Discovering // The Young & The Restless Fan Club Event
This summer I attended The Young & the Restless Fan Club Event. A bucket list moment for me and an experience I’ll never forget, here are the details of the weekend’s events as experienced by me.
When hosting a dinner party I love to ask questions as conversation starters. One of my favorites is “What is your guilty pleasure?”
To which, my answer is always The Young and the Restless.
My fan club welcome letterBirthday greetings from Nikki Newman!
History of a Young & the Restless Fan
This show is as old as I am. I apparently got hooked over a summer trip to my grandparent’s house somewhere around 10 – 12 years old. Ever since then I have made staying in tune with this show a priority. I’ve been known to kick my siblings off the TV as soon as their morning cartoons were over so I could catch Bob Barker giving away stuff before my show came on.
I also hosted the official ‘Ladies of Leggett Hall’ soap opera watch party in my college dorm. (Here is a short history of soap operas, including how they got their name) No one scheduled classes during the afternoon to attend and keep up with their “stories”. The lineup at that time was Y&R, General Hospital and One Live to Live.
soap opera [op-er-uh, op-ruh] NOUN:
a radio or television series depicting the interconnected lives of many characters often in a sentimental, melodramatic way.
The only one that has survived for me is Y&R.
Yes, I am that lady talking (sometimes screaming) at the TV.
I know it’s only a show but the drama feels personal.
Also, I realize the actors have real names, but I don’t care.
That’s Victor and that’s Nikki.
No, I am NOT eating bon-bons while I watch!
It’s usually the thing I have playing in the background while I take care of things around the house.
And let me tell you something else…I have had many people come in and out of my life. Many of the people who are still around are a completely unrecognizable version of themselves.
The Young & The Restless Fan Club Event | Meeting My People
But the citizens of Genoa City…. they haven’t changed in 40 years. While the writers may throw in a surprise now and then, each character’s identity has largely remained unchanged.
When I learned that there was a Y&R Fan Club that hosts a fan meet and greet weekend, I put that on my bucket list.
This Has Been Going on for How Long?
They have been holding this event since the 1980s. I only found out about it about 6 years ago. I could never attend because the weekend was typically held in August, usually right when school was having it’s highly anticipated (by mommy) return from summer.
In 2013, after the death of the revered Mrs. Chancellor, I vowed I would not miss another year. I did, in fact, miss the next 2 cycles of the Young & the Restless fan club event. I had finally decided I couldn’t wait any longer and was going to ditch the kids to take their own back to school picture in 2018.
Of course, there was a FREAK-out! Oh, no! I thought I missed my chance!! The event of a lifetime is no longer being held!
I berate myself for not going earlier like I promised until finally, I get an email from the Young & the Restless Fan event organizer, the 2019 dates had been announced for July. (As it turns out this event is held every 2 years. Hm. No panicking necessary it seemed!)
Making My Dreams Come True
FINALLY! With a date in the middle of the summer,
I can go- and guilt-free!
And maybe I will let the family tag along. (We did indeed make this a Griffin family California vacation!)
I purchased my tickets. The first step is joining the fan club.
Total cost for two events $300.
Event 1: Friday night with the men of the Young & the Restless
Event 2: Luncheon on Sunday with various members of the cast
The entire weekend was being held at a Marriott in Burbank, CA. It offered a ticket with a hotel room option. I didn’t opt for this because we were staying on the coast at a Marriott villa.
This turned out to be a very bad decision!
Chandra Says
Stay at the hotel!
NOT because you may run into stars (They live pretty locally and come right in and out after the event).
Do it because of LA traffic, which is a beast I hope to never encounter again. I had to get ready for DINNER at LUNCH. So I could leave with enough time to sit in the car for 3, yes…..3 hours to get through Friday night traffic.
My view for 3 hours
Friday Night with the Men of The Young & The Restless Fan Club Event 2019
When Friday, July 20th finally arrived, I was so excited. The event was proclaimed a party with the Guys of Y&R and B&B so of course, I wore my party suit!
It didn’t end up being much of a party at all.
Set up like a small business seminar, 6 guys came into the room to squeals of delight by their fans. They took over the microphone introducing each other and bantering back and forth for about 2 hours.
There was a dessert and coffee service, but it was lackluster. Those of us that had dressed up for a night on the town looked at each other wondering “Did I shave my legs for this?” The rest of the attendees were veterans who had been there before. You could tell because they were dressed in t-shirts and shorts and knew the best thing about tonight was getting 6 autographs out of the way before the whole cast luncheon later.
