuttle waiting outside for my first trip to Bartle Hall. Bartle Hall - what a building! Huge just doesn't describe it! It's a good thing the registration area was confined to just the main lobby, otherwise we may have lost a few attendees on the first day. The lobby's back wall was lined with booths broken down into alphabetical sections where you went to pick up your name tag and voucher book. You were told that this packet was your passport to every event... so don't lose it. It included your signing tickets, meal tickets, seminar tickets, activity tickets, game tickets, and participation prize tickets. You also received your purple tote bag decorated with the silver snowflake logo for the event. It was filled with a number of edible goodies, a letter from the mayor, event information, the ordering form for the event video, and a coupon book for the Crown Center shopping area. Registration was a breeze!

A quick walk up one block to the Marriott to meet some friends who had already arrived, and before long it was time to head off for the scheduled evening reception. Standing in line waiting to enter, it was amazing to watch all these people coming in from all directions. People just kept appearing from buses, flowing down the hill from the Marriott, or descending the stairs from the little "plaza park" located over the parking garage. All these people were here for the same event!!! When the doors finally opened and the crowd started up the escalators, we were each handed the first of our special event ornaments, the pewter Kansas City Drummer Boy, designed by Duane Unruh.

The room was decorated with huge replicas of ornaments from this year’s line, as well as from years past. Some were hanging from the ceiling, others were spaced out along the floor, and still others were on the refreshment tables. The tables were scattered about the room and held fresh fruit, cheese, crackers, vegetable platters, and sugar cookies. There was eggnog and a fruit drink. Two huge projection screens were located in far corners on each end of the room diagonally across from each other. Lynn Wylie gave a welcoming speech which included a hint not to skip lunch the following day or you just might miss something special. A DJ provided music and we played an ice breaker game where we tried to locate as many people who had received the same artists signature on a "rub-off" ticket handed out when we first arrived. Many of the artists found their way over to "their" groups that had gathered together.

It was an exciting night, but disappointing too. The supply of food and drinks were inadequate and those people who were at the end of the line were short changed. The seating was limited, which Lynn explained was planned to encourage people to get acquainted. Great idea, but the music was so loud you really couldn't talk to anyone. It was announced that people who were interested in the "online get together" should meet over on one side of the room. This was an event greatly anticipated by various groups of internet users. Unfortunately, the "ice breaker" game immediately followed this announcement, which didn’t allow participation in both activities. Despite the problems, I was happy to be there, and obviously so were all those others who were still dancing away as I left the hall to make my way back to the hotel.

Headed off for breakfast that was provided in the hotel's Pershing Room. My timing was lousy as it appeared they were just in between replenishing the buffet tables. It was about 7:10 when I arrived so these Hallmarkers were either very hungry or very early risers. Grabbed a couple of things and chatted for a few minutes with people at the table. Caught a shuttle to Bartle Hall (no direct shuttles between hotels at this time) and hot-footed it up to the Marriott. I had an early morning meeting with members of a local collecting club scheduled there. Missed the meeting but joined up with a few others who were also late and headed back out for the first activity of the day.

The general assembly took place in the Arena. The crowd was warmed up by Hallmark employees acting as a cheerleading squad. We were welcomed again by Lynn Wylie and the Mayor of Kansas City, Emanuel Cleaver. Clara Johnson Scroggins attended along with Don Hall Sr., Don Hall Jr., and David Hall. The Halls each related a story or two about their favorite Christmas memories and each expressed their appreciation to all the Hallmark collectors. Two motorcycle-riding Kansas City policemen lead the parade into the arena with lights flashing and sirens blaring. The local Marching Cougars Drill Team followed. A few of these marchers couldn't have been older than six years old but had no trouble keeping up with the older members. The parade was fully narrated; each float was introduced as it entered the arena. Twenty-two floats in all... each depicting a special milestone in Keepsake production history. One more float entered - a giant birthday cake with giant sparkler candles. A video collage of Hallmark ornaments was presented on a giant display screen, fireworks, and a laser show! The grand finale of fireworks released confetti that rained down on the audience. What a great way to start the morning off!

With some early morning free time a friend and I teamed up and scooped up our event pieces before the lines got too long. Then we double-teamed the game lines each taking the other's tickets and stood in the two different games lines to collect our goodies. Good thing we did too; later in the day those lines snaked clear across the exhibit hall! The only bad part about this plan was lugging all those things around. Believe it or not, the Santa's grab bag was heavier than the bag containing the event pieces! This grab bag was full of a variety of things: a tin of crayons and special edition mini sampler, 2 video tapes - Gulliver's Travels, and A Secret Garden, a boxed set of Christmas cards, a box of itty-bitty greeting cards, a Hallmark lapel pin, an assortment of loose cards, foreign language cards, seasonal napkins, holiday computer paper, a vase, coffee, a mini story book and stuffed animal, a card that included jewelry, Maxine cards, Maxine postcards, a Coca Cola edition die cast car by Revel, a letter from Don Hall Sr., a scrapbook pages kit, and a current spring line ornament. All of this was in the cutest little Santa gift bag that included a real pom-pom on the top of his hat.

