My Weekend at Night Itacon 2.0

By Erika Antoniazzi - @Erika_ElsaSnow
www.facebook.com/pages/Youre-not-a-villain-youre-my-mom-

On the morning of July 4th in Perugia, Italy, my sister and I woke up a little bit later in the morning. When we reached the Quattrotorri Hotel, there were few people. We came to the desk and they gave us our passes.

It seemed to be a normal convention, but it wasn't.

I started watching Once Upon a Time this year in February, beginnning with Episode 12 from the third season. The first character I liked was the Wicked Witch of the West. So when I knew that Rebecca Mader would be at a convention in Italy, I bought a pass for "Night Itacon2.0".

A lot of fans from Merlin, Charmed and Once Upon a Time went to this beautiful convention. We were about one hundred seventy excited fans with only one dream: to meet our heroes. From the TV show Merlin there were Tom Hopper and Eoin Maken, and from Charmed Jennifer Rhodes, Wes Ramsey and Dorian Gregory. Last but not least were the actors from OUAT: Eion Bailey, Faustino Di Bauda, Rebecca Mader and Sean Maguire. All of the actors seemed to be very kind and answered all of our questions. They said that they love Italy. Some of the actors travelled also across our country. Faustino Di Bauda (Sleepy) for example was born in Italy. They were so happy because despite the fact that they are not main characters in the series, they have the love and support of a lot of fans, in particular Rebecca Mader and Sean Maguire. Someone could say "They are only people". Yes, that's true. But also, because they are real people, you love them for their kindness to fans.

The second day there were a lot of panel Q&A’s for all the shows, and also the photo and autographs sessions. My sister and me had some presents to give to Rebecca and Sean, a special book with messages and drawings from other fans that could not attend the convention. Sean was first for the photos session. My sister told me that he was so kind, and she gave him a great hug! In the afternoon was Rebecca's turn. I was very excited because I really love her. She's a great actress and a wonderful person. When I was in front of her, I only said, "Can we take a hug?" and she replied, "Of course". Then she hugged me so softly. She was very happy to see how fans love her

Later at the panel, she said that maybe there's a chance for Zelena to come back to OUAT, and we hope so! She made us laugh when she said "Oops", her favourite line from 3x15, and "This is the wicked west!". One of the audience asked her to dance and Sean to play a guitar, which were very funny moments! In the afternoon there were also a special “Once Meet & Greet” with all the actors.

Eion is very nice and sweet. When fans met him in the hotel, he always stood and talked to them. He said also that when in Once there was a scene with the motorcycle, he was afraid he was not able to take it. Sean admited that he was not able to use a bow, so all of those scenes are computer made. Faustino spoke to us in perfect Italian, so he didn't need a translator. 

Rebecca said that her favourite Disney fairytale is The Little Mermaid and Sean loves The Jungle Book. Rebecca also likes Frozen and at the cocktail party sang a little bit of "Let it Go". At night there was also a cosplay contest and a dance with all the actors. They had a lot of fun, took a lot of selfies and posted them to Instagram and Twitter. Faustino has also a facebook group called “Sleepyheads” where there are all his Facebook friends.

Those were lovely days, but the end of the convention unfortunately came. Sean and Eion did not attend the “Ending Ceremony”. A couple of friends and I went out the hotel to say hello and Sean replied, “Ciao! A presto!” (Hello, see you) from his taxi.

At the ceremony, all of the actors took the stage to greet us. Rebecca suddenly turned to me and with hands created the W (Wicked Witch). I smiled to her and I think I started to cry from excitement.

The best thing about this convention was also the deep friendships that bind us, the fans of OUAT all over Italy. I will never forget the hugs, friendships, and chats about our favorite actors and episodes.

That is the magic of Once Upon a Time