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Young adult, magical realism, and every book in between infused with fairy dust...

Visiting Dawsonland!

February 6, 2018

Generally, when I tell people that my favorite show is Dawson’s Creek I get exactly three reactions! Either I get people that say, “Oh my gosh I love that show,” or I will get, “That show is so old. Why do you watch that? And aren’t you too old for that?” And some people get Dawson’s Creek confused with One Tree Hill which was also filmed in Wilmington but even though I kind of dug the show for a bit the show just became insanity and One Tree Hill cannot be compared to Dawson’s Creek! 

Basically, I have learned to turn off any negative comments throughout the years and yes I am a newly 34-year-old woman and I am allowed to fangirl any freaking thing that I want! I will probably fangirl about Dawson’s Creek for the rest of my life and I am actually ok with that!

I have wanted to visit Wilmington, North Carolina forever and after 18 long years, my parents actually got to take me to visit the birthplace of Dawson’s Creek on December 30, 2016! 

Now it is time to cue the Paula Cole, “I Don’t Wanna Wait”  (Especially since the song is now axed out of the original credits!) and row Joey’s boat over to Dawsonland!

The first day of the trip! We went over to Southport first before we settled to Wilmington! They filmed many of the beachy/dockside scenes in Southport and the picture above is where The Longest Day Season 3 was filmed! In this picture, there is a scene of Pacey and Joey sneakily kissing inside this yellow shed while Dawson is literally outside! 

I think that the season one Boyfriend episode did a few shots here!

 

The town of Wilmington! Literally feels like I am stepping into the set of DC!

The famous Black Cat Shoppe! Black Cat Shoppe was the CD store set for Dawson’s. They have DC memorabilia here as well as some One Tree Hill stuff as well. 

Wilmington looks magical at night and it’s actually pretty quiet! Walking around at night felt like getting transported to an episode of DC! It’s literally identical to the show! Even the sounds around the town are the same! Can’t explain it!

Dinner time spot at The Reel Cafe and I just couldn’t resist ordering the Dawson’s Creek drink and sitting right by the Dawson table!

The University of North Carolina was the backdrop for Capeside High School! If you visit Alderman Hall you will see the exact building where they filmed the outside of Capeside High! This experience was so surreal and I found it so cool that they dedicated a bench to the show!

Having an awesome time exploring Wilmington with my Mom!

Causing some trouble in Capeside High and hoping to attract Pacey’s attention!

The Dockside Restaurant was filmed for scenes of The Icehouse where Joey Potter worked! 

This is Airlie Garden and this spot here was the scene in the first season where Pacey and Joey were hunting for snails! Love this episode where they first bonded!

 

More amazing pictures of Airlie Garden! This spot is known as the famous “ruins” where Dawson and Jen had their first kiss and where many intimate moments were shared by the DC kids in general!

I was absolutely in love with The Ruins! The spot is quite magical and it’s actually used frequently for weddings!

I went on a Dawson’s Creek Tour called Wilmywood located in the Black Cat Shoppe. Wilmywood Tours happened to mention a cool place to get DC memorabilia called Whatever…Wilmington! I just have to say thank you Wilmywood Tours because I found a season five Dawson’s Creek script “100 Light Years From Home” and a vintage 90210 comic book! They have so many original pop culture items here that it’s well worth the visit for anything pop culture related!

Pacey and Andie had some romantic moments here in front of this building called the Alton Lennon Federal Building! Especially in front of the fountain! 

The scoop from Wilmywood Tours is that Blue Post Billiards is the spot where Katie Holmes went with Joshua Jackson to get a drink and at the time Holmes was only 20-years-old and they refused to serve her. Supposedly both of them stormed off! Scandal! 

The picture of the building in South Water Street is where Joshua Jackson and James Van Der Beek actually lived together through the filming of the show!

Village Market is the place where Mitch (Dawson’s dad) went to get milk and the fatal ice cream! The picture next to Village Market is the famous wall where Pacey painted the famous words, “Ask me to stay,” to Joey Potter!

