Continued from previous page...
"IT'S FOR THE PUPPIES PEOPLE!"
Since the first moment all the guests stepped into the event main room, they had been enticed with a myriad
of goodies sitting temptingly on the tables to the side of the room. Some as mentioned were part of Swoop's
personal collection, and some were given away in a Raffle but others had been kept aside for a very special
Charity Auction. As an animal lover, Kristy has deep connections with a wonderful organization called
Canine Companions for Independence, which is an institute that teaches Labradors and Golden
Retrievers to become lifelines for those people who need them. Jane Neggie, head of the North East
Regional office, happily accepted the offer to be CoA's Charity for the 13th Floor Event. Their mission
as a non-profit organization is to enhance the lives of people with disabilities by providing highly trained
assistance dogs and ongoing support to ensure quality partnerships. Canine Companions, trained to respond to
more than 50 specialized commands, become the physical extensions of their disabled partners. There could be
no question that all money raised through the auction (and the entire weekend) would be given as a donation
to CCI especially when local New Jersey Chapter puppy raisers brought their very special guests to
visit and tug at the heart strings in the form of two beautiful young puppies called Tiffany
(a 7-month old Golden) and Jerry (a 1-year old Yellow Lab) who were the best of friends. Their human
counterparts, Tracy and Christina gave a short presentation on the need for CCI dogs in the
community, their handling and puppy raising, along with costs and benefits to handlers and recipients of
these very special animals.
While Tracy speaks to us about CCI
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Jerry gives us the look
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And $3,000 is raised, Amazing!
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For the auction itself Angel merchants who have worked side-by-side with CoA over the years had
excelled themselves in some of the items they donated to be bid against which included two mystery items.
The auction started with a Season Four DVD box set from Fox Home Entertainment followed by items
such as Limited Edition print sheets from Inkworks Cards and full
set of Season 5 trading cards. For the James Marsters fans in the crowd, there were a couple of
things to fight over including the full set of Spike trading cards and the Spike based novel Heat
donated and autographed by Nancy Holder, both of which were purchased by Lilian for a whomping
$120.00 total! Dayne Johnson
is a great friend to the site and offered some items of his own for the auction
including a piece from Christian Kane's tattoo set from the 100th episode, one of David Boreanaz's unused
vampire face prosthetic bringing in $85.00 and a full Scourge head mask from Season 1 Heroes!
There were autographed
Novels by Chris Golden and Tom Sneigoski, Role Playing corebook from Eden Studios
signed by Alex Jurkat and George Vasilakos, posters, Sideshow Collectible figures,
Angel crew jackets and of course the two mystery items.
The Scourge from "Heroes"
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Annette with her Faith knife
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The first mystery item truly remained a mystery until the bidding was over. All weekend Swoop had taunted
SueAngel that this was going to be an item she didn't want to miss and so perhaps it was no wonder that
SueAngel outbid DK to secure the item and she wasn't disappointed when the mystery was revealed to be four
very unique continuity photographs supplied by Dayne Johnson. Each photo depicted a piece of Dayne's
artistry through Season 5 including James Marsters with barbed wire wrapped around his head from the
episde Hellbound, J August Richards looking a little worse for wear with his heart cut out,
Amy Acker as a battered Illyria and finally David Boreanaz with a nice paranoia inducing bug feeding
from his chest as he lies on a bed studying his script taken on set during the episode he directed, Soul
Purpose which went for $110.00. The last main auction item was truly the 'piece de resistance' as Swoop
revealed the Rogue Slayer, Faith knife by designer Gil Hibben. It was a beautifully crafted piece
and had jaws dropping. Of course the bidding war started with Annette coming out as the eventual winner
of the knife, less $165.00, and the quandary of how to get it through customs! However if Swoop thought that the auction
was over, the Brits had other ideas. All around the room were posters specifically put together by Michael Conrad for the event and of course there was still the rather handsome David Boreanaz cut-out that had been so prominent for the past two days going spare. When the Brits suggested these should go up for auction, Swoop protested and offered them for free. "It's for the puppies people!" Amanda declared in her inimitable style and after that statement, nobody questioned but just took the money. By the end of the auction a staggering $1,216.00 had been raised, which Swoop then offered to personally match in memory of her female Yellow Lab of 13-years, Tobi. A further donation the following day made the final total for the puppies of CCI a very handsome $3,000.00.
THE CITY IS UNLEASHED ONTO THE CITY
The final event of the day was an amusing stand off in the form of a simple game of Angel charades.