By this time, the area designated for pin swapping and selling was fully manned. No time to stop now though, it was time join the lunch line and discover exactly what it was that Lynn warned us not to miss. The lines for lunch and the games became so confusing and intermingled it was hard to determine which line you actually were in at times. In exchange for our lunch ticket, each attendee was handed a boxed lunch which contained a sandwich, fresh fruit and cookies, topped off with special anniversary boxed ornament. After grabbing the additional chips and soda, it was off to locate a quiet table to inspect the surprise. A beautiful miniature silver plated Angel with a ruby red crystal.

My only seminar for the day was the Keepsake Ornament Series. It was presented by Linda Sickman, Duane Unruh, and Ed Seale. Linda concentrated on the Rocking Horse series, Duane on the research and history of the current Old West Series, and Ed focused on the Frosty Friend series for the most part.

By this time it was time to head back to the hotel to get ready for the evening's activities. Another round of shuttle rides and back to Bartle Hall. The lines while waiting for entry each night and the bus rides were some of the best opportunities to meet fellow collectors.

Tonight the dining area was decorated with a Wizard of Oz theme. The backdrop on stage was a glowing, glittery version of the Emerald City. The Wicked Witch’s castle adorned the back wall. The centerpiece on each table was a set of two oversized red poppies. A number of buffet tables were located in the room, each decorated with a life-sized rendition of an ornament from the WOZ series. Once again, a number of attendees were startled to find that there just wasn’t enough food to go around. Even getting a glass of water was a challenge for some. As disappointing as the food situation may have been, the night's entertainment was a real treat. The twelve finalists picked from try-outs Thursday afternoon were the stars of the evening. The audience was entertained by a plethora of ideas and imagination shown by the competing clubs. A ballot from our ever-present voucher book was filled out at the end of the show and submitted. The winner would be announced the following evening.

The night wasn’t finished yet though; it was time for room hopping. Shuttle buses were providing constant transportation until midnight between the participating hotels. Even when the buses stopped running, the hopping continued in each of the hotels. It seemed like everyone tried to hit the Marriott at the same time. I felt sorry for anyone who was staying at the hotel that was not involved with the event. The elevators were packed with lines waiting to board. I found myself in line for the service elevator, which was also being used for the evening. Even this less-than-normal means of access had a line of about 20 people including one of the official photographers, and Joanne Eschrich. This was a piece of cake compared to the mob scene in the hotel lobby. A friend who instinctively finds bargains led me to the best room hopping site right off. Everything was 50% off! It got so crowded in there that one needed to inhale in order to make room for another person to pass by. In the middle of all this craziness, one of the videographers pops in and starts filming this unbelievable scene. The next room down the hall was trying to control the crowds and would only let ten people in at a time... the line was really beginning to back up there. Trying to catch an elevator to leave was almost as impossible as getting one from the lobby but we finally managed to make it to a shuttle and headed for the Westin.

The Westin was not only the site of more room hopping, but Herald’s display. It was easy to spot the display set up in the hallway. I had only a few minutes to look at the scrapbook and chat with both Todd Ray and Barb Harris, who had organized the display. Todd, whose online bulletin board chronicled the adventures of Herald, was using a laptop to demonstrate his ornament database program, which was confirming the bargains everyone was finding that evening. Then it was off to a few more rooms in search of treasures.

Delaying as long as possible but afraid to miss that last shuttle, I headed back to my own hotel for some more localized room hopping. I stopped at a few rooms, but couldn't find anything resembling the bargains found in the first room of the night. Enjoyed meeting the people who opened their rooms and almost all of them were more than happy to stop and chat for a while. It had certainly been a very long but fun day as I made my back to my room around 1:00 a.m.

After a nice breakfast (plenty of food today), I headed off to Bartle Hall. The first order of business today was the back-to-back artist signings I had. Arriving a little early, I cruised through the Exhibit Hall to view a few more photos and then hurried downstairs to the signing area. Though the lines appeared long, they moved along surprisingly fast - so fast that by the time I actually arrived in the signing area, I found myself last in my line for that time slot. The rule of one signature per person was strictly enforced. Despite the fact that I was the last ticket holder for the pink time slot and held a white ticket for that same artist in the next time slot, I, too, had to go around and stand in line again - which may explain exactly why those lines just kept moving.

With signings done for the day, it was time to head up for an early lunch. My seminars began at 12:00 noon and ran straight through the rest of the lunch serving time. I couldn't believe the size of the lunch line when I entered Exhibit Hall; it was already so long that they were making announcements about extending the time period for serving lunch.

