This weekend, I attended my very first Dr Who convention, Gallifrey One. It is the 36th annual event and it is going to be ending at 38 so I figured that I had better go and check it out before it goes away.
As part of the convention, they hold an Art Show where you can display your art and also put it up for bidding in a silent auction if you so choose. I purchased 2 panels in the show that were 3′ wide by 4′ tall. I arrived at 9:00 am on Friday and was able to get 16 of 18 pieces hung on the panels. The bidding sheets took up more space than expected and that is the main reason that I was only able to hang the 16.
They also posted my name in the official handbook that was given to all of the attendees.
Spoiler Alert! Half of my pieces sold and I received very good feedback from the people that I spoke with about them.
FRIDAY: I left home at 6:30 am and arrived at the LAX Marriot at 9:10 am and parked. I wandered into the convention area and got my badge and then went and found the Art Show area upstairs in the lobby. I took the lay of the land and then went back to the garage area, loaded up all of my art, and took it up to the show area. By the time I got everything hung and arranged on the boards it was 10:00 am.
At 10:00 am, I attended the Doctor Who Spinoffs We’d Love to See panel.
At 11:00 am, I attended the Daleks, Cybermen, and the Uncanny Valley panel.
At 12:00 pm, I checked out the other artist’s sections at the Art Show and then headed out to the patio to peruse the food truck options. I ended up getting the Jerk Chicken Fries and they were just OK.
At 1:00 pm, I attended The Modern Companion panel.
At 2:00 pm, I attended the Millie Gibson interview.
After the Millie Gibson interview I headed over to the Gallifrey One Craft swap. I had made a bunch of 4″ painted canvases to trade for other crafts. It was very crowded in the room but I was able to trade for a bunch of really cool craft items made by other attendees.
After the Craft Swap, I watched the Jo Martin interview at 3:45 pm.
From 4:30 to 6:00 pm I attended The Live Commentary: The 1996 Doctor Who Movie where I watched the TV movie for the first time.
I watched some of the Doctor On Display: USA Tour 1986 – 1987 Film Premiere at 6:00 pm but I was nursing a headache and had a one hour and forty minute drive home so I called it a day and headed out. I wish that I had been feeling better and been able to watch the whole movie.
SATURDAY: Traffic was much better today and I was able to leave at 8:30 am and get there by 9:30 am.
At 10:00 am, I watched the Live Episode Commentary: Lucky Day and it was very cool to get all of the behind the scenes details.
At 11:00 am I attended the Memoirs from the Doctor Who USA Tour panel. They discussed the tour and mentioned the movie from last night a lot. I would have had more context if I had been able to watch the entire film.
I went and grabbed a quick teryaki bowl from the food truck area, checked on my panels in the ART SHOW (I had 3 bids) and then caught the 2nd half of the Jo Martin Interview in the main hall.
I stayed in the main hall to watch the Freema Agyeman when the fire alarm started so we all headed outside in an orderly fashion. It was a false alarm and we were all back inside the main hall within 10 minutes and got to watch the interview.
At 2:00 pm, I attended the SF TV: The Year in Review panel.
At 3:00 pm, I attended the Andor and the Future of Star Wars panel.
At 4:00 pm I attended The TV Movie Reunion where all of the main cast and show runners were there to talk about the movie.
After that, I checked on the ART SHOW again and the large TARDIS painting had been purchased at the buy it now price and 4 others had bids. I wandered around and checked out the Dealer’s Room and then grabbed some chicken tenders for dinner because that line was short. We also had a second mini Craft Swap out on the patio at 6:00 pm.
At 7:30 pm they held The Masquerade of Mandragora 2026: Gallifrey One’s Costume Fashion Show. They started out with 4 or 5 non Doctor Who Cosplays and then the rest were Doctor Who related. It was a lot of fun. I hung out for a bit after that and headed home around 9:00 pm.
SUNDAY: Traffic was good again so I was there by 9:40 after an hour drive.
At 10:00 am I watched the Paul Kasey: Creature Feature interview.
At 11:30 am, I attended the Doctor Who on Blu Ray panel.
After that panel, I headed out to the patio and got some pork fries and they were much better than the jerk chicken fries that I got on Friday.
The ART SHOW ended at 2:00 pm so I checked on my panels at 1:30 pm and, as mentioned before, 8 out of the 16 pieces had been bid on and purchased. I was very excited to have sold so many pieces.
At 2:00 pm, I attended the Film: The Year in Review panel.
Afterwards, I went to the ART SHOW area to collect of the pieces that were left, checked out with the staff and then took them back to my car.
At 4:00 pm I returned to the Main Hall for The Year in Review program and then the Closing Ceremonies at 5:00 pm. The screen on the left ripped during The Year in Review and fell to the ground in slow motion.
I stopped for dinner on the way home and caught the last quarter of the Super Bowl at the restaurant.