There were six players plus DK as the host and the groups were split into two teams of three and which team
you played for depended on the business card you randomly pulled from a hat. Playing for the Angel
Investigations team were Swoop, Buffie and Lilian and playing for the Wolfram & Hart team were
SueAngel, Amanda and Annette. The thing that had to be mimed to other team members came in the form of an
episode name, a character or a particular scene and the results were hilarious. Annette's mime for The
Thin Dead Line had to be one of the highlights of the weekend. In the end it was sudden death and so DK
came up with a tiebreaker that both teams had to mime and whoever guessed first was the winner. Wolfram &
Hart took the crown with SueAngel correctly guessing Amanda's mime for The Bachelor Party.
Amanda & Pru, flagged!
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Egor, another head for dinner
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Susan & Buffie spook'in
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Once the day descended into night it was time for CityofAngel.com to assault The City that never sleeps.
The evening slaughter meal was served at the dining establishment Jekyll & Hyde's, a horror themed
restaurant located in the West Village in Manhattan. Once inside, ghosts and ghouls of every sort greeted
the CoA entourage as the grisly souls lined the walls of the restaurant. On the menu were appetizers of
buffalo wings, cheesy mozzarella sticks, and eerie nachos. For the entrees there were bloody ribs, chicken
parmesan, healthy wraps and grilled tuna for those with a less than an O-positive appetite. Two colorful
characters circulated amongst the diners, one dressed as a mad professor carrying a decapitated head under
his arm, who reminded us of Rob Hall, and his lady companion dressed like the bride of Frankenstein
who liked to call herself Pru. CityofAngel.com received a special mention from the talking gargoyle fixed
on the wall and acted as Pru's agent when trying to come up with a new television series in which she was
to be the star. A little later, a case of Deja Vu crept in as once more the CoA crew found themselves slap
bang in the middle of an auction but this time the lot was for that of a very cute waiter! The Brits meant
business and started off the bidding. Going once, twice, sold! To the ladies of the CoA table - the tall
blonde cutie sauntered over and flirted with his share of the beautiful ladies of City of Angel. Unbeknownst
to the poor soul, he was being prepared for the sacrifice! In the end, he pleaded for his life and offered
up dessert in the form of pecan and Snickers pie instead.
CoA staff party animals
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Boogie feet need a rest
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With bellies sated, the next stop was the popular NYC dance club, Discotheque. Our PR Rep, Lilian, continued to work her magic by getting CoA on the club's premiere Guest List so entry on a Saturday night was no problem. The CoA ladies took over the dance floor (mainly because the drinks were so expensive and so it was cheaper to dance) and stupefied human males could only look on while under their spell. Amanda in particular owned the floor but both The Mayor and Lilian put up some good competition and SueAngel knew how to shake a hip or two. For some the evening ended early, while others (the Brits plus The Mayor and Lilian) decided to take on the night and all the evil and good times it had to offer. When they finally did decide to limp back to New Jersey, it wasn't without getting lost a couple of times and so they finally hit The Marriott Courtyard at 3:45 am, leaving The Mayor with a handful of minutes sleep as she was due to leave and fly home just over an hour later!
THE 13th FLOOR AWARDS
Just for a bit of fun, Raciella has put together her highlights in the form of the inaugural 13th Floor Awards.
Whether it is an honor to win one of these awards, only time will tell so here goes:
The Mayor: Best Dressed
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Best Dressed - The Mayor wins this coveted award. She wore a sexy pink chiffon top with a pair of
silky black pants for our night in New York City (paid the price for the shoes though!)
Best Actress Award - And the Academy Award goes to...our own PR extraordinaire Lilian! Her moving
dramatic portrayal of Scott in Angel episode Dead End snagged her this honour.
Too Sexy for My Belt Award - Who knew this sexy Brit could move like the Mata Hari! Sue was unbelievable on the dance floor and had plenty of Manhattan cuties under her spell throughout the night.
Surprise Auction Award - Auctioneer's voice: "And Faith's knife, The Jackal, a dangerous sharp weapon
known for its evil silver goes to the quiet unassuming British gal in the back!" Annette claps happily and eagerly handles the knife with only the love of a true connoisseur. swishes blade in air with an evil smile Bad bosses and ex-boyfriends watch out!
Jerry & Tiffany: Kiss Me!
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Best Kiss - The Puppies! Tiffany and Jerry. They don't get to see each other as often as they'd like but when they do; it is obvious they are in puppy love!
Best Quick of Hand - Raciella wins this award for beating Swoop in the Demon Hold'em. The game lasted three and a half hours. In the last moments of the game, all the chips were on the table. The Native Texan triumphed with an ace high!
And to Seeker who snagged Swoop's guitar pick from the air when she tossed it out to the audience at the completion of LA in true musicianship.
The UK Entourage
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Dancing Maniacs Awards - Swoop and The Mayor win this award for gettin' down Wesley & Angel style! Numfar of the Deathwok Clan has got nothin' on these two!
Entourage Award - The British Ladies were a force to contend with at every event. They dominated the
auction, the dance floor, the cooler, the dungeon...they put the Americans to shame. But I hear the Americans
are planning an invasion very, very soon.
