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Last weekend, two of our editors, William Dallman & Jennifer Snyder, were lucky enough to attend a couple of the Days of Our Lives fan events in Studio City, California. These were not your typical fan events. Instead these events had a mission – charity.
Most soap opera events are free, put on by fan clubs, or private companies. Now, whenever you get to meet your favorite star it is worth it, but when the money raised goes to charity – or more over the entire goal of the event is to raise money for charity – it adds something special to the event.
Days Charity Events is an amazing organization dedicated to raising funds to support various charities all by bringing soap fans closer to what they want most, the stars. DCE held its first event in late 2005 and has taken off since then. This year alone they have hosted events in Dallas and Los Angeles and they have one more planned for Boston in August.
The event they hosted in Los Angeles that we attended was nothing short of spectacular. From the radiant décor that set the mood to the cocktail attire that gave it that hot Hollywood feel, everything was perfect. They sell various items, from a program with info on each actor scheduled to appear to shots of actors, t-shirts, and more.
Various actors did show up too. James Scott (EJ), Alison Sweeney (Sami), Nadia Bjorlin (Chloe), Shawn Christian (Daniel), Jay Johnson (Philip), Shelley Hennig (Stephanie), Molly Burnett (Melanie), Casey Deidrick (Casey), Mark Hapka (Nathan), Lindsay (Arianna) & Justin Hartley (Oliver, Smallville; ex-Fox, Passions), Kristen Renton (Ima, Sons of Anarchy; ex-Morgan, DAYS), Arianne Zucker (Nicole), Eric Martsolf (Brady), Patrika Darbo (Nancy) and Galen Gering (Rafe) all arrived to mix and mingle with their fans. We were able to meet everybody due to a limited number of tickets being sold. This was definitely a highlight as fans actually got to really meet the stars, not just quickly get a picture with them. If one actor was surrounded, fans we were easily able to move on to another and come back to the former actor later in the evening.
At the event, DCE also auctioned off several items like autographed posters and professional photos with the stars on the red carpet. This is also where the actors got to have fun and auction each other off. It was entirely obvious how much fun they were all having with not only each other but the fans. Proceeds from this event went to a charity near and dear to Days star Nadia Bjorlin’s heart, the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
As someone who has been to over fifty fan events, I can easily say this was one of the best yet and worth every penny of the price. Jen and I have already decided to attend this event if they have it again next year. If you have the chance to attend any of the events hosted by Days Charity Events, we highly recommend you do. For more information on Days Charity Events and to learn about upcoming events, the charities they sponsor, and more please visit them at http://www.dayscharityevents.com/ .
But, this was not the only Days event benefiting a charity this weekend. On Saturday, we also attended a breakfast at Martha Madison’s (ex-Belle, Days) restaurant Henry’s Hat to benefit Samantha & Friends. This event was also well worth it the price of admission. Other events over the weekend we were unable to attend included a Dance Party and An Afternoon in Salem to benefit The Cancer Research Institute hosted by For Love Charitable Events, and Remembering Francis, an event in honor of the late Francis Reid whose proceeds went to Habitat for Humanity and Save the Children.
For more information on these organizations please visit their sites:
Samantha & Friends- http://www.samanthas-friends.org/
For Love Charitable Events- http://www.forlovecharitableevents.org/
Francis Reid Memorial- http://www.wix.com/charity10/Frances/
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