Highlights from the Senoia Summer Dead Bash, chat with Scott Spillman
The Senoia Summer Dead Bash was a great time for fans of The Walking Dead universe to meet up and celebrate art and each other.
Co-creators Scott Spillman and Oscar Rodriguez brought together hundreds of fans to enjoy the Senoia Summer Dead Bash. It was a day full of art, shopping, and meet and greets with actors. It was also an opportunity to support two very special charitable causes.
The evolution of Senoia Summer Dead Bash
Scott and Oscar, along with their supportive significant others, created the idea for fans to come together, mingle, and celebrate beautiful art. The Veranda, a historic bed and breakfast inn in Senoia, GA, was selected as the venue. Scott and Oscar both enjoy drawing popular characters from The Walking Dead universe and more. It was a great time to showcase their work along with other featured artists Xander Berkeley and The Black and White Guy (Robin Overton).
The event grew beyond the art show allowing for a vendor market and opportunities for fans to meet cast members for autographs and photos. The event was open to the public from 1:00 to 4:30 pm for shopping and meeting some of the actors.
Event sponsors Georgia Tour Company and Atlanta Movie Tours chatted with fans and shared fun details about their engaging tours.
Celebrating art
The heartbeat of the event was always the art show according to Spillman. After 5:00 p.m., attendees needed a ticket to the sold-out event. Ticket holders could continue to shop and meet actors, but they were also able to gather under the trees behind the bed and breakfast in a more intimate setting. The art galleries of Scott Spillman, Oscar Rodriguez, and Xander Berkeley opened inside the inn.
Fans met the artists and had conversations about their work. Gorgeous prints and other merchandise displaying their art were available for purchase. It was a great way to learn more about the artists themselves and their techniques one on one.
Additionally, fans who purchased a VIP ticket to the event enjoyed a delicious meal from Nic and Norman’s restaurant. Nic and Norman’s is the popular local eatery owned by Greg Nicotero and Norman Reedus (along with four other owners). Fans gathered in groups to enjoy their meal and chat about the event. Yes, there was a little rain for a spell during dinner. I chose to think of it as an opportunity to cool off a bit.
Beazt Mode NY was also on hand to MC for the party!
Helping fur babies
The event also boasted a fantastic silent auction. There was amazing art, The Walking Dead themed merchandise, trading cards, and other unique items to benefit the event’s charitable causes.
Scott shared heartfelt emotion with me about the two animal rescue organizations that will benefit from the event’s proceeds.
From the beginning without hesitation the event would support Marc Ching’s organization Animal Hope and Wellness Foundation. Scott spoke with great passion about Marc’s heroic efforts to bring awareness and, hopefully, an end to the dog meat trade and the torture utilized. Marc, who is based in California, attended the event and enjoyed learning about the art.
The Senoia Summer Dead Bash founders also wanted to benefit a local rescue charity as well. Event proceeds will also benefit Royal Animal Refuge in nearby Peachtree City. Royal Animal Refuge attended the event with adorable puppies available for adoption.
Visting
It was so much fun watching fans interact with each other and actors from the show. Some actors were available for autographs. Others like Seth Gilliam (Father Gabriel) and Jayson Warner Smith (Gavin) were simply on hand to enjoy the event and mingle with fans as attendees.
Some fans chose to dress in cosplay. Many fans donned the official Senoia Dead Bash t-shirt or other fan gear. We met fellow fans from near and far and heard stories about how fans met each other through the fandom. It was wonderful to learn how many lasting friendships have formed from a shared passion for The Walking Dead.
Fun conversations
Actors such as Carlos Navarro (Alvaro of The Kingdom) and Nicole Barre (Oceanside’s Kathy) were there to sign autographs, pose for fun photos, and get to know the fans in an intimate setting. The Hilltop was well represented with Jeremy Palko (Andy), Peter Zimmerman (Eduardo), James Chen (Kal), and Karen Ceesay (Bertie). They had fun getting to know fans, laughing and sharing fun stories from set.
For example, I had no idea that Jeremy Palko had to lay in fake blood for about four hours for his death scene as Andy. And the blood was sticky! Basically, his head was stuck to the ground and they had to eventually peel him off the floor. Everyone had such a great sense of humor about the oddities of filming an apocalyptic story in the oppressive Georgia heat.
Even several of those mean Saviors like Jared (played by Joshua Mikel) were on hand to reveal just how nice the actors themselves are! It’s always fun to see the contrast of the actors versus their Savior characters. I mean, how dare Nelson throw a grenade at Carol?! But Jake Kearney the actor is delightful!
Next: When will the Fear the Walking Dead timelines converge?
Thank you so much to Scott Spillman for sharing some background about the inaugural Senoia Summer Dead Bash event! He also revealed that his favorite character from The Walking Dead series to paint so far has been King Ezekiel. The unique texture of his dreadlocks, the fur on his coat, and his jewelry all added to the complexity and richness of the drawing. It is most definitely a stunning piece!
Be sure to check out more coverage from the Senoia Summer Dead Bash in our chat with the other event co-founder, artist Oscar Rodriguez. Follow hashtags #SenoiaDeadBash and #SenoiaSummerDeadBash for more fun photos and stories from the fun event!