GB.Net Official Conventions and Events

This event was held last fall and was a HUGE success!
The official charity is Australian Cranio-Maxillo Facial Foundation.

Visit here for all the details!

The Convention main event was “Fancy Dress – A Hollywood Night on the Red Carpet” !! The event raised over $8000 for CLIC Sargent and the Scotland Motor Neurone Disease Association thanks to the generosity of our donors, including autographed items from Gerard himself!

AUSTRALIAN CONVENTION – MELBOURNE
October 27 – 29, 2006

This convention will be the first ever official GB.Net convention held in Australia. We are thrilled our Australian members have decided to put together something the fans in their part of the world can enjoy. This is a terrific opportunity for any of those outside of the country to take a vacation to the land Down Under! Click here for more information.

This convention was our first ever and held in Glasgow Scotland. This WILL be an annual event. Below is a brief list of the events and suprises enjoyed by attendees:

• OVER $19500 raised to benefit CLIC Sargent!! This donation was made possible with the pre-sale of convention merchandise and raffle tickets for prizes available at the convention, along with generous contributions from fans who could not attend and a matching contribution by Gerard!!
• A SURPRISE VISIT FROM GERRY’S FAMILY!! We were honored to have his mother, stepfather, two aunts and brother-in-law join us for the evening. A HUGE thanks to all of them for attending!!
• FABULOUS RAFFLE PRIZES!! These included items donated by Really Useful Group, Swarovski, Nagual, Valentine Armouries!! Also include were over 20 items signed by Gerry, including his donation of one of his Phantom masks and one of his costumes worn in the making of 300.
• A VIDEO GREETING AND PHONE CALL FROM GERRY!! Attendees were treated to an exclusive 13 minute video greeting to attendees and a surprise (even to us) LIVE phone call from Gerry!!
• A VARIETY OF TOURS OFFERED AND ENJOYED! Tours were organized by generous volunteers of a variety of different locations throughout Scotland. These included a Burns tour and Dear Frankie tour as well as outings to Shanghai Shuffle and a Burns Night Supper. A surprise for the Dear Frankie tour was a special Q&A with Andrea Gibb, writer of the film and a letter from director Shona Auerbach!! Thank you SO MUCH Andrea and Shona!!

Click here for stories from Glasgow.

A Note from Margaret (Gerry’s Mum):

I have been reading all your posts since the convention and I am just so pleased that you all enjoyed yourselves so much. You really had yourselves a ball and can I just say, SO DID WE, Gerard’s family. We enjoyed ourselves so much at the Convention Night and I do think how lucky my son is to have such wonderful fans supporting and encouraging him, so, once again, grateful thanks to you all.
Can I also just mention that the work Tamara does is magnificent and you are so lucky to have someone like her running things with the help of some wonderful women, some of whom I was lucky enough to meet at the Convention. Sorry, I didn’t get much time to speak with you all! And Debbie, didn’t you do well? I can’t believe the organisation you put in, with the help of course of Paul. What a charming fellow you have for a husband! And the members who organised all those trips, you really are wonderful. Again, I’m sorry I didn’t get more time to speak to all of you.

I have looked at all the photos you have taken of your trips and they are quite beautiful. Now you know why Gerard is so proud of being Scottish and of Scotland. He loves the hills and lochs (he says Glencoe is his favourite – it is so hauntingly beautiful). And he also loves the view from the rear of our house and is always taking pictures of it, as do I, as it constantly changes, with the time of day, the seasons, and so on. He likes to sit out on the balcony, playing Scottish music, looking out at the hills. So, I hope you don’t think I’m being presumptious, but I’m quite a keen photographer and I thought perhaps you would also like to look at the same view, all taken from our balcony. I hope these pictures bring back happy memories of your trip to Scotland.

It was a real privilege meeting each and every one of you and I am glad you all got back home safely. Take care of yourselves and God bless. Margaret

Click here for all the pictures.

THE VERY FIRST CONVENTIONS

Way back when this fan community was small, GB.Net hosted several “Tart Cons” in connection with the theatrical openings of Phantom of the Opera. These were the first fan conventions held in Gerard’s honor…he even made an appearance at the event in NYC.

London Tart Con 2004
In December 2004, a group of fans made the trip to London to support Gerard on the red carpet at the Phantom premiere. These are their stories.

Munich Tart Con 2004
In December 2004, a small, but devoted group of German fans attended the Munich premiere of Phantom of the Opera to support Gerard. These are their stories.

New York City Tart Con 2004
In December 2004, a group of fans made the trip to New York City to support Gerard at the U.S. premiere of Phantom of the Opera. Gerard was gracious enough to attent the Tart Con dinner, held the evening before the premiere, with a small group of 25 fans. Pictures of this event can be found here.