Lucy Convention - July 1998 Many thanks for your recent inquiry regarding the We Love Lucy fan club and/or our Loving Lucy '98 Convention. Fan club information can be accessed through our web site at www.lucyfan.com Following is an update regarding our convention... Thanks again Tom Watson We Love Lucy ------------------------------- You are cordially invited to Loving Lucy '98, the third annual convention of Lucy fans and collectors. This very special weekend has been designed to allow attendees to share their affection for the world's most renowned redhead -- and to meet up-close some of the people who worked with her. As in the past, the convention will be based at the Burbank Airport Hilton Hotel & Convention Center. While an exact schedule of events is still being finalized, the following are on the agenda thus far: On Friday, July 10, Loving Lucy'98 will offer its first ever Lucy Bus Tours... Yes, just like Lucy and Ethel touring Hollywood of the 1950s, attendees will be able to tour modern-day Hollywood, but see various locations pertinent to "the Lucy legend." Two separate tours are planned: sites on the first tour will include (among others) the old Desilu/RKO Studios, CBS Radio/Columbia Square Studios, Grauman's Chinese Theatre, and the stars along the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Tour number two will encompass parts of Beverly Hills, including, of course, Lucy's home on Roxbury Drive. Opening Night Ceremonies will be held in the beautiful Leonard H. Goldenson Theatre at the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in North Hollywood. A screening of various Lucy film and television performances will be featured -- along with a special tribute to Lucy's longtime helpmate, Mary Jane Croft. It promises to be a most memorable evening, indeed. During the day on Saturday, July 11, dealer-tables will be set up in the convention center, offering a wide variety of merchandise and collectibles. A screening room will be in operation, showing many of Lucy and Desi's finest performances, and a display area will be open, offering glimpses of rare and unusual Lucy-related memorabilia and artifacts. Included here will be items from (among others) the collections of Jimmy Garrett, Gregg Oppenheimer, Tom Watson and Ric Wyman. Also on Saturday, we will present two panel discussions with celebrities and television-industry insiders who once worked with Lucille Ball and/or Desi Arnaz on their various programs. Later in the afternoon, we will offer an auction of Lucy-related memorabilia, including many items from the collection of Ric Wyman. Saturday evening has been set aside for a banquet and dinner show celebrating Lucy's career. Special dining and dancing entertainment will be provided by Johnny Crawford and His Dance Orchestra -- which specializes in recreating the "Big Band" sounds of the 1920s, '30s and '40s. On Sunday, July 12, conventioneers will be invited to spend the morning at a We Love Lucy Fan Club Continental Breakfast. Rolls and coffee will be served, and attendees will have a chance to mingle with each other and participate in a rapid-fire "I Love Lucy" trivia contest to be hosted by "Life With Lucy" co-star Larry Anderson. Sunday afternoon will showcase a special 50th anniversary re-creation of two complete episodes of Lucy's first sitcom -- CBS Radio's "My Favorite Husband." Lucy-impressionist Suzanne LaRusch will star, and be joined on stage by a celebrity cast including original "I Love Lucy" guest-stars Roz & Marilyn Borden, Larry Dobkin, Sandra Gould, Tyler McVey, Shirley Mitchell, Elliott Reid, Doris Singleton, Janet Waldo, and more surprises! Special discount tickets will be made available for conventioneers to visit Universal City Studios (home of the Lucy Tribute and Lucy Boutique) at their leisure any time between Wednesday, July 8 and Tuesday, July 14. At present, we estimate that admission tickets to the various events will be in the $10-$25 range per person/per event. The banquet, of course, will be extra, and the "My Favorite Husband" reenactment will be a fundraiser for the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, with tickets at $40 and up. We will attempt to offer a special "package price" for a combination of events. Exact prices will be announced soon. Special rates have been arranged with the hotel and with various national airlines. You can book your hotel accommodations by calling Hilton Reservations at 1-800-445-8667 and your airline by calling Mann Travels at 1-800-849-2301. (Be sure to tell both that you are attending Loving Lucy '98.) While Loving Lucy '98 is hosted by the We Love Lucy fan club, admission will be available to the general public. Tickets to all events, room accommodations and airline seating will be offered on a first come/first served basis. We encourage everyone to make their convention plans as early as possible. Loving Lucy '98 promises to be an exciting weekend for everyone. Hope to see you there!