There are a lot of things I love about the union convention. I love being involved in my union. I love getting to meet actors from all over the country. I love (and most convention attendees would agree with me on this one) how much fun we have for the food truck lunch. And I love going to the convention gala.
Not everyone goes to the gala since you do have to pay for it. But since I don’t have to pay for travel, I figure I can splurge a little for a gala ticket. Plus, it’s a tax write-off for me. I’ve attended the gala at each convention I have gone to and I immediately bought a ticket for this year’s gala when they went on sale. Since we are limited with time we can socialize, I do try to take advantage of doing that when I can and the gala is the perfect time for that.
After the work of convention was done on Friday, I got changed into my gala outfit. I don’t dress up that often so I do like dressing up for it. Not everyone changed their clothes between work and the gala, but most people were in cocktail attire or better. And that’s how I dress too.
I’ll apologize in advance that I don’t have a ton of pictures from the gala. I wasn’t focused on that and I only took a few.
The first part of the gala was a casino night! There were different casino games set up for us to play. We all got $500 in fake money to play with and when dinner started we could trade the fake money for raffle tickets. The more money you had, the more tickets you got. I didn’t look too much at the prizes, but there were some fun baskets with union swag, sunglasses, and wine. I’m not a huge gambler and when I do gamble I usually play slots. Slots weren’t an option at casino night so I ended up not gambling and just trading my $500 in fake money for 5 raffle tickets. But I had a lot of fun watching my friends play blackjack. They were awesome and won quite a bit!
Then we headed into the main ballroom area for dinner. I really regret not taking more photos because the room was beautiful. The ballroom is where the Golden Globes are held and it was so much fun getting to be in there to watch the American Scene Awards (which are awards we give at convention to different employers).
There are also golden cards given to amazing members and staff. This year, they went to people that I knew and that made it even more exciting to watch. I loved hearing the speeches celebrating them and the speeches they gave after they won. It was so wonderful and made me even more passionate about union service. If I’m able to do a fraction of what they have accomplished, I will be a success.
After the awards, the raffle happened (I didn’t win anything) and then it was time for dancing. I was already exhausted from a long day, but I at least wanted to see my friends who were also at the gala. I only managed to get one photo with my friends, but at least it’s a good one.
I didn’t take a red carpet photo this year, but my friend Ben has a new iPhone and the camera takes nice portraits so I have one good photo of me from the gala.
The dress that I wore was something that I bought a while ago and never wore. I usually don’t wear such bright colors and wasn’t sure about wearing it. I was thinking of bringing a backup dress, but my friends convinced me not to do so. And I’m glad that I wore it because I got so many compliments about it! Plus, it’s a very comfortable dress and it didn’t require wearing Spanx or other compression stuff underneath to look good. This isn’t the most flattering photo of me, but it gives you an idea about the full outfit since I didn’t do a red carpet photo.
And just like with every other evening of the convention, I tried to head home early because I knew the next morning would be an early one. I wasn’t out too late at the gala, plus the location was much closer to my house, so I was home earlier than I had gotten home from the other galas.
I’m so glad that I continued the tradition and got a ticket to the gala. It really was a great night and I love getting to have something fun in the middle of all the work that we do. It’s the perfect break during the convention and something that I know I’ll attend at all future conventions.
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SAG Awards (or Watching After Knowing The Winners)
The Convention Gala (or An Evening Under and With The Stars)
A Night Of SAG Awards (or Watching Union Unity)
Enjoying The Gala (or Having An Awesome Friend Date)
Time For Convention (or I’m Ready To Get To Work)
A Full Convention Weekend (or Preparation Pays Off)
