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.

Finally it was time to call it a night (or so we thought). While Jane and Allene drove Laura home, Mary thought it was bed time…but no, the party wasn’t over yet! After Allene and I returned, here came Suzy in her PJ’s with a bottle of “Chocolate wine”. So, of course, we had to toast the Flight Crew Board once again! Then it really was time for lights out and good night to the convention. It was such a great success, and we are already looking forward to our next get together—not as fancy as this convention, but we will definitely be spending more time together soon—all agreed to that. Bonnie and Joyce said they will come from Shoreview and Dorothy will come all the way from Florida when we just say the word.

It was with heavy hearts and tears and hugs that Suzy, Jane, Allene and Mary said good-by (I mean Caio) today. But thanks to email and the FLIGHT CREW SITE we will be communicating regularly and planning our next get together, which will be not too far away.

I don’t think Piero, Gianluca or Ignazio will ever be able to fully comprehend the incredible impact their lives have had on so many others. They are truly shining lights in this troubled world. We are all better people, friends, for having known them in our lives. Their song “WE ARE LOVE” sums it up so beautifully for them. Thank you dear guys for being you!

IL VOLO LOVE,
Mary and Jane