Awesome Anushika Heads To The Hollywood Show and Fulfills a Childhood Fantasy… She Gets To Meet The Von Trapp Kids From The Sound Of Music! Autographs! Photos and more!

As I wrote about earlier, okay yesterday, this weekend was the Hollywood Show in Burbank and the story below by Awesome Anushika really personifies what the show can do for people. Where else can you meet the cast of your favorite show from the 1980’s or 1990’s or in this case The Von Trapp kids from The Sound Of Music!

Now, I had no idea that was such a huge deal for Anushika but man I found out really fast. Check out her full fandom encounter after the jump! It’s so sweet and I’m so glad she was able to meet all the kids. Like I told her at the event, where else could you do something like that?

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Today I fulfilled a wish that I never ever thought even in my wildest dreams that could come true! This experience took me all the way back to when I was a little Sri Lankan girl only about 3 or 4 years old. It was one of those things that bridged the gap between all generations in my family. One thing we all dearly loved, enjoyed and cherished growing up. I’m talking about none other than the timeless classic, The Sound of Music! =)

We all watched this every year. I guess it was one of our traditions growing up. Sound of Music was EVERYWHERE! I remember, we learnt all the songs in preschool, sang and reenacted scenes with friends, and Do Re Mi was one the very first songs I learnt how to play in the piano. These songs were all around us growing up. I’m a HUGE Fan!!!! I was obsessed with this movie before ANYTHING. Yes I mean ANYTHING and ANYONE, even Johnny Depp! Lol… =D If you know me, you know how big this is…

Thanks to work, I haven’t been able to go out and do much lately. So I’ve been trying to check out events during the weekends. The Hollywood show is one of those events where you go in and meet celebs for a price. Sounds awful right? It’s more like a business transaction. I understand that the proceedings go to charity, but still I personally love meeting and talking to celebs in a less controlled environment. It’s the experience that counts. However, this show happens to be the perfect place to go meet celebs that aren’t in the spotlight anymore, the ones who you will not bump into in events. I think Pinky’s detailed description of her experience at this show says it all.

Anyway, I checked out the event to see if there’s anyone interesting coming up and what I saw left me completely speechless!!! =D The 7 Von Trapp kids are reuniting to celebrate the 45th Anniversary of The Sound of Music!!! OMG!!!! Is this really happening??? The decision was made. I messaged Pinky right away and was thrilled to hear that not only her, but Lindsay was also planning on going to the show. YAY!!! Pinky was excited about Laverne & Shirley, while Lindsay was thrilled about Annie. It was awesome because we all had different missions. I started counting down the days…

9:30AM: The day is finally here! ^_^ I got off work earlier than expected, so I get to the convention center an hour earlier. I text Pinky and Lindsay, they were on their way. As I was waiting up front I could see collectors slowly heading towards the show. It’s funny how you could spot a collector so easily.

10:45AM: I spot Lindsay! YAY! =D We both head over to the show and got our wristbands. Pinkster still on her way…

11:00AM: It’s Cody! It’s always nice to bump into other awesome collectors. We all get in and its pretty congested.

11:15AM: After getting a bit lost and turned around, Cody suggested we get a map. The map really didn’t help much. Lol… Anyway, we continued to walk around. Lindsay and Cody really wanted to meet Aileen Quinn who played the famous adorable red head, Annie.

11:30AM: Lindsay and I didn’t have cash, so Cody showed us the way to the ATM. After getting cash, we walked back to start our hunt.

11:45AM: We found Annie! =D She was a complete sweetheart. Lindsay got one of her books signed and Aileen took pictures with her and Cody. Now that was an Awesome start.

12:00PM: Cody wanted to meet Tanya Roberts, who played Midge in That 70’s Show. We all go over to her table. She was nice, but wasn’t too talkative. He takes a picture with her and gets his box set signed.

12:15PM: Cody goes back to his car to leave some of his stuff. Lindsay and I head over to the long hallway where they had the set up for the entire Von Trapp kids.

12:30PM: OMG OMG OMG!!!!!!! =D This is SO EXCITING!!!!! All seven of them were sitting from the oldest to the youngest. Liesl (Charmian Carr), Louisa (Heather Menzies-Urich), Friedrich (Nicholas Hammond), Kurt (Duane Chase), Brigitta (Angela Cartwright), Marta (Debbie Turner), and last but not least, Gretl (Kym Karath) They were all there!!! It really didn’t feel real. The Von Trapp 7….right in front of my own eyes!!!

12:45PM: We join the long line. They have some amazing group pictures and The Sound of Music Family Scrap Book for sale. After much debate, I decided to buy the book and get that signed. I mean, when will I ever get to see them all together like this. This might be my first and only chance of getting anywhere near any of the cast.

