Gang, Remember, you can click on the pictures to see greater detail – Marie
It was all we had hoped for, and more! We are so fortunate to have 4 Flight Crew members who live relatively close (in the same state) and had the joy of meeting one another throughout the last year and a half. As we came off our “summer high” of attending the Milwaukee concert together, it was not long before we knew we needed to do something else IL VOLO related. Just didn’t want to let go of the great times we were having seeing Piero, Gianluca and Ignazio sing…..as well as being together as friends! The whole idea of a “convention” came about quickly and all plans fell into place…as if it was MEANT TO BE.
We were lovingly hosted by Suzy. She had for us a perfect hospitality room for our events. Jane, Allene, and Mary arrived on Friday afternoon, and the four of us got busy setting up pictures, posters, and memorabilia, including scrapbooks of concerts in Detroit, Milwaukee, and the MOA.
Joyce brought a video presentation of her photos from the Elgin concert. There were Beanie Babies with tags saying Minnesota IL VOLO Convention 2014 and framed 4×6 photos of the boys at various times of their careers for everyone to take home.
We immersed ourselves in IL VOLO music and got things ready for the next day. That job being done we then sat down with a glass of wine and had a great visit.
These are extraordinary women! We didn’t know each other before meeting on the FLIGHT CREW SITE and have become best of friends. We met Suzy at the MOA and later again at the concert in Milwaukee. Our bond of passion for IL VOLO has bound us all together like old (I mean that in the best sense) friends.
Saturday morning we were joined by Bonnie and Joyce who we hadn’t met before, but being true IL VOLO fanatics, they blended right in and we immediately felt like old friends.
Then came Dorothy, who we had met at the Milwaukee concert. She came ALL THE WAY FROM FLORIDA, and we were so happy to see her again.We thought some fun games would be a great way to celebrate the joy of these three young men in our lives. We played, Pin the mustache on Ignazio.
(poor guy never did end up with a proper looking stach!)…
We also made words from “IL VOLO CONVENTION”, …Scrambled Song Titles, …and we had a hoot of a time writing captions for a group of pictures of the guys in various settings: everything from Gian sunbathing in his speedos to Ignazio grabbing Piero around the neck in Surrender! Lots of fodder for funny comments. Wish we could share them all with you.
We were going to order in lunch, but had set out an amazing array of snacks, furnished by the attendees…
CAPRICE KABOBS, ANTIPASTO, PROSCIUTTO PANINO, RUM SOAKED GRAPES, ITALIAN CHEX MIX, TUSCAN CHEESE SPREAD, ITALIAN ROAST BEEF OLIVE ROLL-UPS, IL VOLO CAKE AND VINO!
Why on earth would we order out with a feast like that right before us?? We also canceled our dinner reservations at a lovely Italian restaurant as we were too busy still feasting on our own goodies and playing IL VOLO PICTIONARY!!
Dear Laura joined us in the afternoon as we were oohing and aahing over the Buon Natale and Mas Que Amor Special Edition DVD’s (The one with the Mexican girls with the blinking bows in their hair).
Lots of sharing of experiences and thoughts about our guys. Jane wowed us all with her game prizes that included (the now famous) samples of that heavenly cologne Iganzio was wearing at the Milwaukee Meet and Greet…the one that permeated her shirt until it wafted away overnight. Leave it to Jane to find those cute little sample sizes on Ebay!
We looked at pictures and enjoyed a trifold of photos called, “Do you remember when—?” The board of photos were depicting way back to when Gianluca won THE contest when they were young, all the way up to when they were showing off their manly chests at the gym. We agreed that while they all looked pretty manly, Ignazio won hands down for the MANLIEST. Jane had prepared signs for us to offer a very special TOAST wishing our lovely Board ladies a Happy First Anniversary of the site!
