‘Supernatural’ Denver Convention Highlights: Mules, Mad Libs, and the Lemon Panel
by Tanya Aug 24, 2018
Last weekend Creation Entertainment brought the stars of Supernatural back to Denver, Colorado much to the delight of area fans. The cast of Supernatural visited Denver once previously in the fall of 2015. Although a smaller con in terms of size, Denver fans impressed the guests with their enthusiasm, leading Jared Padalecki to comment, “I think we should come back [to Denver]!”
Fans witnessed several unique happenings at Denver Con throughout the weekend. Due to a scheduling conflict, Misha Collins attended Friday only. Collins was in high spirits, however, and challenged attendees to register to vote and get others to vote as a gift for his August 20th birthday. Collins said he felt everyone should use whatever platform they have, no matter the size, to try to do good.
One of Saturday’s highlights was a panel featuring Rachel Miner, Kim Rhodes, Brianna Buckmaster, Ruth Connell, and surprise guest Alaina Huffman. These amazing women discussed everything from how to support one another to the many uses of lemons. The Lemon Panel will certainly go down in con history as a special combo of inspiring quotes and dirty jokes. The lemon theme is a reference to a fan who was asking all the stars for a senior quote. Misha Collins reportedly told her “When life gives you lemons, make ice cream.” When the young woman asked Brianna for a quote and gave her the context, Brianna said “When life gives you lemons, throw them at [expletive] Misha Collins!”
On the inspirational side, in response to a fan’s question Kim Rhodes said “Don’t make assumptions. Listen and show up for each other. Because it makes all the difference in the world.” In a back and forth about overcoming anxiety, Rachel Miner shared one of her biggest fears. When Kim Rhodes reassured her and there was not a dry eye in the house.
For those who are unfamiliar with New Leash, they take dogs who are scheduled to be put down and rescue them. They then partner the dogs with inmates and ask the inmates to train the dogs to be service animals. The average rate of recidivism for those who’ve been incarcerated nation-wide is 75-80%. In other words, most people who have been in prison re-offend or recommit a crime within five years of release. Participants who train dogs with New Leash on Life have a 19% recidivism rate. That’s amazing!
Sunday was J2 day. Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles amused the crowd with entertaining banter that made their hour-long afternoon panel fly by. Jensen Ackles pretended to be exasperated by Jared’s endless discussion of a fun fact he’d learned about mules. Apparently, Jared recently learned that mules, the offspring of a horse and a donkey, are sterile. He spent most of the previous day reiterating this fact to Jensen. Watching Padalecki and Ackles interact on stage, it’s clear why Supernatural is currently filming a record 14th season: they really do seem like brothers.
Throughout the weekend, one fan at Denver Con used her question time to play Mad Libs with the stars. A photo of the finished product is included below. Here’s hoping Creation brings Supernatural back to Denver in the future. We’ll have our lemons ready. Thank you again to Toni Ann Licata for sharing her photos!
Courtesy of Christa Dening
