Over the weekend on March 27^th and 28^th Friends with Benefit Charity Events hosted in-person events and a virtual Tyler Hilton and Kate Voegele event.

Those attending the in-person events got a chance to spend the day on Saturday, March 27th at Tric binging different episodes of One Tree Hill. They also had some live music from Stephen Walter Gosslin, Zack Brindisi, and Drew Massey. On March 28th Fans were able to paint their own Tric sign canvas’ and got a chance to watch the Question and Answer and Concert on a big screen. Those attending the virtual events got a chance to be part of a Meet and Greet, Q&A, and Concert with Tyler and Kate.

The Virtual events started with the Meet & Greet with Tyler and Kate. It was a little intimate gathering about 25 fans where you could ask Tyler and Kate questions. Some of the questions asked in this event were also asked in the Q&A event. It was very low-key, but a fun time.

The next event with Tyler and Kate’s Q&A. There was a post set up on the Return to Tree Hill Weekend Facebook group that you could submit questions and they gave you an opportunity to submit questions in the zoom chat. Some of the things they talked about were their favorite scene from One Tree Hill, the difference between doing live concerts and zoom concerts. Who from the show would like they like to work with again and favorite places to film. One question that was asked was if they could be anyone else on OTH who would they be. Tyler said Brooke and Kate said Peyton. They also talked about performing for the first time at Tric since the show ended and about how they were cast in the show.

Tyler talked about his wife, Megan’s movie The Fallout. How she and the movie won awards at SXSW and some of the things she had to do while directing the movie in a pandemic. If you haven’t already check out the trailer. The Fallout Trailer

Tyler and Kate also plugged their Patreon pages. Tyler Hilton’s Patreon & Kate Voegele’s Patreon. Kate mentioned how she and her sister have a blog, We The Dreamers and how she just recently released the music video for her newest single This Is Home. This is Home Music Video

To end the events was the concert. Tyler and Kate decided to switch off between each other. The songs that Tyler sang were Overtime, Missing you, When the Stars Go Blue, and Loaded Gun. The songs that Kate sang were This is Home, No Good, Hallelujah, and Kindly Unspoken.

The next virtual event is April 11th with Stephen Colletti and Lee Norris. If you haven’t gotten your tickets yet sure you grab them. Link to Upcoming FWB Virtual Events

Over the weekend on March 12th, 13th, and 14th Creation Entertainment hosted a virtual Lucifer Event. Those that took part were Inbar Lavi (Eve), Tom Welling (Marcus Pierce/Cain), Aimee Garcia (Ella), Lesley-Ann Brandt (Mazikeen), Kevin Alejandro (Dan Espinoza), Rachel Harris (Dr. Linda Martin), and Tom Ellis (Lucifer/Michael). Fans got a chance to watch the question and answer penal on stage it, get recorded messages and autographs from the actors. They also had a chance to have a 2 minute one on one with their favorites and bid on a 30-minute meet and greet with up to ten other fans. 

The weekend started on Friday, March 12^th with Inbar Lavi panel. She talked a bit about a passion project of hers that she is working on. As well as mentioned, that there are interesting things coming up for Eve.

That was followed by Tom Welling’s panel where he talked about his show the Professionals and how he’s still waiting to hear when it’s going to come out so he can let his fans know. He said that he believes that Lucifer tortured Cain in hell for sure when Lucifer returned at the end of Season Four. He also believes that if given the chance Lucifer and Cain could be friends.

On Saturday, March 13th which started with Aimee Garcia’s panel. She was asked if fans would like the final season and she responded that it’s a love letter to the fans. She mentioned how the hug Ella gives Lucifer when they first meet in Season 2 was her idea. She also talked about her new projects which involve a new show, that is stop motion, coming soon to Hulu, and some writing that she has been working on. She says she’s happy to be part of STEM.

The following panel was Lesley-Ann Brandt. She mentioned how the Noir Episode was her favorite episode. Also talked about the knives Maze uses and how she trained with them in season one. They ended up becoming Maze’s thing. She talked about some of the BTS moments from the show and a few things that are coming up in 5B. She also has some passion projects she is working on and will say more about them when she can.

To end the night with D.B. Woodside’s panel. He was asked about his favorite episode and couldn’t pick just one so picked one from each season. Mentioned that one of his favorite scenes is coming up in Season 5B. He was asked about how he flies as an Angel and went into all that made that happen. The only thing that wasn’t there was the wings which are put in in post with special effects. He also talked about the challenges when it came to directing and how Covid challenged things. He did say he will be directing more in the future.

The Sunday, March 14^th panels were supposed to start with Kevin Alejandro, but that ended up being rescheduled the night before. That was because he was giving the opportunity to direct one of the last episodes of Lucifer and needed more time to focus on that. His has been rescheduled to March 28^th.

Following that panel was Rachel Harris, but that one had to be rescheduled as well. Rachel ended up coming down with food poisoning. Her panel has been rescheduled to March 28th as well.

