2002

TWIN PEAKS FESTIVAL 2002
REVIEW
BY SUE


THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES
Written September 1st 2002
Twin Peaks Festival 2002 is now just a fond memory to all of us who traveled to North Bend and Snoqualmie to partake in this annual meeting of the minds. Although we thought we had planned for every possible variable, still the occasional eruption of Murphy's Law clogged our best laid plans.

On the last day of the Festival the group was too scattered around the picnic site and in the woods to make a formal farewell. Maybe a portable megaphone will work for next year?

Until then, let me offer a hearty "thank you!" to all of you for making your travel plans, saving your hard-earned funds, coordinating efforts with people you never met before, and then, finding your way up to pastoral North Bend. Your mutual sense of affection for the work of David Lynch, particularly Twin Peaks, was the glue that held the weekend together.

The camaraderie of this group was a wonder to behold! When was the last time you found yourself at a group function with 200 guests -- say like a wedding or a class reunion -- and were so able to connect with the others in attendance!? One would have thought you had known each other for a lifetime.

Friday, August 16

TWIN PEAKS TOWN HALL SIGN-IN

The morning's first surprise came at 8:30 when I received a message on my cell phone from Chris Mulkey. It seems he had a screen test that afternoon and would be unable to make the festival. Cancellations of the actors are always difficult but all the more so when it's minutes before the festival begins. So after a flurry of calls to cancel limousines on both ends and cancel his hotel room, we were off to the Sallal Grange Hall for the first of the weekend's events.

I felt like I got to know most of you in some small way via e-mails before the festival. When the time came to actually match a face with a screen name at the sign-in, it was a real treat. Only rarely did my mental images match up with the real person.

Those with screen names from the DavidLynch.com or the Twin Peaks Gazette boards brought an extra burst of excitement when you'd read, "Wikkid Game" or "Ordinary Madness" or "Lost Eraser" you'd think, ahhhhh, so that's who wrote that funny post! Gazeteers were further identifiable by their small blue roses pinned on shirts; after the festival, they were further marked by blue rose tattoos imprinted at a late night session in downtown Seattle arranged by Chris "One Suave Folk" Mathews.

RETURNING FESTIVAL-GOERS

It was also wonderful to see the "old-timers" who have come one or more times in the past. In case you didn't figure it out, the number under your hometown on the name badge was the number of festivals you had attended. About 30% of you were returnees to the Twin Peaks Festival with Brad and Carmen Smith of Bothell, WA being the true champions with a solid 10 consecutive years of attendance! They also won the award (had there been one!) for the first tickets purchased first thing in the morning on the day our registration began!

You people came from Washington, Oregon, California, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, Montana, Colorado, Missouri, Kansas, Texas, Maryland, Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Canada, England, Spain, Norway, Japan and Australia. Something the matter with those Oklahomans, Kentuckians and Mississipians to point out a few un-represented states???

FESTIVAL STAFFERS

Most of our staff arrived on Wednesday or Thursday and helped get the Sallal Grange Hall and the Barn set up and decorated. Over at the Barn, the temperature on the 2nd level was probably approaching 90 degrees on Thursday afternoon, but that wasn't the only impediment to decorating! Leslie Kirkland and Jolene Petty found themselves evading a sonar diving bat who took a proprietary interest in the construction of their Black Lodge! Owner, Lenard Benson, told us he had taken his shotgun to a bat earlier that morning and to let him know if he was needed for another blast. The bat toyed with the girls for a while until he disappeared into the rafters. He did everyone a favor by not showing up later that evening.

One by one we met up and by Friday morning, nothing was left to do but open the doors, turn on the music, lay out the donuts, set up the coffee and start the Sign In.


THANKS TO THESE MEMBERS OF THE TP FEST 2002 STAFF

Dave Burnett Robin Garrels
Adam Harding Gene Kirk
Leslie Kirkland Brian Kursar
Chris Mathews Renair Milstein
John Mitchell Jolene Petty
Michael Rose Pete Vilmur
Nola Weaver
SOUVENIR ITEMS

So many of you asked about the large and incredible paintings of Twin Peaks characters. All but one were sold the first day! They were created by the same team who brought you the "Black Lodge" upstairs at the Barn and the overall decoration AND the great selection of t-shirts and tank tops. Every time I spotted a festival-goer walking around North Bend in one of those shirts, I felt proud of their handiwork.

