To be honest, since we were traveling back to NC and TN on Day 5, we didn't think there'd be much to blog about. We were wrong...
The day started out a whirl of activity. Functioning on about 3 hours of sleep, we had to get showered, ready and pack--quickly--so that we'd have time to stop by the gifting/swag lodge before we headed to the airport (photo above is us wearing our access badges). Our schedule was tight, but thankfully a cab got us over to the Village at the Yard in a matter of minutes. Before we knew it, we were standing amidst a motley mix of brands (Fred Segal, Spongebob Squarepants/Nickelodeon, Drugstore.com/Beauty.com, T-Mobile, etc.) encouraging star endorsement and press coverage through generous swag bag giveaways. Being neither stars nor the media, vendors were less inclined to give us common folk anything of significant value, though we did score a bag full of drugstore.com beauty product samples and a T-Mobile bubble-wrapped s'more's kit, complete with graham crackers, marshmallows and a chocolate bar.
But the highlight for us was a very tasty lunch compliments of the T-Mobile Cafe. Feasting on a fancy chicken salad (me) and burger (Kathy), we took in the scene: a rather small and bare sun-filled room chock full of industry folk. Interestingly, though perhaps not surprisingly, we saw a lot of the same people who were at Tao the night before--including Terrell Owens (or "T.O." as Kristine the sports fan refers to him), who sat at the table right next to us. A couple of very nice gentlemen producers (whom Kristine had met at Tao) were also there and, recognizing Kristine from across the room (!?), came over for the requisite cheek-kiss greet on their way out. Oh, and Olivia Thirlby (you'd know her as Ellen Page's best friend in "Juno" and the lead in "Snow Angels") was also there looking very, well, starlet-esque, with a peaches & cream complexion and understated attire. She's one that lets her natural beauty serve as the telltale marker of her celebrity status.
As we headed to catch our cab back to the Hampton Inn & Suites, Kathy talked the Spongebob Squarepants rep into giving her a stuffed doll. That Evans charm works every time.
Our Sundance 2009 experience came to a close with one final celebrity encounter, this time with Mark McGrath, formerly lead singer of Sugar Ray and most recently a TV host. As he was heading in, we decided for once we should get a 'proper' celebrity photo--one with us in it as well. The best was when Kathy asked Mark "Can we be really cheesy for a minute and get a photo with you?" and he replied, "You're in luck, I happen to be in the cheesy business." He was much cooler and more down to earth in person than we would have imagined given his rock star heartthrob image.
After that, Kathy and I caught the shuttle back to the airport and very reluctantly parted ways.
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