Devon made a cute video for my aunt, (Who I am taunting to join me next year!)
Sunday luncheon with the cast of The Young & The Restless Fan Club Event 2019
The next event for me was the Sunday Y&R Luncheon. Some of the people that I met had a pretty exhausting weekend of events if they were B&B fans. Sharing the same network, these two shows often feature the same actors! Similarly, both cast fan events are the same weekend!
I arrived at the Marriott pretty easily after dropping the family off at Disneyland. Sunday traffic was much easier! There was already a line out the door for registration. I into the hotel lobby to change into my party dress anyway. By the time I joined the line I had just enough time to take a picture with this famous sign.
While it may look innocent enough, when you see this sign….there is almost always something going to go down!
Registration
Registration was a breeze. There really isn’t any reason to get there super early and stand in line because seating is pre-assigned! I got a prime seat at table #10. Not prime due to its view, but turned out to be prime because I was the closest to the autograph area!!
Shopping Options
There was a silent auction set up to bid on the many different types of memorabilia or set pieces. My favorite was finding the old portrait of Victor Newman that hangs in his office. That thing has been a staple of his corner office for YEARS. And I got to take a picture with it!!!
Lunch is Served!
I was seated at a table with a small group of women who knew each other. My favorite table companion was a male teacher from somewhere up north. He was a lifelong fan as well! We hit it off immediately and had a great time catching up to each other during the event. It was also his first time attending thanks to the new summer date and he was just as star-struck as I was!
The beginning of the luncheon was a presentation of cast members. The other cast members would introduce each other and do mini-interviews. Nikki and Victor discussed enjoying meeting some of the Y&R cast members at this event for the first time. If you don’t film a scene with another actor, you may very well never run into them for years, as Eric Braeden “Victor” said. Unless they’ve been on the show for at least 10 years, he doesn’t get to know their names!
This year’s event was also overshadowed by the loss of a long-time and much beloved actor, Kristoff St. John.
The Autograph Portion of The Young & The Restless Fan Club Event 2019
Once we made it through everyone that was in attendance, they announced that the cast would be in the back taking a cast photo and then the autograph portion would begin. All the attendees left their seats and began lining up. Some of us had already walked through the space to see where the actors would be seated. You could see people making their game plans!
With this many people cramming into the line behind me, I could see that getting to Victor’s line first would be key to getting to as many actors as I could. The event security staff were joking with me that they call him “The Disney Guy” because his line is the only one they actually have to create a winding line with stanchions every year! No joke….there was a STAMPEDE to his line. Some of those old ladies still got it!!! I was about 10th in line to shake the hand of a TV legend. SCORE!!
Watching Victor come out and across the hotel ballroom was as much if a slow-motion moment as any in soap opera history.
After that, everything was a blur of standing in line and unbelievable moments.
This staff writer recently won her first daytime Emmy!
I played in my bare feet with Phyllis. (I had a shoe malfunction, she had a taped up toe!)
Thanked Sharon for being there to voice the things I couldn’t after a tragic pregnancy.
Made funny faces with Michael Baldwin.
OMG…..got alllllll in Jack Abbott’s personal space!
Got silly with Ana
And had a drink with Esther, the closest person to Mrs. C there ever was!
Final Thoughts on the Event
By the time my shock had subsided that I was in the room with these actors that I have grown up with, it was over.
While I initially thought this would be a once in a lifetime event, I may have to reconsider that! The actors were so fun and flexible that I would love to come back (without my nerves) and just have more fun!
A Definite Repeat!
I would love to be able to experience this with a group of friends that feel the same way I do about these people who hold dual identities to us. What was AWESOME was seeing the repertoire that many of the fans had with these soap stars. Many of them are repeat attendees and carry on a robust social media connection with them. One lady I met had been coming since 1987! Many of them bring props to use in their photos. I also saw many pieces of OLD memorabilia pulled out to get signatures.
After all, some of my favorite characters still weren’t there for this one.
So there’s a chance I could swoon at Nick Newman’s dimples after all.
Or have some girlfriend time with Lily Winters-Ashby, my style goddess.
I would overall give this event 5 stars and would definitely attend again.
I’m getting my gang together and giving some serious thought to getting t-shirts printed!
I really would go with you next time, and I know a few others!
All my Children was my favorite. I would totally attend an event if they were still around b