Bitten and Poledanced - True Blood Style!

Guests at Bitten convention (pic by Jamie)

When it comes to "True Blood", it's never too late to share a convention report with fans of the series!

Red Dot Diva's Twitter pal @GamerJamie (who loves dishing out fuzzy-feelings from time to time) was at the Bitten convention, held in the UK last year.

After mysteriously holding back all those dirty bloody secrets for several months, he has finally decided to reveal 'em all.

Here goes:

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Bitten is a UK-based "True Blood" convention run by Showmasters/ Massive Events. This was the first unofficial "True Blood" convention.

Four special guests attended:
Sam Trammell - Sam Merlotte
Kristen Bauer - Pam
Todd Lowe - Ted
Jim Parsons - Hoyt

Now at most conventions, people always hope for the A-listers, the people who make the show what it is. I have always loved getting to know characters who are NOT from the main cast. This convention was a close-knit event with only around 400 attendees. Getting to know people was great.

Kristin Bauer (pic by Jamie)

The convention was held in a nice hotel in Northampton over a 3-day weekend back in August of last year, which meant that there was lots of time to get down and dirty. There were always parties, and they never failed to impress.

So, on the Friday, my girlfriend and I checked in, grabbed our passes for the weekend and dropped off our bags before making our way to the opening ceremony. This was when all the guests came in one by one on stage to say hello to the fans and to look forward to a great weekend. After that, IT'S PARTY TIME.

Friday night's themed party was "Engagement Reception for Arlene". We got dressed up in plaid shirts and jeans, and made our way to the hall where the party was taking place. There were lots of balloons, candles and a DJ was playing the "True Blood" theme song, It was brilliant!

As the night went on, we saw Todd Lowe and Jim Parsons joining in and having a hoe down with some fans. Both of them led the line dancing and was having so much fun. This was how close and intimate you could get with the stars at a Massive Events con.

As the night went into the wee hours, we found ourselves hitting bed ready for the onslaught the next morning -- i.e., the photoshoots and autographs. The next day, we had a hearty breakfast, and made our way downstairs to get our autographs. All the guests were so friendly, and all of them personalised the autographs too! You could even ask them a question about the show ... again a very intimate setting.

Sam Trammell (pic by Jamie)

Photoshoots were next - one with each of the guests attending taken by a professional photographer. A fantastic memento to take home of a great weekend.

The talks were scheduled shortly after. Sam Tramell took to the stage solo whilst "Guest Encounters" ran in other rooms.

"Guest Encounters" is a fantastic opportunity. It is a kind of auctioned-off event where the top 10 bids will get to spend 30 minutes with a convention guest for coffee and a chat.

My girlfriend and I won seats for a Encounter with Kristen Bauer. This amazing woman spoke about her on-going charity work, how dirty it gets on set with all the hot naked bodies walking around everywhere, and how the fangs are mostly CGI. It was a great chance to get a closer insight into the show, and I loved it.

The talks on stage included some funny stories. Sam Trammell told us about his original audition where he was asked to be naked for most of his scenes. He said he had no problem with that. I asked him if there was any awkwardness kissing Anna Paquin, what with her and Stephen Moyer being a item. Sam replied that the main cast didn't know about their relationship until Anna came waltzing in with a glittering diamond ring on. He also added that "It was awesome".

Jamie getting his kink on

After the talks on Saturday, it was the party I was waiting for - "A Night at Fangtasia". I donned my shackled trousers and sleeveless shirt, whilst my girlfriend Rachel got down and dirty in a black corset and matching skirt.

We entered the hall, and were met by professional pole dancers, heavy metal music, and many fan's dressed in fetish wear. Best of all, there was a thronelike chair with the words "Reserved for Eric" on it. It was my idea of heaven. True Blood drinks were available on the night, a nice pitcher of "V" juice and I was buzzing. I gave pole-dancing a good go, and showed off some of my moves. We danced the night away til the early hours, drinking tequilla and other things.

Then came the Sunday morning hangover. We caught up with the autographs and photoshoots that we had missed earlier, and then attended more talks by the guests.

This time, the full cast was on stage, taking questions from the floor. They described what the characters wanted in the future seasons, how they had to adapt their characters from book to screen and also told us some more funny stories, with some of them trying out the infamous impression of Bill with a good "Sookeh".

Ted and Hoyt on stage (Pic by Jamie)

It seemed like the guests had a fantastic weekend as many of them popped their convention cherry at Bitten. I liked that, because a good convention experience means they can go back and tell their cast members across the pond to come over here and meet us!

On Sunday, the last night at the convention was the time for a chill-out party. Last year, the party was themed "Meeting of the Descendants of the Glorious Dead" - a tribute to all the soldiers to died in the American Civil War and the era when Bill was turned. We had a few drinks with friends and talk about the best bits of the weekend. As Monday dawned, we thanked Massive Events for a brilliant weekend and headed home.

A follow-up "True Blood" convention called Bitten 2 will be held in August 5th - 7th, Northampton. And the guests announced so far are:

Joe Manganiello - Alcide Herveaux
Marshall Allman - Tommy Mickens
Mariana Klaveno - Lorena
Mehcad Brooks - Eggs
Grant Bowler - Cooter

A schlong-fest if ever there was one. I will be among the many women drooling over Joe's body. That is sure a body to die for.

I enjoyed my dirty weekend away last year, so here's to the next one!

- Jamie Johnston -

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Red Dot Diva chomps @GamerJamie a big fang-you for sharing with us vampy, pole-dancing adventures.

Credit for all pics belong to Jamie Johnston.