The artists are Leslie Kirkland and Jolene Petty from Ashland, Oregon, and they were assisted in sales by Renair Milstein (in a white Winkies tank top) of Los Angeles. If you didn't get a chance to get a shirt or two at the Festival, you will soon be able to purchase them directly on this website.

The t-shirts, the "This Would Look Nice on Your Wall" FWWM prints and blue roses flew off the tables as the group of travelers merged into the main room while the CDs of Lynch music filled the air of the Sallal Grange Hall. Thanks to Brian Kursar and Josh for putting together all the CDs for the sign-in, the Barn, Twede's Café and the Bus Tour.

Julee Cruise's new CD, The Art of Being a Girl , was available for Twin Peaks Festival-goers slightly ahead of its general release date of August 20. She autographed them later that night and on Saturday.

John Mitchell of Wrapped in Plastic magazine and Next Step Productions, offered rare autographed back issues of WIP and special festival edition VHS copies of Richard Green's production of the Jack Nance documentary, "I Don't Know Jack" and Richard's film, "The Seven-Year Zig-Zag."

TRIVIA CONTEST

Once the sign-in details were taken care of it was time for the Annual Trivia Competition. Many returning competitors joined in. This year there were three judges (Robin Garrels, Adam Harding and Charlene Mayo) to give a thumbs up/down depending on their assessment of the answers. They were more than fair!

Josh determined the level of difficulty based on his parent's paltry knowledge of the questions: if we could easily answer, it was obviously an easy question = Level 1; if we had a clue, or if one or the other of us got it right = level 2. No clue = Level 3.

Before long we were down to three finalists who were asked to give a final wager before answering the Final Trivia question: who were the only four characters/actors to appear in every episode of the series? (answer at end of column)

TRIVIA CONTEST WINNERS

1st Rob Lindley (Ft. Lewis, WA)

2nd Sean Lombardo (San Diego, CA) Winner '98 Trivia Contest

3rd Celeste Paradise (Seattle, WA)

By 2:30 we were out of the Grange Hall and everyone went off to make preparations for the Celebrity Kick-Off Dinner.

CELEBRITY KICK-OFF DINNER, ONE-EYED JACKS CASINO NIGHT, JULEE CRUISE LIVE!

The Celebrity Kick-Off Dinner was scheduled to begin at 6:00 pm but there were many early birds and eager beavers. By the time I got there at 5:30, there was already a sizable crowd. The barbeque was well in gear with Catering by John of Redmond grilling up a storm. Here is what was served:


DINNER MENU

Does This Mean I’ll Never Grow Up? ASPARAGUS
Cowboy & the FRENCH CARROTS
Waldo's GRAPE TOMATOES
W/Dill Dip

They’re Not Even Sure It is a BABY! BACK RIBS
Cut-up Like Regular Man-Made BBQ CHICKEN
The Angriest HOT DOGS in the World
Tibetan Vegetarian BOCA BURGERS

One-Eyed Jacks Poker POTATO CHIPS
The Cowboy’s WESTERN BAKED BEANS
Homemade Gordon COLE SLAW
Easter Park PASTA PRIMAVERA

Death by Chocolate Bunnies BROWNIES
We’re Here For You, Bobbie! Meatloaf CARROT CAKE
The crowd was aflutter as BBQ aromas wafted through the air and the celebrity guests began their slow journey into the Barn. Lots of stops, autographs, photo ops ensued.

Chris Mathews and Gene Kirk manned the bar with an interesting mix of Twin Peaks interviews playing on a small television behind them. Only a few of us noticed the slowly leaking antique iron bath tub that held hundreds of cold beers and soft drinks. I guess only the most nimble-footed hung out around the bar because we had no slip-and-falls on the puddling floor. How great was this crowd! They could drink, eat and be merry and not take a spill on the wet floor! I did my share of mopping up but after a few hours the owner came out with a huge rug that soaked up the melting ice as the hours advanced.

