So June was rapidly approaching and Team RushCon was in the final preparation stages. We were very excited to bring our annual convention back to Las Vegas. We had such a great time there last year; we hoped this year would be just as good.
After weeks of online meetings and frantic texts back and forth, we were all ready to bring our show to Vegas. We were so excited to see each other again after another year between conventions. We always marvel at how quickly time flies.
After we recovered from the initial shock of the desert heat (95 at night? What??), we regrouped in our HQ room and got to work. This year we gained some much needed help fromKevin and Lisa who jumped in and helped sort everything out. We prepared our merch for sale, practiced our games, and sorted through all the amazing auction stuff.
Pre-Con, Eddy prepares the games. Lisa and Kevin package all the name badges.
The next day was our first event, but more importantly, the Rush show! We opened our registration table early, and before you knew it, there were Rush fans everywhere! It was great reconnecting with all our old friends, and meeting new fans.
We finally got to break and head over to MGM for the concert. The band blew us away, of course, and it was great to celebrate the last leg of the tour with so many Rush fan friends. The RushCon crew had to leave the show early (gasp!) to prepare our after-party venue for the fans arrival.
Jillian checks people in and hands out badges at the Hard Rock Cafe.
Our venue choice did NOT disappoint. We had the entire 3rd floor of the awesome Hard Rock Cafe. It was beautiful with a great patio space overlooking the Strip. We had the music and videos blasting, cold drinks ready, and food all prepared. The fans came in droves! We had well over 200 Rush fans join us, and a great time was had by all!
We had a killer lyric-guessing contest, and lots of close scores. But two lovely ladies were the winners, and took home some awesome prizes. We partied until 2 am, and then had to drag our old bones back to the hotel so we would be ready for our 8am team meeting.
Holly judges the lyric contest. Trying to choose the most accurate results.
Jillian announcing the winner and showing off the prizes.
Michelle and Kelly were the proud winners.
The next day, we woke at the crack of dawn to get everything for the convention ready. Holly and Kristy organized the auction spread, Kevin and Lisa set up our t-shirt booth, Judy and Cathy worked the door, Eddy and Jillian set up all the computers and A/V, and Chris set up his special silver screen. We were ready.
Judy and Cathy greet and register all the guests.
Kristy helps prep the auction area.
As the clock struck 10:30, the doors opened. The room filled up pretty quickly as we prepared for our first event. Our first game was the Pictionary-style "We Draw our Own Designs."The clues were hard, but the contestants determinedly drew and guessed. Team 2, Jonathan, Mike and Melanie did a admirable job but the team of Jeremy, Eddy and Kelly were the clear victors.
Eddy H. takes his turn drawing clues for his team to guess.
The winning team, Jeremy, Kelly and Eddy H. were all smiles and prizes.
Up next was RushCon's favorite game, The Words of the Profits. We were honored to have Ken FIsher as one of our contestants. Ken works at NASA and was the one responsible for getting Countdown played for the astronauts in space. Pretty friggen cool! He and his team mate Rob L. played against the girls team of Torri K. and Lara K. Unfortunately for the girls, the boys had pretty good game show chemistry, and pulled ahead early for the win. The girls did walk away with lovely consolation prizes, and the boys team won the grand prizes (some awesome Rush collectible swag.) Huge props to all our game players. It seems easy when you're sitting in the audience playing along, but it's a whole different ball game when you're up on stage in front of hundreds of people.
Jillian groans as the clue giving goes X-rated.
Ken tries to get Rob to guess his clue word.
Lara and Torri watch on, and try to plan their stratagy.
Torri winces after an acdential point loss.
The audiences watches, lauhing at all the game show hijinx.
The bravest faces of the Words of The Profits Team!
We took a break, showed some video montages of rare and hilarious Rush clips from all over TV land.
We then gathered everyone to the middle of the room, handed out our custom RushCon 3D glasses, and hit the lights. The audience was blown away by our exclusive 3D concert show, "Freeze This Moment." Created by Christopher Schneberger, the show brought tears to the eyes of our attendees. They all cheered and applauded as the live music played, in sync with outstanding 3D visuals of not only our favorite band, but also the adventures of life as a Rush Fan. A true highlight of the convention!
Chris educates the audience on the technical aspects of 3D photography.
The audience sits in anticipation, proudly rocking their awesome RushCon 3D Glasses.
Next up was our annual RushCon Charity Auction. We had a lot of new attendees this year, and they really didn't know what they were in for. Jillian explained how everyone needed to be sitting in the middle, so she could see their bidding stars, and also explained the fine art of sniping. Holly, Eddy H and Steve L displayed each item, and the bidding grew more and more intense. We had a vast array of items, including custom-made Rush jewelry from fan artisans, troves of tour memorabilia from former road crew, and of course several signed items donated to RushCon from the band themselves.
Bruce and Brent check out some tasty items up for auction. (then check their bank account balances!)
These two were ready to do some serious bidding! (..and fighting against the Solar Federation.)
Just some of the amazing items up for bid.
Some more items up for auction. (Yes, there were Rush Penguins. Happy feet indeed!)
The final, and most bid upon items, were a drumhead signed by the band, a personalized live concert photo (shot and donated by John Arrowsmith) and a personalized copy of Far And Away, donated by Neil Peart.
The audience jumps in to bid on autographed items from the band.
Holly shows off a signed poster during the auction.
Beverely pulls off a perfectly executed snipe.
The bidding was heated towards the end. Jillian opened the bid on the signed Neil book at $300 dollars, and one confident bidder (RushGirl!) jumped in with $500.00, stunning the entire room. Some people joined in the bidding fray and it finally went for $800.00. The drumhead had some tense bidding wars back and forth, and finally went for $720.00. The room would break into applause at the end of every momentous bid. It's always a fun event to witness, even if you aren't bidding.
The drum head donated to RushCon, signed by all 3 at the concert the night before.
Our final total was $6550.00 raised for the Japanese Red Cross. We are proud of the generosity of our attendees, and thankful we can donate to such a good cause
We sadly had to wrap up the Con for the day, and thanked everyone for coming. It was another great convention, and we are so thankful for the continued help and support of Judy and Cathy Staley, Kevin Johnson, Paul Beaulieu, Mary Jo Plews, Lisa Adametz, Eddy Hernandez, Christopher Schneberger, and Steve Lefebvre and of course the continued patience and generous support of Anthem/SRO. We couldn't have done it with out everyone's talents and generosity.
These guys came out all the way from Austrailia! Impressive!
Old friends reunited.
Get a load of this Bag of Dicks™.
We were so happy to see you all, and are so grateful to those who come to RushCon every year. We are so honored to celebrate Rush's music all with you, our attendees, the best band, and the best fan convention. Hope to see you next summer!
Love your RushCon Team,
Eddy, Kristy, Holly and Jillian
Photo Credits: Holly Smith, Paul Beaulieu, Melanie Haylock Bichener, Kristy Williams