PHOTOS Aug. 18, 2005
NEW Merchandise! KA CHING!

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More Photos Aug. 18, 2005

This is a poster that was given out to the fans when Shania was at the Centre last November..


These are the flags brought in by the fans..


My Shania puppet....how can I not bring it with me?


This is the official tshirt of the Third Shania fan Convention... Recognize the drawings there...


..and this is Richard...

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Here are some more pics from STC 0508.18..


Rich the Clown greets Fancon delegates..





Great job DAX!!!!





-Chris

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Shania's Place
Shania: often imitated, never duplicated!!

"...Living, Loving, Laughing and Dreaming....."-Shania Twain

The STC lobby...


All those awards were hanging in Shania's house before she shipped them off to STC.


PFT!!! WHOOOOOO!

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Shania's Place
Shania: often imitated, never duplicated!!

"...Living, Loving, Laughing and Dreaming....."-Shania Twain

Shania autographed this table at her 1996 homecoming, it now holds the computer that fans can send electronic postcards to family and friends...





Hey, I wonder where I have seen this screen saver before???




-Chris

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Shania's Place
Shania: often imitated, never duplicated!!

"...Living, Loving, Laughing and Dreaming....."-Shania Twain

Twain fans tour Timmins

A group of about 50 people toured through Timmins on Thursday trying to touch a little of what makes Shania Twain so special.

The visitors attending the Shania Twain Fan convention, which opened Thursday night at the Shania Twain Centre, toured the city viewing sights sometimes only loosely connected to Twain, all in the name of understanding where the artist came from and who she is.

Fans from the United States, England, Finland, Holland and across Canada sought a personal connection to their musical idol.


For Richard Wildbur, it was just as much about seeing the town Shania grew up in as it was seeing a country he’s never seen before.

“For the past six months I’ve been planning this,” he said. “I’m a big fan of her music and I figured it would be a nice way to visit Canada as well.”

For Earl Garman, from Maryland, it was about reliving the last convention. Garman said he’s been to two conventions, but has visited the city itself four times.

“I was here last year and it was then I decided to come here this time,” he said.

“I liked the convention. And I really like Timmins.”

Tour guide Tom Waller said many of the visitors, especially those from Europe, could have easily put their money towards a Shania concert.

But, he added, most of the people at the convention have been to more Twain performances than they can count. The convention is something more personal.

“They wanted to see the sites of the town,” he said. “They wanted to see where she came from and who she was before.

“They want to get closer to the home town of Shania Twain. They see something very special in Shania and they want to know what made her so special.”

Part of what made her so special, Waller added, was Timmins.


http://www.timminspress.com/webapp/...=News+%2D+Local

__________________
Shania's Place
Shania: often imitated, never duplicated!!

"...Living, Loving, Laughing and Dreaming....."-Shania Twain

FV, Chris, Great job. A big round of thanks needs to be acknowledged for you keeping us that aren't there informed and awed by some fantastic writeups and photography.

Steve

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Together-midnight in summer
The air's so much warmer
Falling in love under starlight
Holding on so tight-together

Imagine-the air filled with jasmine
The breeze blows with passion
You and me dance with desire
The moon is on fire-imagine

Je t'aime beaucoup mon amour
You are the one I adore Te amo

Ok, just got back from the day activities...we started the day with a special tour of the back room area....we got to see the outfits from the Perfume Photoshoot.... the shirt, pants and boots, with cowboy hats of the AINQ video...and let me tell you...the room smelt very good... if you know what I mean...

We also went back to the exhibits..I forgot to tell you last night that there is also an additional glass case with the 2005 People Choice Award for the Country Female of the Year...

We then split into 3 groups...I went to the Cedar Meadows tour (wildlife)...I loved it the first time..you get up close with moose, elks, buffalos, bambi...

Then we went to lunch at MacIntyre...where JD and Randall met us...they came in last night very late..and thankfully Tracy remembed to pick them up..

Then we went to Shania's highschool for the trivia contest....we got 5 finalists for tonight: Richard, Lynn, 2 other girls I forgot their names and myself...