We had a ball playing IL VOLO PICTIONARY. Jane had prepared topics that were hilarious, and we cracked up trying to figure out the drawings. The hit was Laura’s depiction of NUTELLA, which showed a stick figure Gian stuffing his mouth with black scribbles and a drawing of Mr. Peanut. Hard to believe that it took us so long to figure that out, but Suzy finally got it. We laughed until our faces ached over that game.
I can’t believe I missed this party!!
Beautiful. Sounds like a blast. Wish I could have been with you all. IlVolo forever.
Thank you for sharing. I love reading your stories and seeing the pics you post. Looks like you ladies had a wonderful time. Date: Sat, 16 Aug 2014 15:51:17 +0000 To: b2g1947@hotmail.com
I thought I had it bad!!You girls take the cake!! Literally!!!I lived in South St. Paul as a child, but haven’t been back that far north in a very long time!! The party sounds wonderful! I am the other Dorothy aka Dot! In Texas!!Keep on partying and posting! I love it!!!!
Once again you Ladies amaze me! What a bash! Looks like I missed the party of the year!
It was sweet of you to honor the board. Thank you very much.
One of my most treasured memories was meeting you all in Milwaukee. How lucky to have met Mary for a second time! Laura and Suzy, missed you both by a hair. Next time for sure!
Now…pass around some of that wine!!!
You have to try the chocolate wine, Marie…”ChocoVine–the taste of dutch chocolate and fine red wine.” (I ought to get a commission for that.) The only thing that the party was missing was YOU…next time.
CHOCOLATE Wine with you all, in a room surrounded by pictures of my Boys!! It is what dreams are made of!!!
It looks like you ladies had quite the bash!! You all look wonderful and getting away with some friends for a while is what every girl needs.
I loved the cake and would like a glass of that wine. 🙂
Thank-you all for honoring the Board,I loved that picture!
You are the best Ilvolovers in the WORLD!!!
You ladies know how to party in the best way with IL VOLO! My hope is that Myron pulls it off and gets IL VOLO in Las Vegas and then the party will really rock!
Our local Il Volo organization has a meeting this week with the PBS station manager to add to the plans (fingers crossed) that they do a fund drive while they are here for PBS. One more reason for them to be here. I hope all of you keep your fingers crossed as well.
It is so great to hear about this convention. You look like you had great time.
FINGERS CROSSED, Myron!!! 🙂
Just found this delightful story of the convention! You all had such a wonderful time & sharing made me feel like I enjoyed the fun & games also! Love your version of pin the mustache on Ignazio!!! Hilarious! Love that our sweetheart, Ignszio won the manliest contest!!! I so love all three but this appeared to be Ignazio’s hour! Would love to meet you all but will have to settle for being friends on this site! I am celebrating my 86 th birthday with friends & family at a restaurant tonite! Actual date is the 28th but the college students will be gone to school then! We Are Love!!!
Hope you had a happy birthday. Mine is Aug 26th and I will be 51 so it is nice to have an ilvolover close to my birthday. On our birthdays we should each get a day with Il Volo.
Congratulations on your 86th birthday, Anne!
Happy birthday on the 28th Anne Q!!! Mine is the very next day (29th) I turn a happy 61. Life is sweeter with IL Volo in it!
What a great time you must have had taking/sharing Il Volo memories. Wish I had been there. Maybe next time. Thanks and love to all.
That convention looks like it was fun. Wish I could have been there to meet you all. I read all about you adventures and see your pictures. I am in Florida and don’t have many Il Volo fans around me in Tampa. Thanks again for sharing your good times with us and letting us feel like we are there with you.
Love the pictures and the stories, sounds like you all had a great time, I would love to just meet up with at least one Toronto fan, hope you can all get together again, it’s nice that you don’t live too far from each other, thanks again for sharing.
What a grand time you all must have had. Frieda, if the guys are ever in the Tampa area, i might be able to slip in a visit to my daughter and grandson. I tell my husband that I don’t want him to go to a concert with me beause he would spoil it for me. That is a long story.
Ladies, I thoroughly enjoyed reading about the “convention” and commend you on your selection of games, food, and of course, wine! So glad you had such a great time!