Now, this is the famous Elijah’s seafood restaurant which is filmed as Pacey’s restaurant in the last season! I was never able to eat here but I intend to eat here on my second trip to Wilmington! This spot is absolutely breathtaking and has some pretty amazing views of the Cape Fear River!

 

 

Ok I can explain this picture…on the season finale of DC Joey walks into Pacey’s restaurant holding an umbrella and here is my mom taking a picture of me goofing around pretending to hold an umbrella! 

Thalian Hall is the place that was filmed as the movie theatre for Capeside! They were many awkward dates held in this very spot! Thalian Hall is actually held as a performing arts center… so you can say that it was kind of odd for me to ask if I could go inside an empty stadium! 

BUT I DID IT ANYWAY!

Hell’s Kitchen is like transporting yourself right into Season 6 of DC! This is the location where Joey Potter took a job as a waitress in Hell’s Kitchen and fell for the adorable Eddie Doling! #drool. Hell’s Kitchen is literally a carbon copy of the show and it’s very much a college town kind of restaurant! We spent New Year’s Eve here and it was the perfect spot to chill and kick off the New Year! 

Our waitress literally looked like an Emma! Emma was the waitress that hired Joey Potter!

I am sure this is where Audrey and her band performed! This band was kind of awesome btw since their repertoire consisted of 90’s to early 2000’s alternative covers!

Island Passage was filmed as a boutique for DC and I believe it was a makeup boutique kind of place! Correct me if I am wrong! Right next to Island Passage are pictures of Black Cat Shoppe and the views of lovely Wilmington during the day!

 

Kabob Grill is the location of Dawson Leery’s Fresh Fish! Totally got some weird looks as I was taking pictures inside the restaurant!

 

My DC gang took a picture in this very spot! Minus the trash can of course!

Sadly this is the end of my trip but I ended it by reading the Dawson’s Creek script on my flight back home! Ahh! #nostalgicjunkie

Happy 20th Anniversary Dawson’s Creek!

I can’t possibly believe that twenty years ago I was 14-years-old on January 20, 1998, when I watched the first episode air of Dawson’s Creek! I knew the show was going to have a huge impact on me when I saw Joey rowing her boat away from Dawson’s house in dramatic fashion to the Pretender’s song in the background I’ll Stand By You. I remember when Joey was in tears because Dawson wouldn’t answer her question about, “How many times does he walk his dog?” 

The emotion of this scene made me cry along with Joey even though I had no freaking idea what the heck Dawson was really saying when Joey asked Dawson this personal question! Even though there were so many things that went over my head at 14-years-old, this show is near and dear to my heart, it taught me about growing up, how decisions can affect the whole trajectory of our lives, and most importantly to NEVER SAY NO TO PARIS!

Do you <3 Dawson’s Creek as much as I do?! Let me know what your favorite teenage show is in the comments below! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Filed Under: Bookish Journal, Catfairy Journal Tagged: airliegarden, blackcatshoppe, dawsons creek, nc, theruins, universityofnc, whateverwilmington, wilmington, wilmywood

Geekerella

July 29, 2017

GeekerellaGeekerella by Ashley Poston
Published by Quirk Book on April 4, 2017
Genres: YA Contemporary, YA Romance
Pages: 320
Buy on Amazon, Buy on Barnes & Noble, Buy on Books & Books
Goodreads

When geek girl Elle Wittimer sees a cosplay contest sponsored by the producers of Starfield, she has to enter. First prize is an invitation to the ExcelsiCon Cosplay Ball and a meet-and-greet with the actor slated to play Federation Prince Carmindor in the reboot. Elle’s been scraping together tips from her gig at the Magic Pumpkin food truck behind her stepmother’s back, and winning this contest could be her ticket out once and for all—not to mention a fangirl’s dream come true.

