Armageddon Melbourne
In 2007 Armageddon hit Melbourne, the first ever event of its kind to hit the city. It was also my first ever time volunteering to work an event, which was definitely an experience. The lead up was fun, except for maybe the packing the showbags part. It was great to be a part of something so big though.
The weekend started with a cocktail party which was great fun. We all got dressed up and got to have a meet and greet with the guests in attendance. It was great getting to have some casual conversations with them before the craziness of the weekend started.
Armageddon Begins
The crazy of Armageddon started here, at the beginning of the actual weekend. it was definitely insane and overwhelming. We all felt like we were in over our heads but we stuck with it and got through it. We did what we could and it turned out to be a great event.
I started off working as a queue minder for the Animation guests: Billy West, Richard Horvitz, Neil Kaplan, Rino Romano and Chris Rankin. They were all very lovely and they were doing free signings, the queues were insane. We were definitely overwhelmed and unprepared for the amount of people who were coming through our queue. We did manage to keep everything under control as best we could. I was working with a lady named Clare, we only met for the first time ‘officially’ on the Saturday morning. By the end of the day a friendship had formed and we relied on each other to keep ourselves together.
On the Sunday morning of the event, Clare and I started the day by basically collapsing into a hug. Preparing ourselves for another day of the craziness. It was insane and busy, but worth it.
Free Time
In the few times I got a break from working Armageddon I tried to get things done. Such as getting my photos and autographs and attending panels if possible. I got photos with the Stargate guests as well as one with Alan Tudyk, all these guests were lovely and friendly.
I also go the chance to attend Joe’s panel on the Sunday. There were a big group of us volunteers all sat in the front at the panel, with our bright orange shirts. During Joe’s panel, Scotty introduced The Evil Vegemite Girls onto the stage and a few of us got up. I gave him a tube of Vegemite and he tried in in front of everyone. He wasn’t very impressed, but as always a great reaction for everyone.
Animation
Working Armageddon with the Animation guests was amazing, it made it easier dealing with the craziness. Billy West being the voice of the Red M&M we had an insane amount of boxes of Dark M&Ms under the tables. Every now and then we would give them out to attendees. As we didn’t have the chance to eat over the days we would sneak a bag ourselves here and there. However, they were dark chocolate and neither of us were fans and they were a bit much.
My favourite moment was when there was a quiet moment and Richard started singing a song to me. It was the song called Brian Wilson by The Barenaked Ladies and it had the words “Smiley’s smile” in it. He and all the other animation guests all started singing it to me, it was a special moment for me.
As the queue for our area went outside of the venue hall and into the main area of the exhibition building. This would often confuse people and they could try and exit out the door into the queue. So I spent a lot of time directing them to the correct exit. There is actually footage of me on the event DVD dancing around like a fool and rocking it.
Media Guest Area
When things were getting a little too hectic at the door a larger security looking friend took over for me. And I replaced him by sitting with one of the guests in the media area. I was sitting between Peter Woodward and Connor Trinneer. A friend had given me a chocolate bar earlier in the day and since I was sitting I decided to take the opportunity to eat. But I didn’t want to make it obvious so I was trying to be discreet, but Peter called me out on it and was making fun of me. They were both very lovely guys, nice to chat with and very friendly. Whilst there I asked Peter to sign my Stargate shirt, he asked if I’d like him to write “Thanks for last night”. I said no it was fine, so instead he just signed it “Lust. This is all…”.
Joe Flannigan was also at this event, but he was only there for the Sunday. My friends and I had brought tickets to dinner with him for that night. As the end of the day neared, my friend and I were asked to escort him through the building. As he left the building my mate does “See you tonight at dinner”. Apparently Joe had forgotten about the dinner and so he looked pretty freaked out when me friend said that.
Sunday Dinner
The Sunday night dinner after the event was pretty good too, we were all a bit tired but managed to enjoy ourselves. We were at a table with Joe, but he didn’t turn up until later into the evening. We spent most of the time chatting with each other. Whilst we were waiting for Joe to arrive John Wesley Shipp came over and sat with us and had dinner. We had a lovely chat with him, he was a very lovely guy and it was nice he kept us company. All the different dinners were held in the same room. We spent time talking to other guests and mingling with friends at other tables.
There was a sweet moment with Peter, he asked me to come outside with him for some air. We were chatting and he spoke to me about his family, and his son. It was nice to be able to chat so casually with a guest at an event. This moment was special, as I know a guest has to feel comfortable enough with you to talk about their families.
Armageddon Overview
As the weekend came to the end, it was good knowing that for the most part it was a success. It was a lot of fun and definitely an experience especially as a first time volunteering. I was tired and exhausted but also excited from it all.
After everything was over, the dinners and the guests had left it was time to relax a little bit. As we had been staying in the city the weekend a group of us headed to the hotel pool for a swim. We spent a while up there it was a good way to wind down after the weekend. It was around 2am that we left the hotel again for kebabs, a kebab stop is always a sign of a good day.
All around it was a great weekend and I’m glad for the experience. I’ll definitely be putting my hand up to volunteer at events again. It was such a different way to experience an event, but I loved it. Keeping myself busy and having the opportunity to work with many amazing people.
GUEST LIST
Joe Flanagan, Connor Trinneer, Peter Woodward, Alan Tudyk, John Wesley Shipp, Jane Badler, Billy West, Richard Horvitz, Neil Kaplan, Rino Romano, Stephanie Sheh, Rodger Bumpass, Chris Rankin, Amanda Conner, Jimmy Palmiotti, Gail Simone, Nicola Scott, Maile Flanagan, Ray Park, David Wohl, Rob Van Dam, Jasmine St. Clair and Sabu.
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