Sunday, July 15, 2012

Sunset on the Beach – so much more than a season premiere

This blog’s mission has always been to celebrate the fact that the four of us were strangers, became Ohana by meeting online, and decided to fly to Hawaii to vacation together for Sunset on the Beach last year.
If you don’t have the time to catch up and read our story from the beginningof last years events, or of our quilt quest, then let us summarize for you how we feel about SOTB, and what Hawaii Five-0 has brought to our lives.

Hawaii 5-0 has been an especially unique experience.  Friendships were made with people from other countries and from all across the United States, all because of connections made online talking about the show. These friendships range from checking in daily with each other online, chatting about plot, characters, and actors in chat rooms, to talking about weddings, births, illnesses and job concerns.

Friendships were formed from the love of this show, and solidified for many by participation in last years SOTB event. As a result, we've encouraged each other to pursue their creativity and push their limits to express their love for the show in many ways.  Some have shared their love of the show through their love of cooking . Others have been moved to write different blogs about the show, and even a novel was inspired by a love for H50's star Alex O'Loughlin. Still, others have made artwork, charms, and quilts;  not to mention the thousands of stories written by fans.

This special show has a network of behind the scenes volunteers who cannot help but talk about it whenever they can. Promoting a positive spin online, talking about the show locally in their towns, and generating whatever goodwill they can. It's not because they are ambassadors, but because they cannot help talking about their love of the "Show".

Sunset on the Beach is a chance of a lifetime to see the new season's premiere WITH the cast and producers, and maybe get a photograph of them on the red carpet. Its a chance for the H50hana to be together, share photos and messages with the rest of the Ohana who couldn't be there with us, and to show our support for our favorite tv show.

Still, to see the faces of the stars and producers was magical.  Last year, Daniela Ruah, Terry O'Quinn and especially Lauren German, were so surprised to hear the fans yelling and cheering for them when they hadn't even appeared on show yet.  Its a special thing to thank Hawaiians and mainlanders by giving us a sneak peak, but it's something else to have a place and a time to be standing in front of Bob Orci and Peter Lenkov just to  say "thank you" for giving us such a wonderful show, but in return to have them say "No, thank YOU for your support". That was just one of those moments we couldn't forget. 

We're VERY appreciative of what was given to us last year at SOTB2, and of the photographs and videos we've seen of SOTB1. We're appreciative of ALL that we've personally received as a result of this fandom. Last year, from the moment we left Hawaii we began to talk about coming back. Could we afford it? Was this crazy to do AGAIN? It's not an easy thing to do no matter what your circumstances. Some of us are married with young children, some are single, many are taking care of other family members or just have a job that doesn't allow them time off. Most of us cannot just write a check for the price of a Hawaiian vacation without careful planning.


Sunset on the Beach is a magical event that has no comparison to anything else we could have ever imagined. Fans from Australia, Germany, Canada and from all across the United States flew in to be with friends they had never met , all because of the show. We will be there to promote and celebrate this show as we do throughout the year online, except in September, we will do it together. We will have tweetups in restaurants, sight see, and enjoy all that Hawaii has to offer. Some may be lucky enough to find H50 filming downtown or bump in to one of the cast members buying a coffee at a local Starbucks. Whether there is a premiere on the beach, a smaller event for the cast to have a Q&A session with fans, a charity fundraiser or no event at all, this fandom will be there to rejoice in all that this show has given us. It would just be a shame if the cast didn't show up to party with us.




**On a side note, please read the Sunset on the Beach blog entry by our favorite blogger, Five-0 Undercover here .  Please leave your comments but remember to be respectful of others opinions.