A retirement home somewhere just got lucky.
Last Thursday night I got the call. That one call a photographer hates to admit that he loves to hear. Meathead Films marketing guru, principal photographer and high socks extraordinaire Chris James dropped the request, “Soo if you’re not busy.. want to drive four hours.. to shoot our premiere in Burlington? short pause …It means a zero-sum bartab.” Sign me up.
Here in New England we have an obnoxiously long tourist season capped off by foliage hunting leafpeepers. Armed with this knowledge I was still unprepared for the human slalom of retiree photographers I encountered on Rt-16 in the White Mountains enroute to Burlington. As I rounded a particularly sharp set of s-curves my field of vision quickly filled full of high water pants, digital point and shoots, blinding white hair and bleached hightops. A highway full of people, no pavement in sight. Thankfully my ninja-like cross country driving reflexes brought the Subaru into full evasive maneuvers, narrowly avoiding more than a dozen retirees directly in the middle of the major New Hampshire road. A retirement home somewhere just got lucky and I haven’t even made it to the premiere yet.
Friday night and the 6:00pm “Wanderland” showing goes off without a hitch. A full roster of “Wanderland” skiers are in attendance. EMS, Line, Kombi all drop stickers, posters and schwag. The Hammer and Stacey Rachdorf are accompanied by Newschoolers award winning personality Radio Ron at entrance poster signing table. All new Ski the East gear unrolls with great success and hundreds of fan photos are shot by yours truly, red carpet paparazzi style. After a short intermission the 9:00pm show rolls in like thunder. With more than 500 college kids, familys, industry bums and pros in attendance the energy level reaches a maximum. Radio Ron signs some skin (thats skin not skis) and Backseat Jesus graces us with his presence.
The 9:00pm show continues to blows up. Fans respond to some of the most surprisingly fresh lineup of Eastern skiing footage to date. Just as the movie wraps a fan leaps from the seats, rips a banner off the wall and boldly makes a break for the door. Three runners in tow the group disappears outside and moments later Meathead skier Pat Colburn returns, banner slung over his shoulder to the cheers of the crowd. Crime doesn’t pay kids. Raffle giveaways include subscriptions to N’East Magazine, Meathead movie packs, FUR headwear/shirts, Kombi gloves, an EMS jacket and a pair of Line skis handed off by J. Levinthal himself.
A redsox victory topped off the night during the afterparty at Nectar’s. The after, after party took a surprisingly large crew through the streets of Burlington to an undisclosed location. Just as any killer premiere night should end rock, paper, scissors decided the sleeping arrangement back at Meathead Films ground zero. As 4:30 am rolls around, I stumble over backseat jesus on the dark kitchen floor and find my way to bed.
“Wanderland” premiere numero uno in the bag.
( Thanks to all the fans that packed the house, the athletes for showing everyone a good time, the Meathead Sponsors for a raffle prize lineup, UVM for the space, UVM Ski and Board Club, Chris James for the opportunity to get all up the Meathead Bid-ness and fall for giving me a foliage heart-attack! )