Sunday ended with Tom Ellis’ panel. He talked about playing Michael in season 5. He mentioned how his favorite scene with Dr. Linda Martin was in season 1 and it was when Lucifer had his wings stolen. He said he believes that when Chloe was shot in the pilot that’s when Lucifer fell for her. He wishes she could work more with Kevin who plays Dan. He talked a bit about his role as Executive Producer for the show. Mentioned the new movie he is doing for Netflix.

They all thanked the fans for their support. While the virtual event isn’t the same as an in-person convention they all can’t wait to be able to see the fans again. In the meantime, being able to interact with the actors virtually is special in itself.

As of now the next Lucifer convention, which is in person, will be April 30 – May 1 2022 in Whippany, NJ. For all the information and tickets got here – Lucifer Con Whippany, NJ

A year ago, I was returning to Wilmington, North Carolina, to attend another One Tree Hill convention. This convention was organized by Friends with Benefits Charity Events. The convention space was also used in the show as the all-ages club, Tric. That made the convention even more special because you were in one of the places where the show was filmed. Everyone involved in the convention worked so hard to make it look like the Tric from the show. From the bar to Peyton’s office, they actually made you feel like you were at Tric.

The actors that were part of this event were Hilarie Burton (Peyton Sawyer), Chad Michael Murray (Lucas Scott), James Lafferty (Nathan Scott), Stephen Colletti (Chase Adams), Robert Buckley (Clay Evans), Lee Norris (Mouth McFadden), Antwon Tanner (Antwon Taylor), Moria Kelly (Karen Roe), Craig Sheffer (Keith Scott), Barbara Alyn Woods (Deb Scott), Daphne Zuniga (Victoria Davis), Sheryl Lee (Ellie Harp), Jana Kramer (Alex Dupre), Brett Claywell (Tim Smith), Colin Fickes (Jimmy Edwards), Amber Brooke Wallace (Glenda), Michael Trucco (Cooper Lee/Hot Uncle Cooper), Marcus Coloma (Marcus Johnson), Tyler Hilton (Chris Keller), Grace McKenna Holcomb (Baby Jenny), Mary Kate Englehardt (Lily Roe Scott) and Jaeden Earle (Lydia Scott).

It was a three-day event on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday with so many things happening every day that went far too fast. While photo ops and autographs were the main attraction to happen over the three days, the biggest event was the end of the night. Friday night was a concert featuring Tyler Hilton, Jana Kramar, and Amber Brooke Wallace. Saturday night was a game and dance party where you get to mingle with the actors. Sunday night to wrap up, the weekend was a screening of the first two episodes of Everyone is Doing Great, James Lafferty and Stephen Colletti’s new show, which is now on Hulu.

It was my third One Tree Hill convention and definitely my favorite. It was my favorite because of two different reasons. The first has to do with location. How often do you go to a convention or an event for a television show in a location where it was filmed? Yes, the other two conventions were held in Wilmington, where the program was filmed, but they were in the convention center. There’s a different vibe between the convention center and the Tric building. I also think it’s because there was more light in the Tric building, so it’s a little brighter than convention centers. Personally, I have never been a big fan of large groups, and took me until 2019 to enjoy Boston Fan Expo. The other reason is that there is more time and a little more freedom to interact with the actors. I do love the questions and answers panels, but losing it to have more personal time to interact with the actors was worth it.

One thing that conventions are great for is getting everyone in and out of their photo sessions quickly and in time. It’s quite understandable when you have a large group of people because they want to ensure that everyone gets their picture taken. But when it comes to autographs sometimes it’s great to be able to have a little conversation with the actors. Sometimes, when everything moves rapidly, you feel rushed and it no longer feels personal. One of the nice things this convention did was they didn’t rush you, were they trying to stick to a schedule and keep everything flowing, but they never made you feel like you needed to get your autograph and leave.

I didn’t attend the concert, so can’t talk about it, but I did attend the dance party on Saturday night. This event just brought me back to a lot of soap opera events that I used to attend. When it came to the soap opera events I had attended in the past, you would have so much personal time with every actor. They’re not totally like the big Comic Cons, Fan Expos, or even like the One Tree Hill conventions because they work a little differently. They do give you the chance to actually talk to the actor and stuff like that makes it more meaningful. Just being at the Dance Party Saturday night made me feel like I was back at those events because you could talk to the actors and not have to worry about them being ushered away 2 seconds after you say hi to them. One of the things that has been consistent with the actors is that some of them love to dance and just have a great time with the fans. It’s stuff like that that makes me love actors even more.

One thing you can say with confidence at these conventions is how much the actors love to meet the fans. The show has been off the air for nearly 10 years and yet they are always so excited and happy to meet the fans. Knowing that alone makes me want to return year after year for these events. If you had told me years ago that I would meet the actors of One Tree Hill someday, I would have told you that you were insane. I should have known that crazy things happen all the time. Having met one of my favorite actors over 10 years ago, I should realize that anything is possible. If you can wish for it, it’s possible.

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