Don’t let that headline fool you – we weren’t really late enough to miss anything. . .I was working hard to finish the report on the Wolf Pack and get it posted for wolf fans, so we did arrive a little late to the Vampire Ball, but just in time to get in line at the bar for a drink which turned out to be the perfect spot for viewing the festivities!

First thing you should know about the Vampire Ball is its. . well, its sort of like a prom or a sorority formal, because everyone’s dressed up (in varying degrees of formality), and as the song goes, the freaks come out at night (see picture below)!  And that’s not just because of the character costume contest. . .there were several teens I think must have snuck their ball attire out of the house and more than several adult fans taking their creative license to new heights (or lows, depending on your opinion).  I wish we could have captured all the interesting people to show you – but there were a few standouts, like the one below. 

I call this one “My boyfriend will do anything for me – including pretending he’s Edward Cullen, coloring his hair and wearing make up.”  Hmmm, I wonder what he’s getting in exhange for THAT!

The second is the event is billed as a meet and greet with the celebrities and is included in the Gold Package tickets (for those planning a future convention trip).  “Meet and greet” is supposed to mean the celebrities are introduced, the audience takes pictures, then everyone puts the cameras away, calmly takes their seats, and the celebrities are escorted around to spend about 2 minutes at each table talking with the audience.  This was our first convention so while we didn’t know what to expect, we did know that this was going to be a highlight of the weekend and we’d be seeing the wolves up close and personal for a couple minutes, which was good enough for us.  However, it quickly turned into a mob scene of fan girls (and women!) grabbing onto the wolves, pulling them into hugs and generally stirring up a frenzy.  I’m sure it didn’t help that Alex and Gil are incredibly outgoing and fan-loving, so they were freely dolling out hugs – including a hug from Alex and a hug (and kiss!) from Gil for my Facebook Twilight Mom buddy, Nancy!

During the frenzy, we found seats with a great couple of ladies (shout out to Maryann from South Jersey and her friend from FL!) who were as disappointed in the scene as we were.  We learned a lot from Maryann, who’s a Creation Entertainment convention veteran (previous Star Trek conventions, first Twilight convention) – particularly that this frenzy was completely out of form for the normally well-organized and managed organization.  The meet and greet definition above was exactly what it should have been, and Maryann took our complaints to the head honcho, who apologized all over the place.  The moral of the story is – follow the rules and no one gets hurt (not that anyone did) – and everyone gets to enjoy close up time with the celebrities!  No worries though. . .this morning’s breakfast event MORE than made up for the ball (stay tuned for that report coming soon!)

But enough about the downside, let’s go back to the beginning – “I was standing in the line at the small cash bar. . .” (to the tune of Human League’s Don’t You Want Me?) – in front of us were the Bella-Edward impersonation couple who had been posing for fan pics all week (at $10 a pop). . .luckily no charge for snapping their picture tonight, so we did!  While in line we quickly discovered we were in the perfect photo spot for anything on the stage so we got some great photos!  While we were waiting, Gil came out and awarded the winner of the centerpiece contest – Cullen family tree below.  There were obviously some very creative people hard at work for this contest!

Next the wolves and Edi came out – Edi didn’t stay to party. . .he was worn out from the morning’s red eye arrival.  Then the Vampire Court was presented – you know, like the Homecoming Court.  The three trivia game winners won money and “makeovers” for the ball and won the ultimate of ultimate prizes (well, other than a trip to the red carpet for New Moon or a date with Rob or Taylor I guess). . .a dance with the wolves!  They presented the winners and we snapped AMAZING close up pics of Kiowa and his partner and Alex and his, plus Alex alone (more on his vampish red eyes in a sec).  Our favorite part was watching Alex dance with his partner – getting all Patrick Swayze-Dirty Dancing out on the floor – so much fun to watch (and wonder what his wife would think)!

So you noticed Alex’s vampire red eyes I bet – while he’s in no pain, the eye situation is a result of his hard training with cage fighting trainers to prepare for Eclipse!  The party continued with dancing and the Hillywood Show gang teaching the dance moves from their Twilight Parody, followed by the costume contest, which I believe was won by a cute little guy as Edward. . .I think it was the same kid we shared pictures of yesterday.  We spent the rest of the night people watching and trying to sneak the “two Edwards” (impersonators) away from their handler so Nancy could get a picture with them.  We succeeded!

Stay tuned for the next report on the celebrity breakfast and the Justin Chon-Edi Gathegi show!

This is Cullenized, reporting from I-95 passing Philly on our drive home!