HIGHLANDER: THE HLDU/HLWW CONVENTIONS & TOURS
A BRIEF HISTORY OF TIME…
Way back in the ‘Before Times’, (1997 to be exact) the very first HLDU convention took place in Brisbane, Australia…
Between Saturday 26th April 1997 and Sunday 27th April, a small group got together to view various Highlander episodes from the tv series and discuss the wider franchise. Though there were no guests physically attending, Peter Wingfield (Methos) beamed in by satellite to answer questions. Panels included looking at favourite moments, looking deeper into characters motivations (clue: don’t lose your head!), quizzes and a ceilidh.
It was a start, but as Methos himself stated “Start small and build!”
The following year, 1998, was quite a big one for Highlander. There was a massive official event organised by Highlander’s Powers-That-Be in Los Angeles, marking the end of the tv show, but months earlier, HLDU ran a smaller bit no less passionate event. Given the appeal of the first weekend, Peter Wingfield and writer Donna Lettow beamed in. It was clear Highlander’s appeal was still growing.
In May 2000, HLDU 3, encouraged by the success and the strong word-of-mouth on their efforts, welcomed Elizabeth Gracen (Amanda), Valentine Pelka (Kronos), sword-master Anthony DeLongis and author Maureen Russell to Brisbane. The growing number of fans appreciated the face-to-face time and the weekend ‘s broad panels and celebrations. Each event was starting to grow.
By the time HLDU 4 took place in Brisbane in 2001, the guest-list expanded once again. This time Peter Wingfield, Elizabeth Gracen, James Horan, Maureen Russell and Roberta Brown were the guests who flew into Australia for a hero’s welcome.
In 2002, it was a case of HLDU going out into the world with the first of the group’s organised tours to Scotland to see, first-hand, some of the beautiful locations and backdrops that the films and the series had used around Fort William and beyond.
In May 2003, HLDU5 was back home in Brisbane. Guests included Peter Wingfield, Jim Byrnes, James Horan and John Mosby (just in time for the latter’s birthday!). Adrian Paul and Elizabeth Gracen joined the event by satellite.
The panels had grown in scope, the attendees had grown in number – with many coming in from far-flung places. There was plenty of opportunity to listen to panels, a screening of Highlander: Endgame and Jim Byrnes and James Horan also entertained the masses with a memorable concert on the Saturday night.
The next event was technically the ‘WALKABOUT‘ event in Los Angeles, in February 2004 which saw a tighter focus on how Highlander was brought to the screen over the years. The LA location allowed an expansion of the Guests of Honour… including Adrian Paul, Peter Wingfield, Elizabeth Gracen, James Horan, David Abramowitz, sword-master and fight choreographer F. Braun McAsh, composer Roger Bellon and Don Paonessa. The celebration included ‘The Immortal Cabaret‘ in which all the guests participated in a show highlighting their various talents.
But it was also important in the evolution of the group itself. With closer and closer ties to Davis-Panzer and the cast and crew, HLDU the organisation became fully-endorsed and formally changed its name to reflect its growing international membership, becoming Highlander Worldwide (HLWW), the international and OFFICIAL Highlander Fan Club.
As the Walkabout was a more specilaised in focus – and the first convention-type event the team had tried outside of Australia, it wasn’t given a numeral like the other conventions, so it was technically HLWW6 that would take place in one of Australia’s most magnificent cities, Sydney. Many of the panels taking place at the famous Maritime Museum… and plenty of time for sight-seeing.
Guests included Adrian Paul, Peter Wingfield, Jim Byrnes and David Abramowitz. John Mosby returned, taking up the mantle of the events’ eMCee.
The seventh convention took place on 10th-12th March 2006 and for HLWW: A CALL TO ARMS, there could be no better place to hold the event than at the Royal Armouries in Leeds, England. A museum full of historical weapons and spectacular exhibits, it displayed a majority of the artefacts and displays that could no longer fit in the original placing at the Tower of London.
Amid the swords, spears and shields, HLWW welcomed Adrian Paul, Peter Wingfield, Richard Ridings, Marcus Testory. Ironically Leeds-born actor and ‘Horseman of the Apocalypse’ Valentine Pelka’s scheduling conflict saw him on the opposite side of the world in Australia, but he joined the event by phone! The event’s very special guest was producer Bill Panzer who discussed the evolution of the Highlander franchise and brought the latest updates on future movie plans.