Teen actor Darien Freeman is less than thrilled about this year’s ExcelsiCon. He used to live for conventions, but now they’re nothing but jaw-aching photo sessions and awkward meet-and-greets. Playing Federation Prince Carmindor is all he’s ever wanted, but the diehard Starfield fandom has already dismissed him as just another heartthrob. As ExcelsiCon draws near, closet nerd Darien feels more and more like a fake—until he meets a girl who shows him otherwise.

Catfairy Bookmix

I have managed to do some research of my own(Since I am not part of the cosplay geeky fandom.)and gathered the geekiest playlist I could find. Also, I  felt inspired and I decided to also add my own fangirl mix into this playlist! I have been a fangirl since I could remember(Back then before the term “fangirl” was created I was called a teenybopper.)and had the typical teenage girl room filled with JTT, Hanson posters, N’Sync, and Jason Priestly (Much better looking than Dylan McKay thank you very much!)! I hope you enjoy this playlist as much as I enjoyed creating it and fangirl dance away!

Twenty-seven years later I still get a thrill of doing this hand motion along with Brandon Walsh!

Catfairy Thoughts

In the words of Darien Freeman, “Holy Batnipples,” this book left me screeching with delight! The book touched me to the core and melted my old little fangirl heart! When I first laid eyes on the cover it just stopped me in my tracks and it was true love at first sight! Not only is the book cover an absolute beauty, the story is just pure perfection and I relished each and every minute detail of this book!

After I was done reading it, I felt that I wasn’t alone in the world and that it was ok to be a total fanatic about anything whether it be a band, a book, or a teenage show that ended in the early 2000’s!

Speaking about a show that ended in the early 2000’s, see below my 32-year old self-coming to visit the filming location of Dawson’s Creek located in Wilmington, North Carolina!

Catfairy in Capeside High School!

I have wanted to visit the filming location of Dawson’s Creek since I was 14 years old and now 18 years later my little fangirl dream came true!

Catnopsis

Geekerella is a Cinderella retelling and even though Cinderella retellings have been played out this is the most original Cinderella retelling I have ever read!

”Ever since I can remember, my fingers have itched to make things. To write. I have filled journals, finished fanfics, escaped again and again into the pages of someone else’s life. If Dad was right-if I could do anything, be anyone-I would make a show like Starfield and tell other weird kids that they aren’t alone. And after next year-my senior year-I’m going to do it. Or start to. Study screenwriting. Write scripts. I’ve already got a portfolio, kind of. Right now I satisfy my need to write by blogging on my site Rebelgunner, where I cover the one thing I know for certain: Starfield. That and the money I’m scraping together from my job at the food truck are gonna be my ticket out of here. One day.”

-Ella Wittimer

Ashely Poston’s story is about a girl named Elle Wittimer who is the epitome of a geek girl. Ella is passionate about a SciFi show named Starfield. She is so passionate about the show that she writes all about it in her blog Rebelgunner. She writes fan fiction and writes about all things related to Starfield including the upcoming movie of Starfield starring Darien Freeman. She isn’t thrilled about Darian Freeman being part of the casting since he is your typical soap opera heartthrob and she doesn’t believe he has the acting chops to deserve the lead role of her beloved Carmindor.

She lives with her cold stepmother Catherine and two stepsisters Chloe (Who is garbage btw.) and Calliope in historic Charleston, South Carolina. Although Ella’s house isn’t your typical historic house in Rainbow Row since it is located on the edge of the historic district and it has a leaky roof and a creaky door. The leaky roof and creaky door is obviously the fault of Ella’s stepmother’s pension for racking debt to uphold a glamorous lifestyle and her wedding planning business.

Ella dreams of getting out of Charleston and moving to L.A. to study screenwriting and she is saving her money for her ticket out by working at The Magic Pumpkin food truck. Until one day Ella gets an opportunity of a lifetime to enter a cosplay contest. The convention is called ExcelsiCon and it is located in Atlanta with Darien Freeman as one of the judges. The cash price could be her ticket out and not to mention the two tickets to the movie premiere of Starfield! Fangirl yell anyone?!