Phantom Dennis Award - A few of the CoA Clan were missing but no one made their presence known like Hollie Edmond! Chairs moved, tables floated and the PowerPoint that contained her ghostly spirit made us laugh, cry, tremble in fear and laugh some more! News from the Underground tells us that she is in the final phase of a detailed gruesome revenge plot.
TO THE RIVERFRONT FAREWELL
The Last Breakfast w/ CoA at the Riverfront Cafe
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There were some tired faces at Sunday brunch but sad faces too. The get together at the Riverfront Cafe, a
local eatery in Red Bank, set on picturesque Broad Street was the farewell brunch as most attendees were
leaving to return home that day. Sitting outside in the morning sunshine during the course of this 'last supper', lots reminisced about what had happened over the weekend and it was clear that everyone had enjoyed the most amazing experience. With hugs and few tears, friends said their goodbyes even though nobody really believed that this was the end. Since returning to normality, those who were part of the 13th Floor Event have had chance to reflect on what happened and here are just a few of their highlights.
Amanda Malt (UK Crew) ~ "There were many including DK singing LA Song. Angel charades
especially Annette's version of how to mime the word thin. Hanging out on the balcony with some of the US
guys - that rocked!! (but not like Spiderman or The Phantom!). Playing with Swoop's guitar and then hearing her sing (LA) before we came home. Our scene re-enactment when SueAngel says 'Well Gunn...' that will stay with me for a while. The most amazing set of the weekend made by Swoop and DK was such good fun with all the events. The puppies people! And of course the auction where I won lots, most importantly real life size David!"
Kristy Bratton (Senior Partner and CoA Legend) ~
"Oxygen becoming an issue!"
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Darren & Bridgette
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"It was an amazing weekend, just on the basis that everyone had a great time
which is what it was all about; a huge bash for the staff to rawk the marble halls, cry a little, get drunk
a little, okay get drunk a lot, and say farewell to the City. All that accomplished, I will take away with me the
following memories... The Dungeon come to life! Gotta love the blood splatter, what is a dungeon after all
without 'splatter'? Thank you Hobs! The fantastic artwork of DK and Michael, from program covers
to badges and posters, what a professional touch. The Mayor can sing, Holy Wet-wipes! I've known that DK
could sing for years but this is the first time I actually heard her. And what a wicked twist on LA.
The Vampire Ho! Lilian, so enjoyable to watch our very own actress but difficult at the same time. You
little hussy! The UK staffers scene re-enactment. We have a new Cordy in the house with Amanda;
Ass-Pansies United! The games were a blast, yet far too short; loved Poker, Angelink and Charades, what a
talented staff. Loved the Auction and seeing the Puppies, thank you all for the amazing contributions!
Although I think Amanda's bid of $500 for our waiter at dinner was the most impressive. Seeing our staff
getting Jiggy at dancing and our PR rep Lilian for getting CoA on the Guest List and the "executive
producers" of CoA complimentary drinks from the Club. She's still got it! And finally, seeing everyone,
all the past staffers like Mouse and the UK'ers for coming over the pond to party with everyone, to say
thanks for all the hard work, and hug, lots and lots of hugs! CoA could not have
been the City of Angel without all of you! We will all certainly miss Angel, we won't miss the work, we'll miss our friends, but most of all we'll miss the fans!"
The 13th Floor Event was an amazing experience but any ideas that this weekend signaled the end of
an era have been severely stepped upon as the summer months mean that CityofAngel.com is scheduled to be as
busy as ever. The series may be over but the gates for The City aren't quite closed just yet plus the party
is never over. Watch this space...
Written by CoA Staff Writers, Sue Grimshaw & Rachel Barerra (US)
CityofAngel.com would like to extend our gracious thanks to all those who attended the event to help make it the success it was.
Our continued appreciation to all the merchants, authors, Angel cast and crew who donated items to the Auction. Dayne Johnson, Nancy Holder, Tom Sneigoski, Chris Golden, Inkworks Cards, Eden Studios, Fox Home Entertainment, and Sideshow Collectibles.
Our gratitude to CCI for attending and bringing their puppies. Christina and Jerry, Tracy and
Tiffany, and especially Jane Neggie.
For more information on CCI, please visit them on the Web at: Canine Companions for Independence
Special thanks to all the entire staff at Marriott Courtyard, Red Bank who could not have been more accommodating to all our needs.
Additional thanks to all the staff at Jekyll & Hyde's for putting on the fabulous dinner and entertainment.
Much appreciation goes also to Michael Conrad for the fantastic graphics produced especially for the weekend.
If you have any comments for CityofAngel.com regarding this Happenings feature, we would love to hear from you. Just email us at: comments@CityofAngel.com
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