Accommodation was at the nearby Queens Hotel in the heart of the city (and, conveniently, adjacent to the train station) and the traditional Saturday night concert took place at the hotel, including a new scene/skit that segued into the opening scenes of the classic episode ‘Comes a Horsemen’.
The event was professionally filmed and included as a special featurette on the official release of the Highlander: Best of the Best Collection. Following the convention there was another tour of Scotland’s Highlander locations.
The eighth convention was HLWW: HOMEWARD, which – aptly – took Highlander and its fans to one of the key locations of the television series: Vancouver. (Or, if fans had their way, ‘Seacouver’, given that the city in the series was suppsoed to be halfway between Vancouver and Seattle).
Taking place on the 5th/6th/7th October 2007, guests included Adrian Paul, Peter Wingfield, Jim Byrnes, Elizabeth Gracen, David Abramowitz, F. Braun McAsh, Ken Gord, Gillian Horvath, Donna Lettow and Brandon Jerwa – the comic-book writer responsible for much of Dynamite Comics‘ Highlander stories. It was the first convention to take place after the passing of producer and HLWW ally Bill Panzer and the weekend was treated as a celebration and an opportunity to raise a glass to him because ‘Without you, there wouldn’t be any of us…’
(We were also pleased to welcome Peter Davis to the event, an unofficial guest who was able to join us and observe proceedings and who gave his personal stamp of approval).
Afterwards there was a chance to take a tour of some of the filming locations used in the show with both Adrian and Peter showing and telling how many of the streets, buildings and parks formed a multitude of backdrops throughout the years.
The ninth convention was given the moniker ‘SANCTUARY‘ and took place at The Westin in Los Angeles from 24th-26th April 2009.
The Los Angeles locale was chosen because it continued to be a convenient hub for guests and fans. Many of the guests lived in the area or could fly in directly.
Guests included: Adrian Paul, Peter Wingfield, Elizabeth Gracen, Stan Kirsch, Lisa Howard, Valentine Pelka, James Horan, Marcus Testory, David Abramowitz, Gillian Horvath, Donna Lettow, Don Paonessa, F. Braun McAsh, Brandon Jerwa, Richard Ridings, Ken Gord and Jason Haigh-Ellery.
Though it was not an official HLWW event, Highlander WorldWide helped co-ordinate and host the appearance of several Highlander guests at the massive Paris Comic-Con in 2010, held at the city’s Parc des Expositions.
Back in the city in which they’d spent so much time filming over the years, Adrian Paul, Elizabeth Gracen, Peter Wingfield and Jim Byrnes were there to take questions from the audience about the show and also to discuss another project they had all worked on together the animated film: War of the Worlds: Goliath.
Given our regular guests’ filming schedules and commitments it would be quite a while before the stars aligned to run another convention. It was decided to wait until the twentieth anniversary of the show’s final episode to run the biggest event HLWW had done to date: HLWW:10 -The Gathering.
The dates of 20th-22nd October 2017 was confirmed with the event taking place at the Crowne Plaza in Los Angeles. The guest-list grew over the months to the extent that it was a wonder the event could fit everybody into the weekend schedule. The eventual line-up included Adrian Paul, Elizabeth Gracen, Jim Byrnes, Peter Wingfield, Stan Kirsch, David Abramowitz, F. Braun McAsh, Anthony De Longis, James Horan, Gillian Horvath, Donna Lettow, Ken Gord, Don Paonessa, Morrie Ruvinsky, Richard Martin, Clay Borris, Joe Pearson, Daryl Kyle… with Adrian, Elizabeth, Anthony, Braun and Daryl all running additional workshops.
Given the event’s size and scope, many of the guests and fans felt that this was a watershed moment, a real celebration of the ensemble cast and the loyal fanbase – a real sense of shared community and one that would be hard to top. Sadly, in the following couple of years, Highlander would lose Stan Kirsch, Dan Paonessa and one of the most celebrated fans, writer and organiser John Bierly. With the growing costs of conventions (both in the initial outlay by organisers and in the flights and accommodation needed by fans), it was decided that ‘physical’ conventions would be less easy to run – however HLWW shifted gears… and headed online.