🥂 50th 50th Anniversary Celebration - West Coast*

In which city should the 50th Anniversary Celebration be based?

  • Downey

    Votes: 22 42.3%
  • Thousand Oaks

    Votes: 28 53.8%
  • Long Beach

    Votes: 4 7.7%
  • Other

    Votes: 2 3.8%

  • Total voters
    52
Represented by 22 states and 7 countries so far. I claim the furthest travel distance within the US, Ontario is the furthest distance from our friends in Canada. Will have to look at a map to determine the rest of the world, though I would guess Germany is a little further away than Japan.
 
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I’m curious about the ten Japanese “tour groups” which have been added. Ten groups of people would take the current confirmed numbers way over the stated 100 maximum. I wonder will Yuko Ogura be among these?
 
I’m curious about the ten Japanese “tour groups” which have been added. Ten groups of people would take the current confirmed numbers way over the stated 100 maximum. I wonder will Yuko Ogura be among these?
Let’s hope so!
 
I’ve been looking at my travel plans again tonight and thinking ahead excitedly, when an idea popped into my head...

Wouldn’t it be nice, nearer the time, if we created a “50th Anniversary Event Thread” on this forum, where those attending could add posts, pictures and videos in real time or shortly after their trip, as a way of capturing the whole event for posterity? If I hadn’t been attending, I know this is something I’d love to see. Given that I am lucky enough to be doing so, I’d like to suggest we do something like that and would happily contribute to it and even collate and upload video and picture content on behalf of other attendees, so that everyone is able to experience the trip and see the sights for themselves, whether they were there or not :)
 
I was wondering about the tour group block from Japan also. Looks like it may be one tour group with ten potential slots with the attendee names to follow. If that is not the case, I think the organizers would have closed out the remainder of the list? ringves would be able to answer this question for us. If it does turn out to be an extra 80-100 individuals, some extra tour buses will need to added along with an additional Thousand Oaks hotel option!
 
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I was wondering about the tour group block from Japan also. Looks like it may be one tour group with ten potential slots with the attendee names to follow.

I didn’t think of that. One tour of ten people would make more sense as they have taken the ten slots. How wonderful though that we have people from all over the world coming to this event.
 
To those of you attending, please create a thread and share stories and photos.

You must have read my mind. I did not see your post before the thought came into my head about the Event thread. It only came to my mind because I will have my mobile phone with me (which takes hi-res pictures and videos) and can easily upload pictures from others onto the photobucket app and videos via YouTube as we go and post them online here. This forum doesn’t allow direct uploads of content so you always have to use a third party hosting provider and I know some people don’t use any or find that easy to do.
 
Hi, Portlander & newvillefan.

The 10 spots that you have mentioned are for the Japanese tour group that Yuka Ogura is organizing. There could actually be more. But Yuka feels that the group will have at least 10 people. And yes, we (the organizing committee) are very pleased that the attendees will include a contingent from Japan which has proven to be a very loyal market for the Carpenters' music.
 
Hi, Portlander & newvillefan.

The 10 spots that you have mentioned are for the Japanese tour group that Yuka Ogura is organizing. There could actually be more. But Yuka feels that the group will have at least 10 people. And yes, we (the organizing committee) are very pleased that the attendees will include a contingent from Japan which has proven to be a very loyal market for the Carpenters' music.

That’s amazing news!
 
Thanks ringves. All we are missing now is representation from Vietnam and Australia, two other countries that truly admire the Carpenters. Would be also nice to have someone from New Haven, CT join in the festivities to show support from their hometown. I met Debbie Vaiuso many years ago and she gave my former wife and I a tour of the Nathan Hale School and also invited us into her mother's home. They were both very nice and showed us memorabilia from Karen and Richard and shared a few stories about living down the street from the Carpenter family. Debbie would be a wonderful addition to the panel if someone (Randy) could reach out to her.
 
Hi, Portlander & newvillefan.

The 10 spots that you have mentioned are for the Japanese tour group that Yuka Ogura is organizing. There could actually be more. But Yuka feels that the group will have at least 10 people. And yes, we (the organizing committee) are very pleased that the attendees will include a contingent from Japan which has proven to be a very loyal market for the Carpenters' music.
I absolutely adore Yuka Ogura and if in the past I haven't fully expressed my gratitude for Yuka's kindness and generosity. Thankyou Yuka, you are very special.
 