After spotting a friend and comparing notes, we both realized there wasn’t any way to make it through that line in time to make our scheduled seminars. At that moment we spotted another friend already in line and commandeered her by handing her our lunch tickets. Luckily she agreed, and while she stood in line we had a chance to run over and check the prize board. That’s all we did, no grand tour, nothing else I swear. We turned around and our friend, along with our lunch tickets, had disappeared. Splitting up, the two of us scoured the area in search of our missing friend and lunches. It was amazing how many people I ran into that I knew during that search, just not the person who really mattered at that moment. Getting desperate and with time running out, my search partner was resorting to paging our missing friend when I spotted her juggling three boxed lunches in the crowd. After relieving her of the overload we managed to find a quiet corner and despite our small misadventure had a chance to catch up on each other's morning activities.

Time to head out for the seminars. My first seminar was "Decorating Your Christmas Tree." This took place in a room that could easily hold 400 people, perhaps even 500, and there were very few empty chairs. David Beal, who is the Keepsake Creative Production Manager, was the speaker. The title of the seminar is self explanatory. I enjoyed the phrases the speaker used, in particular his definition of a Christmas tree being a 3-D scrapbook of family memories. What a wonderful image. Few of the decorating ideas discussed were new to a long time ornament collector, but the entire seminar was presented in a very entertaining manner. After the seminar, the audience was allowed up on stage for a closer look at the trees on display.

My next seminar was one that seemed to cause a lot of excitement. I attended the Keepsake Magic Ornament seminar hosted by Ken Crow and Mark Preisinger. There wasn’t an empty seat in the room, and some attendees who attained extra seminar vouchers had Standing Room Only access. Mr. Preisinger spoke about the history of Light & Motion ornaments and their technology, repair and storage. The audience had a few good laughs when Ken had some technical difficulties with the wireless mikes. Once Ken became audible, we were given a view of the designing process from the artists' standpoint. A Santa Claus marionette (built by Crow and costumed by Sue Tague) aided Ken in his presentation. Both speakers were amusing as well as informative. The entire audience was on its feet at the end of this seminar.

There was just enough time to find a shuttle, put my feet up for a few seconds, have a cup of coffee, and then it was time to spruce up for the evening. Before I knew it, I found myself back in line in front of Bartle Hall, people-watching and chatting as we waited for our final event.

The transformation of Bartle Hall into a Winter Wonderland was stupendous. The back wall had cutouts of grouped Christmas trees, similar to oversized stencil templates, covered with white lycra and backlit with strings of white lights. The usual dining chairs were slipcovered with a similar material. The orchestra was located to the right of center stage, and the Christmas trees were repeated along the stage's backdrop. Suspended over the stage were giant glittery snowflakes. Every table was covered with a white table cloth and a silver lame over cloth. Each centerpiece was a large silver and white gift box topped off with a silver ribbon and bow. Above us hundreds of strings of white lights hung down like giant icicles. Overhead, spotlights projected giant snowflakes onto the curtained side panels of the room, which seemed to shimmer and dance as the serving people moved through them. The background music of the orchestra, which switched randomly from familiar holiday tunes to big band music, gave the room just the right festive air. Even the waiters were going upscale - they were wearing white gloves! An increase in the number of waiters was immediately apparent as well as there were additional volunteers from Hallmark. A definite improvement to the service of the previous night. Finally, real food! The meal was scrumptious - a tossed salad served with a choice of lemon, or a dressing which at first appeared to be Russian, but had a hint of Tex-Mex flavoring, filet mignon served with a brown sauce, shredded zucchini and carrots, and braised red-skinned potatoes. Dessert was a chocolate mousse pie topped with a white chocolate snowflake and a dollop of whipped cream.

One of the nice things about the assigned seating was that you could locate people you just hadn’t had the chance to see at any other time. So in between courses, I was popping up and down like a yo-yo, running off with camera ready and my seating list in hand. I made it back to my table just in time to watch the winner of the centerpiece open her special white Murray tractor & trailer. It wasn’t even completely unwrapped yet when a secondary dealer offered to buy it from her. She didn’t waste a moment in turning him down.

Then it was time to make the rounds and see if anyone I knew was lucky enough to have won. I didn’t make it very far before I noticed a slight commotion in the one corner. All of a sudden a line of waiters appeared, carrying silver trays piled high with those easily recognizable Hallmark Anniversary ornament boxes. No time to check out winners, that can wait. I had to see what was in those boxes. It was the Winter Wonderland ornament, a silverplated snowflake designed and signed by Duane Unruh. I wonder how long it took him to sign each one.

Shortly after dinner, Lynn Wylie took the stage to make an announcement: Clara Johnson Scroggins is the only person to have attended every single Expo, AOT, and Convention sponsored by Hallmark. In honor of this, she was presented with a special, one-of-a-kind, goldplated Angelic Flight Ornament. The winners of the skit and photo contest were announced next. The official close to not only the evening, but the entire event itself, was a superb duet preformed by Nello Williams and Kristina Kline. This song written and composed by Nello tugged at all collectors’ hearts. There were quite a few tissues to be seen around the room before it was done. While the two artists performed on stage, a collection of candid photos appeared on the projection screens in the room. Not long after the screen went dark, people began to head for the exits and to join the lines for the last shuttle ride from Bartle Hall.