I loved reliving our Il Volo Convention 2014. There is no doubt that we will get together and do this again real soon!
Thanks for sharing your fun “Convention”. Happy Birthday Anne. I will be 79 before the end of the year and glad to see that I am not the only senior that has lost her mind. I wonder if on some slow month we could not have a sharing of “the songs we would like the boys to sing”.
TERESE, THAT IS A GREAT IDEA!! I’M SURE ALL OF US HAVE SOME SONGS IN MIND THAT WE WOULD LOVE TO HEAR OUR GUYS SING. BOARD MEMBERS, WHAT DO YOU SAY?
I say it’s a great idea! We’ll do it as soon as things slow down. Thanks Terese and Laia!
Thanks for posting our story Marie! We are SO HOPING there might be a convention in Las Vegas for ALL of us to attend, someday!!! That would be the ultimate !! And yes, if you have never had the pleasure of tasting chocolate wine…DO SO…it’s great! 🙂 Happy Birthday Anne!
Sounds like you guys had a blast!
Wine tasting with all the Itialian inspired food…sounds yummy!
And thank you for the toast! It was so thoughtful. We love being here with you guys, too. 🙂
Thank you Il Volo Conventioneers for sharing the party of the year with us !! Good food, wine, games and passionate Ilvolovers !! What more could you possibly ask for except having our boys actually there partying with you !! I know they would have loved it !!
Happy Birthday Connie and Anne !! No matter what our age ( I will be 71 next month ) we are all definitely young at heart thanks to our three sweeties who enhance our lives everyday with their beautiful voices and hearts.
Thanks Joanie, it appears there are quite a few of us that have birthdays in August. Yes, it is true, no matter what the age number we are all young at heart thanks to IL VOLO
Are some of the nicest Il Volo fans celebrating birthdays in August or what? Mine is the 26th !!I will be 83!!!most days I don’t feel it!!!Thanks for all the fun!!!aka Dot!
Mine is the 25th! 🙂
Dorothy, mine is the 26, too, and I’m two years older–do the math. Not too old to enjoy following the boys. I’ve followed them to Milwaukee and Detroit and will keep following as long as I can. They inspire me and keep me young.
I have been to many convention but none sounds as fun as this! You ladies of MN Flight Crew rock! I specially love the pictionary game – Nutella is so funny. Oh and the cake just looks too yummy (if you know what I mean😉)!
I am surprise to see my name! Thank you for the toast! It is truly amazing to see how three young men bring different people together even from Florida (Dorothy – YAY!).
Lastly, happy birthday to all the August babies!
Deanne sends this to Marie and says eat your heart out, He’s mine as you can see. http://youtu.be/iNtls_I700w
I just checked this out and now I am drooling, Wow!!!
Well Deanne I got it as you can see. By 1.06 I was drooling. It turned to profound slobber by 2.0. Had there been a 3.0 I would have fainted. However!!! He’s, more than ever, MINE!
P.S. Darn you, Deanne! Kelly gave it to me late last night. Couldn’t sleep!
OK…Kelly says, “Posse out…” lol I’m not getting in the middle of this…more than I already have… 😉
Nope can’t get in between Ignazio and us.:)
Deanne, that is priceless!!! The convention sounded like a blast. I hope to meet some of you ladies at a concert or two.
This is a fantastic report of our wonderful IL VOLO convention. Lots of great pictures and funny stories–all true!. Thank you for doing both the get together and the report. Can’t wait o get together again. Also HAPPY BIRTHDAYS to all the commenters with August birthdays. What a group!
Wow! Now, that’s what I call a convention! Some real ingenuity among Il Volovers, that’s for sure. There were many of us who came from all over the country to attend the concert in Nashville this past June, and we did have a super time, but we didn’t have as much time together as you ladies did. Il Volo fans have to be the most devoted…and creative…fans in the world.
