Light Buzzyear just sent me an e-mail that reads:
I really enjoyed yesterday’s story about Dick Van Dyke and Dick Sherman making appearances at that performance of the “Mary Poppins” musical. I wish that I could do what you do. Get to see my Disney heroes in action like that.
Well, if you’re serious, Light Buzzyear, then you should really consider signing up for a D23 membership. Or – at the very least – start attending some of the events that the NFFC-Disneyana Fan Club holds.
Take – for example – this group’s Heritage Award Luncheon. Which was held back on January 16th at the Anaheim Crowne Plaza Resort in Garden Grove, CA. If you’d bought a ticket to this event, you’d not only have had the chance to meet Dick Sherman. But you could have also gotten the autograph of this event’s honoree, author and film historian Leonard Maltin.
Richard M. Sherman introduces the NFFC-Disneyana Fan Club’s Heritage Award Luncheon’s special guest & honoree, Leonard Maltin. Photo by Chuck Oberleitner. Copyright 2009 NFFC-Disneyana Fan Club. All Rights Reserved
Better yet, if you’d wandered around that function hall at the Crowne Plaza, you’d have then been able to rub shoulders with the likes of Tim O’Day and Howard Green. Who – between the two of them – have either written and/or had a hand in the production of some of the very best Disney books on the market today.
I (L to R) Tim O’Day and Howard Green entertain a female friend at the NFFC-Disneyana Fan Club’s Heritage Award Luncheon. Photo by Chuck Oberleitner. Copyright 2009 NFFC-Disneyana Fan Club. All Rights Reserved
Mind you, if you’d like chase down copies of some of the books that Tim & Howard have written (i.e. “Disneyland Then, Now, and Forever,” “Remembering Walt: Favorite Memories of Walt Disney,” “The Tarzan Chronicles” et al), you could head on over to Amazon.com and/or eBay. But a better bet would be attending one of the NFFC-Disneyana Club’s All Disneyana Show and Sales.
Folks line up on Sunday morning to be among the first to get on the Show & Sales room floor.Photo by Chuck Oberleitner. Copyright 2009 NFFC-Disneyana Fan Club. All Rights Reserved
At the most recent All Disneyana Show & Sale (which was held at the Anaheim Crowne Plaza resort on January 17th) there were dozens of tables set up …
A wide selection of Disneyana collectibles were available for sale at this NFFC – Disneyana Fan Club event. Photo by Chuck Oberleitner. Copyright 2009 NFFC-Disneyana Fan Club. All Rights Reserved
… which were loaded down with all manner of plates, pins and plush.
There were a surprising number of bargains to be found this time around at the Anaheim Crowne Plaza Resort. Photo by Chuck Oberleitner. Copyright 2009 NFFC-Disneyana Fan Club. All Rights Reserved
But it wasn’t just collectibles from the past that were available for purchase at the NFFC-Disneyana Fan Club’s All Disneyana Show and Sale. Attendees also had the opportunity to purchase Pam Clair-Burns and Don Peri’s brand-new book, “Walt Disney’s First Lady of Imagineering, Harriet Burns.”
Pam Clair-Burns and Don Peri stand ready to autograph copies of Pam’s tribute to her late mother, Disney Legend Harriet Burns. Photo by Chuck Oberleitner. Copyright 2009 NFFC-Disneyana Fan Club. All Rights Reserved
And all of this was going on just down the street from the Disneyland Resort, Light Buzzyear. Which means that you could have combined a trip to the Happiest Place on Earth with the opportunity to check out some one-of-a-kind collectibles that some fellow Disneyana fans had put up for sale.
Collectors carefully through the crowded hall, hoping to find that (to quote rfrom Dick Sherman) artifact that wil l glorify a regal abode. Photo by Chuck Oberleitner. Copyright 2009 NFFC-Disneyana Fan Club. All Rights Reserved
Just so you know. The NFFC –Disneyana Fan Club – just like D23, the Official Community for Disney Fans – hold several events annually. Which you can learn about by clicking on this link.