CELEBRITY Q & A

Celebrity Questions & Answers followed dinner. The celebrities were introduced with audio clips of some of their key Lynch-lines. Particularly fun were Andrea (Heidi the Waitress) Hays' lines and giggles and the addition of a few of Charlotte Stewart's Eraserhead lines. ("They're not even sure it is a baby!") Don Davis was a little late arriving since he had to work on Stargate that day and then drive down from Vancouver. Fortunately he arrived in time for the Celebrity Judged Costume Competition. He was escorted to his seat by Rob Lindley who was in costume as -- you guessed it – Major Briggs!

CELEBRITY JUDGED COSTUME COMPETITION

There were several fabulous costumes but we limited the number of competitors to 11. Next year we may do more since it was difficult to narrow down the best from the rest! Nadine was a popular choice maybe because we had so many red-heads in attendance! I think four of the contestants were Nadines! The three top prizes went to these ladies:

COSTUME COMPETITION WINNERS

1st Jessica Coleman as Ronette (Eugene, OR)

2nd Melissa Booth as Audrey (San Diego, CA)

3rd Rhiannon Estes as Lil (Port St. Lucie, FL)

Others came as Wild at Heart's Lula, in her polka dot halter dress and Sailor, in his snake-skin jacket; Audrey draped in a sheet with her trench-coated Agent Cooper; Major Briggs; Dr. Jacoby with his bi-colored lenses and "Havaian" tropical shirt; Twin Nadines Before-and-After and the smug Agent Rosenfield. This competition will definitely continue next year so start planning!

THE MUSIC IN THE AIR!

JOHN NEFF

Next up was the musical presentation. And wow, what a treat!! John Neff plugged in and rocked the crowd with a set that ranged from Moody Blues to Blue Bob to country. After all the sound engineering John did Thursday and Friday, he was still in fine form to perform for the fans!

JULEE CRUISE LIVE!

Thursday morning, Julee and her husband, Ed Grinnan, had flown across country leaving their New York home at the crack of dawn. While they were settling in at the Salish Lodge, John Neff and Brian Kursar were arriving at SEATAC Ariport for what would be a looooooooong days journey into night. The Guitar Center of Seattle had agreed to donate the Sound Equipment rental but it needed to be pick up and delivery. John and Brian navigated to Downtown Seattle and back to the Barn with a carload of a PA system to begin the setup. Some hours later, the Barns sound system was ready to go.

At 11:30 pm Pacific time, Julee was still up and performing a sound check at the Barn. A small group of staffers received the special gift of a pre-show. I am forever grateful for the graciousness of Julee and Ed for accepting our invitation to the festival. Shocked and grateful!

Fast forward again to Friday night! While John was performing, Julee was changing into her black lace glamour costume in the men's room. Nancy Neff and I did guard duty at the door. Sure were a lot of male types needing the men's room for those few minutes but they were diverted upstairs to the ladies' room.

After John's set, Julee Cruise was introduced by Richard (Mulholland Drive) Green, in his magician's style. Julee's ethereal voice filled the room in a testament to the previous night's engineering by John Neff. In a matter of moments, the crowd was mesmerized by Julee's haunting interpretation of lyrics and music. More than one of you has described a free flow of tears you released during this once in a lifetime experience. Scanning the room and watching as all of you floated through this dreamy event will remain one of my enduring memories of Twin Peaks Festival 2002.

I heard from Julee this week. She told me she did not believe she would ever have a better or more appreciative audience than those at the Festival and that she found the weekend a "magical experience." I had sent her some comments from the Twin Peaks Gazette Festival Board which she told me made her cry!

ONE EYED JACK'S CASINO

Just above the main floor of the Barn, One Eyed Jacks Casino was in full swing. The West Coast Casino Parties of Seattle provided the festival with three gaming tables and a pit boss to oversee the dealers at a Black Jack table, a Roulette Wheel and the Craps table. Each guest received $30,000 starting funds but few ended up with that much! At the end of the evening pit boss announced the big winners. I believe Rob increased his stakes to over $500,000! Any one in need of a loan, you'll know who to contact!

CASINO WINNERS

1st Rob Lindley (Fort Lewis, WA)

2nd Place - Doug Saunders (Castle Rock, CO)

3rd Place - Steve Smith (LA, CA)

The gambling went on, the drinking went on, the music went on and the private chats in the Black Lodge went on. And after everyone left the Barn, there were still private gatherings taking place from the Great Northern to the Not So Great Northern (North Bend Motel) and beyond well into the wee hours of Saturday morning.