Now on to the photos for the day..give me 10 minutes to post them..

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To add a bit of context, when we saw the actual video footage of Shania pointing to that picture as her favorite, it may only have been her favorite FROM AMONG THE MAGAZINE COVERS displayed on that 3 sided stand. There were a lot of magazine convers on that display, possibly 50-75. Although it did SOUND like she was saying it was the photo of herself from all time, that she liked best, the context didn't really make that fully clear. Tracy was there in person when Shania spoke. She could clear that up for us.

When Tracy took us thru in groups of about 30, to share with us Shania's personal comments during the homecoming last November, Tracy told our group that Shania felt there was a lot of professional make up in most of those photos on magazine covers. So while she didn't even really feel that this picture looked much like her, she really did like the picture and image. As you can see for yourself, from the photo, it's not hard to imagine why Shania would say that. Also, the colors are unusually soft and warm.

Shania looked at the magazine covers and was asked by Ben which was her favorite. That is the one I posted, with the additional comment that Shania thought it really didn't look like herself.

Tracy added in that Shania said that Tim was usually with her, and was lying at her feet for this picture, hence the bottom is cutout...



Oh and DAX...you should have seen Shania's reactions to your cartoons. She really really really liked them, and she just loved all the detail you put into them. Plus she likes how you draw her figure..lol . She said she looks much better as a cartoon.

You should have seen her face when she saw the Tim and Shania one.


-Chris


I will post some pictures later tonight.

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Shania's Place
Shania: often imitated, never duplicated!!

"...Living, Loving, Laughing and Dreaming....."-Shania Twain

Here is a quick selection of my photos for the day..some of them are a bit blurred, I need to work on the lighting too...but will be posting many more later tonight after dinner..probably 11.30 PM ET or later..

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While that statement is technically true, it might help if I add a friendly amendment there. That was actually the main stage in the main showroom where the Top 40's revue show has been performed in the Deerhurst Lodge, for quite a long time.

There were other small stages in the Cyprus Lounge, Green Room and possibly the Four Winds, on which Shania performed also. But those weren't shows, just musical gigs for dancing mostly.

Finally, there was the huge stage that rolled out over the swimming pool, up in the new Pavillion that was built when Eilleen and her (former) beau John Kim Bell helped persuade Kotowski, the new corporate manager to build in about 1989/90. However, for multiple interesting reasons, that Broadyway type show folded after only 5-6 months. And the cast and crew moved back to the smaller, long time show facilities in the Lodge.

Teri Dyni or Rory Golden told us some of the performers on that new stage fell into the pool occasionally. So they had to remove it when they converted the same area into conference facilities and dining areas.

Teri is the media relations coordinator. He's a highly skilled communicator. But Glenn Bladon and Laura Kennedy are some of the real holders of substantive info and history about Deerhurst and the show.

I talked with Teri and Laura several times a few months before our visit. I talked with Glenn Bladon and John Nobil during our visit.

Glenn is the musical director and show cast team leader. Both of these guys were there when Eilleen worked there.

Glenn did remember helping Eilleen make a demo tape. But that was not unusual. He's been doing the same thing for various of the cast members during almost all the years he's worked there.

The cast almost always includes some powerhouse talent. Eilleen was not overall, more talented than some of the other talent. She was among the best but many were similar. Some of them didn't have the same drive, determination or confidence to pursue higher success. And some of them didn't have the same connections.

I had to agree with the powerhouse talent. Several of the performers I saw last year with Tom definitely fit that description. In fact one was a TV star.

So I asked Glenn how he managed to get them all to keep coming back year after year, since the Deerhurst budget for the show was limited.

He said:

A) Look outside. The lakes and scenery and fresh air in Muskoka are some of the most beautiful, refreshing and relaxing space to live and vacation.

B) The performers, including Shania get to perform live in front of an audience and develop their skills 6 or 7 nights a week. Big city shows don't offer that. They tend to be more studio work, or technically buffered/produced.