Meet Darian Freeman

”I want to cut out my fanboy heart and show him that it bleeds like every other Stargunner’s. I want to tell him that the Federation Prince Carmindor saved my life.”

-Darian Freeman

After reading Geekerella I have to say that I am a total Darienite fanatic. Under his heartthrob exterior, Darian or Dare as they sometimes call him…is your geeky little hotpants fanboy!

Darian Freeman is a hunky nerd with a six pack and he is the star of the future Starfield movie where he is playing the lead role of Carmindor. Darian is feeling very insecure because there is a lot of gossip about him not deserving the role of Carmindor and he is especially thrown when he reads a negative blog post about himself by the Rebelgunner blogger. He begins an accidental texting friendship with Ella and uses the fake name of Carmindor. Ella has no idea that she is texting the biggest star of Starfield and Darien has no idea he is texting the Rebelgunner. Will their friendship extend past Starfield flirty text talk and will they find out about one another’s true identities?

”Elle we might not know much about each other, and I might not be there, and you might not be here, but I’m glad to share this sky with you. Maybe we should start looking up together, ah’blena.”

-Darien Freeman

I just loved how Darian was a real fanboy of Starfield instead of being a typical celebrity poser who pretends to know all about the show. The sexiest part of Darian was his geeky and unsure awkwardness which made him so much more relatable compared to all those cocky celebrities. Not to mention, it made me swoon whenever he called Ella his ah’blena, which is used in the show Starfield and it’s a translation for ”my heart.”

 

Bookcasting

Elle Wittimer played by Bella Thorne

Darian Freeman played by Thomas Doherty

 

View my Pinterest board of Geekerella to view the pictures of the actor, Ella cosplay fashion, and the charming town of Charleston!

 

Final Catfairy Thoughts

“There is a power of fandom-the power of passionate people who, when working together, can birth movies out of canceled one-season sci-fi shows, resurrect fictional towns like Stars Hollow, and create endearing fan-musicals that will last far longer than its muggle counterpart-and that kind of magic will never disappear.”

-Ashley Poston, Acknowledgements

Geekerella is one of those books that just made me smile so darn much that my face hurt after awhile! I just couldn’t get a hold of myself! Geekerella is a love letter to fangirls everywhere! I highly recommend for any fangirl or fanboy past or present to read this book!

Once upon a time, I was a total fangirl like Ella but instead of it being a SciFi series it was for three little blond haired boys named Hanson! I remember getting made fun of, being told that they look like a bunch of little girls, that they can’t dance (I had some heated debates with those Backstreet Boys and N’Sync girls!), and the list just went on! There were many instances where I felt like an outcast but most of the time I kept my head up and fangirled away to my own MMMBop tune!

Ashley Poston has a real talent for storytelling and she immediately sucked me into the world of Ella, Darien, and the world of Starfield. I love how Ashley Poston exemplifies that there is no shame in fandom. It’s ok to be obsessed with creating Pinterest boards of the OTP of Pacey and Joey from Dawson’s Creek or rocking along to your tenth Hanson concert because it’s what makes you feel alive in this wretched and deranged world. Life is short, nothing lasts forever, so why not fill it with the things we are obsessed with? I have chosen to ignore all the judgmental stares when I am wearing my favorite Gilmore Girls shirt on. Those aren’t my people and I choose not to please them. There is always someone out there that shares your love of FunkoPop or Stranger Things so why not come together and build the love of fandom together?

PS. I don’t know about you but this book has me totally in the mood to watch the Hilary Duff version of The Cinderella Story! Let me know what is your favorite Cinderella retelling by commenting below.

FIVE CHARLIE CHUCHI STARS!

FOLLOW ME @charliechuchi

 

 

 

 

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Filed Under: Catfairy Categories<3, Reviews by Title Tagged: 90210, cinderella, cosplay, dawsons creek, geekgirl, retelling

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