Tracey and I are currently on a...budget.
May not make the spot. However, we may just zoom down I-5 from Portland to Los Angeles ain't nothin but a thing. Perhaps we can sniff the ambience from across the street. Yet, I never question the idea of abundance thinking. The feeling of deprivation must be vanquished. In it's place pops up passion.
 
Hi, Portlander & newvillefan.

The 10 spots that you have mentioned are for the Japanese tour group that Yuka Ogura is organizing. There could actually be more. But Yuka feels that the group will have at least 10 people. And yes, we (the organizing committee) are very pleased that the attendees will include a contingent from Japan which has proven to be a very loyal market for the Carpenters' music.
Wow this just went up a whole new level, it's going to be an exciting huge event!!
 
I’ve been looking at my travel plans again tonight and thinking ahead excitedly, when an idea popped into my head...

Wouldn’t it be nice, nearer the time, if we created a “50th Anniversary Event Thread” on this forum, where those attending could add posts, pictures and videos in real time or shortly after their trip, as a way of capturing the whole event for posterity? If I hadn’t been attending, I know this is something I’d love to see. Given that I am lucky enough to be doing so, I’d like to suggest we do something like that and would happily contribute to it and even collate and upload video and picture content on behalf of other attendees, so that everyone is able to experience the trip and see the sights for themselves, whether they were there or not :)
Fantastic plan, Newville’!
 
More wonderful surprises this evening to add to the excitement. The attendee number has crept up to almost 100 and Earl Dumler has been confirmed as a panel contributor with still more to come. Wonderful news! Given his vast career experience, I’m particularly interested to hear from him about the orchestral recording process with Richard and Karen.

Carpenters 50th - About Us
 
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After looking at the list of attendees this evening, I was really surprised to find that around 75% are males. Was I naive in thinking that the vast majority of Carpenter fans were women throughout my adult life? Wow, guess I was out of touch with the actual "traveling" fan base! :)

REAL MEN, LOVE THE CARPENTERS! - I am actually looking at somehow getting a T-shirt with this saying and their portrait made. This is how "amped-up" I am for this event!!
 
Some of me in front of the house (back when I was a young man :laugh:)

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And one more I have from the 1999 fan convention (I wasn't there, but I must have missed this by a matter of months if not weeks!):

TheNewvilleHouse--1999.jpg
AWESOME PHOTOS!!
 
AWESOME PHOTOS!!

Thank you. I loved the experience of being there and turning that corner and seeing the garage doors and the long profile of the house coming into viewing almost gave me palpitations! I couldn’t believe how accessible it was from the main street. Both times I was there the house was still immaculately kept and still had those brown garage louvre doors, which kinda signifies the Now & Then album for me. Once the new owners replaced those and started messing around with the rest of the house, it just lost all that original magic charm for me.
 
More wonderful surprises this evening to add to the excitement. The attendee number has crept up to almost 100 and Earl Dumler has been confirmed as a panel contributor with still more to come. Wonderful news! Given his vast career experience, I’m particularly interested to hear from him about the orchestral recording process with Richard and Karen.

Carpenters 50th - About Us
GREAT line up!
I wish I could go!
 
Reworked my travel plans a few days ago. Am now flying into John Wayne (SNA) on Delta and will arrive a day earlier and will have a rental car for the duration. Had no issues reserving another night at the hotel for the same rate. I have some family members (Connecticut transplants) that live and Tustin and I plan to visit them on Sunday, the Carpenters are the priority on this trip. If anyone else is arriving on Tuesday, see you by the pool!
 
Wish I could go. Realized the other day that I had said I would play for a graduates wedding. Told him I would play before these dates were announced and then didn’t realize they were at the same time.
 
Sad to hear, you've been an excellent contributor for many years. Seeing that it's still 6 months away, a lot can still happen when it comes to wedding dates and long term plans. Your graduate might surprise you and actually understand your dilemma. We need some representation from the Show Me state :)
 
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