1:00PM: I was next in line. I got my book and headed over to greet Charmian! ^_^ I could feel my ears getting red and I was trying to keep it all together. Her eyes were crystal blue and she was absolutely gorgeous. I started mumbling lol…I couldn’t stop thanking her for doing this and told her how much I LOVE this movie. She was SO Sweet!!! She asked me who to make this out to and I started spelling out my name. Sucks having a long complicated name, but it did pay off at the end! 😉 Since it was like an assembly line, I couldn’t talk that much, they had to keep the line moving. Heather greeted me with a big smile and I started mumbling again lol… I told her that they have loads of fans in Sri Lanka and that we all grew up watching and singing these songs. She was so sweet and thanked me for coming out for this event.

1:05PM: While I was mumbling, Lindsay took out a piece of paper and wrote my name on it, so I could just show them that instead of spending time spelling it out each time. Thanks Lindsay! ^_^ I’m so glad she was with me. I totally wanted her to take picture while I was getting my book signed, but pictures weren’t allowed. =/ Sadness!

Anyway, then I head over to Nicholas. He is still handsome as ever! =) Such a big smile and a bubbly personality. He thanked me and told me he had such a great time making this scrap book and hope that I’ll enjoy it as much as him. Again, I told him how much I LOVE the movie and thanked him for doing this. Duane was waiting for me next. He is SO Adorable!!!!! ^_^ I can’t believe he still has those cute cheeks lol…He looked at my book and tried to pronounce my name. He was really close, and he got it the second time around! =D I was like, sorry I know it’s pretty long and weird lol…and he was like, oh no…I like it. Once you say it out loud, that’s exactly the way you write it. I LOVE him!!!! Then I walked over to Angela. How can I forget those sharp eyes, you know its Brigitta! She said I have a lovely name and asked its meaning, and unfortunately I had to tell her I had no idea lol…I told her that all I know is that my grandpa gave it to me. She started laughing and told me I should make my own meaning since it’s such a unique name. I thank her for doing this and she thanked me back for coming to see them. Debbie was next. She was a complete sweetheart as well. I said my spiel and she was so happy to see me all excited. Last but not least, I walked over to Kym…..It’s Gretl!!!! ^_^ The youngest Von Trapp. She was adorably nice and was happy to see the paper with my name. She was complaining how hard it is to read some of her “siblings” awful handwriting sometimes lol…

They were all incredibly nice and friendly. I couldn’t have asked for anything else. The event organizers were about to take them out for their 15min break, so we were there right on time to get them all.

1:15PM: I’m sad I couldn’t take any pics of them, so we head over to the banner and took pictures in front of it. Better than no pictures what so ever, right? =) My ears were still red and I was still a bit shaky. We reunite with Cody and head towards the hall.

1:40PM: Pinky is here with Sammy!!!! =D Yay!!! She was making her rounds in the hall. After buying the book, I was all tapped out, so I had to head to the ATM with Cody. We walked in to the hotel, and some guy who awfully looked familiar got out of the elevator. We both froze and just looked at each other lol….It was frikking Jason Mraz!!!!!!! =D OMG!!! Cody called out his name as he was walking out and YES!!! Its Jason!!!! He took pictures with both of us and asked us what we were up to today…..he was totally chill and super friendly. That was an unexpected surprise. SCORE!

2:00PM: We all head back in again. I really wanted a picture with Verne Troyer, the famous Mini Me so we approach his table. He is a LOT smaller than you think. When he said nice meeting you and shook my hand, I felt like Paul Bunyan!

2:05PM: Is it really him??? OMG Mikey is here!!!! Lol…Never expected to see him! =P Anyway, it’s always Awesome bumping into him! ^_^ I started seeing a lot of familiar faces, and we all had our different missions.

2:15PM: We went over to Linda Blair’s table. She is extremely fan friendly and takes her time to talk with fans. I’m a huge fan of Horror movies and The Exorcist is one of the classics. I can’t pass on a chance to meet Regan! =D

2:30PM: After a lot of waiting, we finally got to meet her. Cody is big fan of Linda and this wasn’t his first time meeting her. She totally remembered him and started talking to him. That was SO Awesome!!! She autographed one of the shots from the movie for me. So cool!

2:45PM: I keep hearing announcements about cast photos. Mikey and Pinky went to get their photos taken with the Laverne and Shirley cast. I was still debating on if I should get a cast shot with the 7 Von Trapp kids. Can I really afford it???

2:55PM: AAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!! What should I do????? I keep fighting with my inner voice…. Oy Vey!

3:00PM: They were about to start the shoot with the Von Trapps. The announcement kept repeating and I finally gave in! Lol…I went and got my ticket for the photo and got in line! =D

3:15PM: I was next in line….I walked over pretty much jumping with happiness saying hi and waving, and guess what??? They were all like, Ohhh….it’s the girl with the pretty name! O….M….G…..They frikking remembered me!!!!!! I just LOST it and I was pretty much in Sound of Music Heaven lol =D I couldn’t have asked for a better experience. This day just reached beyond AWESOMENESS!!! I’m surprised I didn’t cry…They all thanked me again as I was leaving.

3:30PM: I got my printed photo and headed home on a cloud of pure joy! ^_^

Until next time….So Long, Farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, Good Bye!