C) Shows in the big cities and else where might last several months. Then the cast has to go out and find a new job. That usually involves auditioning with hundreds or thousands of other performers for the same job. There are many more people in the music and performing arts than there are jobs. At Deerhurst, the show runs about 10 months of each year, so it's a steady job.

On another question, I asked Glenn whether it was part of their plan to achieve what I noticed last year. All the performers take turns supporting each other, and each one in turn, gets a chance to be the lead in one or two numbers and showcase their talent. So it's a cooperative style of organization, instead of competitive, where individuals try to get ahead at the expense of the others. He said they very much do plan it that way now. They don't even have an emcee like they used to in the past.

There were quite a few other questions I asked of Glenn, mostly after he was finished with his official brief presentation and somewhat more detailed Q & A on stage. I also talked separately, earlier with John Nobile. I got some very candid and interesting answers from the two of them, tho all were appropriate and non controversial.

The reasons the lavish Broadway show in the new Pavillion failed, were very interesting.

But there's just too much to mention here, all at one time.

I should add one note before I close, however. John Nobile is the technical director. Basically, he's an engineering whiz, who sets up and runs the lights and sound etc before and during the shows. He's definitely not a media relations type. He doesn't give interviews. Like me, he works a lifetime to get things right. And he doesn't want to let some reporter, in haste to meet a deadline, do their usual misquotes, incomplete descriptions, or out of context opinion. (Those are my pet peeves, not his, but I sense in him, a similar preference to avoid the six second sound byte.)

There was a Toronto Star reporter that talked to our goup a bit and then quizzed Glenn from a special perch, then was planning to come back and see the show that night. We did see his report a day or two later, in the papers. And it's been picked up on these mb's. REporter didn't do too bad. He got most of it right. But there was not much depth or analysis, in my opinion. HIs questions to Glenn, weren't that substantive or knowledgeable. He was a nice guy, but also just a reporter on a beat, trying tp appeal to a mass market with a limited attention span.

My impression of Glenn and John, was that they are not accustomed to doing media relations or fielding questions from Shania fans. That's understandable. They're performers, not media types. I personally think we got far more candid and insightful answers from them, than we would normally get from media types.

I think the leadership at Deerhurst may have sprung this chore onto them with only very short notice. Glenn and John handled themselves quite well, even tho perhaps a bit uncomfortable at times.

In some contrast with the above, Rory Golden, Deerhurst's executive chef seems to be well praciced in public presentation and description of his work and activities. He does teach both on site and at educational institutions. And has a wide reputation as one of the most successful practitioners of cuisine. The food prepared and served by his group was some of the best I've ever seen, including the colors, arrangements, taste, presentation, the whole deal. No wonder Deerhurst's website brags a bit about him. With my humble background and life style, it's almost off my radar screen to think eating would hold much more importance than just a maintenance function. Boy was I wrong. Eating can be a great pleasure, when such skill goes into the service.

Ok, I am back from the dinner..we had a great supper, then a "Happy Birthday" cake with Shania's photo from the Homecoming on...we sang "Happy Birthday" to Shania and signed a birthday card to her...the card and the tape of us singing will be mailed to Shania..

We had the finals of the Trivia Contest: STFanForever from here WON! Congratulations Paige! She was really good: Ren created this computer stuff to ask the questions looking at the screen, in additions to questions on the lyrics, he also had Randall play guitar riffs for us to guess...I could not get a single one..LOL! Ren also took photos of himself reinterpreting Shania's videos...very funny!

Then Frank gave Tracy a framed photo of her with Shania from the Homecoming...and Paulette gave Richard a framed poster from the GH promotion...

Then the Auctions started....there was very good stuff: Shania signed a bunch of STC merchandise items...including some photos of herself during the Homecoming...

Now they are having the Karaoke..it started at 11 PM Et so I am guessing it will go late..

Gimme 10 minutes to work on the photos..

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Getting ready for it....just wait and see...

The auction for the signed STC hockey jersey turned into a battle of the moderators as Ren put it between FV and myself. Congratulations FV on winning !!!



-Chris

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Shania's Place
Shania: often imitated, never duplicated!!

"...Living, Loving, Laughing and Dreaming....."-Shania Twain