HAPPY,HAPPY Birthday to ALL the August Ilvolovers !!
Here’s another idea, board ladies! We can compile a calendar with all our birthdays on it.
You are such an idea person Penina! If I give you the “vehicle” and the topic space will you make one?
See my email Marie!
Gotcha!
Happy birthday to all the ladies with August birthdays. Convention sounded like a real hit. With so much success you will probably getogether every few months, wonderful.
Myron am keeping fingers & toes crossed regarding the getogether with the guys.
Deanne what a great video of Ignazio. He has the most beautiful smile than any other man I have ever seen.
Loretta, I so agree!! Too bad he’s still mine!
One of this dimple is mine . . .
Loretta, have to agree with you 100% about Ignazio’s smile! Have to say though that Gianluca has been flashing some pretty spectacular smiles himself lately. Very nice to see!
I agree with you too Kitty. I just love it when he smiles! And you know, I like that little facial hair he’s sporting now!
Me too, Loretta. That scruffy look is so Italian!! Even Piero seems, maybe, to be getting in the groove.
Just sat and watched the entire Taormina concert. Wonderful, wonderful. I have now added yet another star to the ever expanding list of adjectives to describe our guys, extraordinary showmen. Timing is perfect, performance relaxed and entertaining, relates to and engages audience, interacts and shows support and love for each other. Guess I never realized just how professional they are. Amazing, at 19 and 21 yrs old! Maybe I couldn’t get passed the handsome part!! You think? Watch Michele T. all through the show, and he was so proud! Didn’t realize either, that Piero’s and Gianluca’s grandfathers were not only there, but were introduced and hugged. What a night for them, and everyone!
I watched it again last night (#5!!). It is a beautiful performance–every time I watch I notice something else–the way they supported each other, the interaction between Ignazio and Piero was touching, the way they acknowledge Antonella Clerici, the love shining on their faces throughout. the way they loosen up as the show goes on, until they are in genuine silly mode at the end. And of course, their outstanding performances!! I just love this concert! Hmm. I think I may have said that before!
What is the whole name of the concert? I am trying to get it on Google. Thank you!
Its Il Volo Taormina 2014. The one that is 2 hours long.The complete concert. Here is the link:
http://youtu.be/dkRXNM9106A
It’s wonderful!!
Something happened to that link. It’s the concert posted by Guiseppe Magli.
Thank you so much. I can’t wait!
I hope you enjoy it as much as I do–I’m listening to it again as I write!
Me too!
That convention sounds like an ilvolover’s dream come true! Il Volo themed everything! 🙂
Hello from Dearborn, MI! Convention sounds amazing, wish I could have gone…I’ve seen many things about the meet/greets and was lucky to attend the concert at Freedom Hill on June 19. Someone a few rows ahead of me had a fleece blanket with their picture on it – was that one of you? 🙂 I was not lucky enough to do the meet/greet, but I have some pictures from it from another friend. I was just wondering if someone could give me some more details on what to expect at one, as I plan to be at the next one, if they come back to Detroit around Christmas, or certainly next year – hopefully! As far as presents go, do you think they really like all the stuff people give them and if you give them a letter/note, do you think they read them? Someone said there are the “guards” there that watch things very closely regarding the gifts, etc. First post here. Been following since the current best night of my life – night of June 19! You seem to be a great bunch of ladies! Thank you – Jana
Jane, Mary, Suzy, Allene – you ladies we’re the talk on the town regarding the beautiful convention. The cake was so beautiful and the food was so tasty.
The prizes were just wonderful. Pictionary was so much fun. I am still laughing. Suzy was laughing because one of her clues was “Ignazio’s Dimples”. We all laughed so hard on this clue. I am still laughing!!!
The food, the cake, the elegant music is all divine. The friendship will be lifelong. I hope to see all of you very soon. I love you all!!
Laura, you all had such a wonderful time! I was happy to finally see a picture of you too. Count me in next time. All of you…stay away from those dimples. They’re spoken for!