The Avonlea Convention (AvCon) is a grassroots, fan-organized event meant to bring other fans of the television series Road to Avonlea together to meet with those who worked on this beloved series. The inaugural convention was held the weekend of July 24 and 25, 2004, at Black Creek Pioneer Village in Toronto, Ontario; and a second one took place in the same location on the weekend of July 29-31, 2005.
Feedback and suggestions from those who attended either AvCon 2004 or AvCon 2005, and/or from those who plan to attend AvCon 2007, are welcomed.
* External link
avcon 2009...looming!
Tentative dates for AvCon 2009 have been set: July 24-26 at Black Creek Pioneer Village in Toronto. We are subtitling the event “The Last Hurrah”, as this will likely be the last convention the current committee will organize.
news
March 1, 2008: Today it was announced that citizens of Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, and Lithuania will no longer need visas to visit Canada if they intend to visit for less than three months. Should another AvCon take place, this will make it easier for fans from those countries to attend.
August 2, 2007: Once again, we thank everyone who attended AvCon this year, as well as those who helped make it happen.
We are also pleased to announce that this year's charity auction brought in more money than our previous two auctions combined. $4700 was raised for the Royal Ontario Museum. A salute to everyone! :)
July 20, 2007: All registration for AvCon is CLOSED, except for July 29's events at the ROM. If you would like to attend on Saturday but missed the registration deadline (or are pre-registered but have not paid online), you may do so at the door for $15 USD/CAD. (We cannot take anyone at the door for Friday, unfortunately.)
July 18, 2007: The AvCon 2007 brochure is now online for downloading via the "2007" page.
July 13, 2007:For those of you who have yet to register, we have a bit of an incentive for you. The 100th paid registrant to AvCon will receive a special prize during AvCon weekend. (With all due apologies, we must cancel this.)
July 10, 2007: Registration for Friday, as well as for Friday/Saturday combined, is CLOSED. Registration for Saturday only is still active until July 18 (if there is still space remaining, you may purchase tickets at the door), as well as registering at the ROM for Sunday.
July 6, 2007: There is a feature piece in Issue #35 of Beyond Green Gables. Do check it out!
July 5, 2007: We regret to inform you all that the Harts, Mel and Joyce, will not be with us for AvCon weekend. However, we will still be screening a DVD featuring various dances from the series.
July 4, 2007: We have one more addition to our Saturday roster: composer John Welsman!
Also, please note if you're planning to attend on either just Friday or on both Friday and Saturday, you MUST be registered and/or have your registration paid for by this coming Tuesday. If you're attending on Saturday only, you still have until the week after that.
We are also happy to inform you that, for the auction on Sunday morning, there will be a credit card machine available to us. So, you have three options for payment (cash, personal checks, credit cards).
June 19, 2007: We are pleased to announce that Ian Clark (Simon Tremayne) will be joining us on Saturday.
June 5, 2007: If you are planning on attending AvCon this year, there is a poll going on at the boards regarding a post-AvCon dinner. If you're registered at the boards, and are going to be at AvCon this year, please answer this poll. If you're attending AvCon and are not a member, feel free to register if you wish; or you may email us at committee@avonleaconvention.org, with "AvCon dinner" in the subject line, to let us know if you'd prefer to dine on Saturday night, Sunday night, if you have plans of your own, or if it doesn't matter which night the dinner takes place.
May 7, 2007:The Royal Ontario Museum's page regarding Sunday's events (as well as a way to register) is now live! If you are attending on Friday or Saturday, please select the "AvCon Attendee" option when registering.
April 28, 2007:OUR REGISTRATION FORM IS LIVE! Also, see the 2007 page for more details about this year's AvCon.
March 24, 2007: Our first day of AvCon has been sorted out! On the 27th, Dan Matthews will help give us a tour of the Sullivan Entertainment backlot, as well as Spadina House (used for Aunt Josephine's house in Anne 1 and the Ames house in the Road to Avonlea episode "The Return of Gus Pike").
Details on pre-registration are soon-coming as well. If you plan on coming on the tours on Friday, this is mandatory, as the committee will need to give a final headcount to those at Spadina by July 13.
March 2, 2007: AvCon now has a Myspace page. If you're a member there, feel free to friend us!
February 25, 2007: We have two more guests for this year's event--James O'Regan (Constable Jeffries) and Michael Mahonen (Gus Pike).
February 14, 2007: We have a minor change of venue for this year's convention.
Saturday's (July 28) events will still take place at our regular venue at Black Creek Pioneer Village. However, for Sunday, July 29, we will be moving to the Royal Ontario Museum in downtown Toronto, in a collaborative effort with them as a follow-up to their Reunion event in May 2006. The ROM is also our supported charity for AvCon 2007. We will have more information on this soon.
January 1, 2007: Have you ever wanted to visit Prince Edward Island but have never been able to for whatever reason? Well, after AvCon, you may get the chance. Zsolt from Avonlea.hu is working on a PEI Extension Trip (with a stint in Nova Scotia as well). At first, it was just for his fellow Hungarian friends; but now he has extended the opportunity to travel with him to the Maritimes to AvCon attendees. Please visit The Golden Road to Canada for more information on this.
November 7, 2006: We have been informed that York University will be available for accomodations during AvCon weekend. Please see the Accomodations page (click on "Rooms") for details on what they have to offer.
October 1, 2006: The AvCon 2007 committee would like to announce a tentative agreement to attend — barring any unavoidable professional commitments that may arise — from both Kevin Sullivan and Mag Ruffman (Olivia King Dale).
September 20, 2006: Two website banners--a generic one, plus one specific to the upcoming AvCon--are up in the "Items" section.
September 14, 2006: The message boards are online! Please click on "Discuss" to access them. Also note you must register in order to post.
September 9, 2006: AvCon 2007 will take place from July 27-29, with the main venue being Black Creek Pioneer Village in Toronto.
Also expect the website's message boards to be up this coming week.June 13, 2006: This site has been redesigned; and the 2005 page has been archived. See link above.
September 1, 2005: We would like to thank everyone who attended this year's AvCon, as well as our guest speakers (Dan Matthews, Mag Ruffman, Lynda Naranjo, John Welsman, Alexandra Heilbron, and James O'Regan), our auctioneer Mike Matthews, as well as the other RTA actors who have supported us in some way (Zach Bennett, Michael Mahonen, RH Thomson, and Rosemary Dunsmore).
We would also like to thank those at ShakespeareWorks and Doctors Without Borders for their support. At auction, we raised $1800 for the two charities; auction winners made out checks to the one of their choice. Well done!
This website will be redesigned soon; and information about this past year's AvCon will be archived for posterity in a subdirectory. Please stay tuned to learn about what we'll have in store for the next AvCon--to be held in either 2007 or 2008.
