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This month's news from Alison...
actually from
Alison's hubby
Mr. Bob
Alison Arngrim Home Page
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Nellie Newsletter
5/19/23
Aah . . . It’s good to be back in California. And to have April behind us.
So, first let’s address the elephant in the room. (Hello, Elephant!!) But seriously, I cannot thank you enough for all of the cards and messages of condolence for me and my family. Losing a parent is always difficult, and there’s not much that can take away from that, but to have all of this love and support coming in from all sides, well, it makes a huge difference. So, thank you!! And for those of you who do not know, my father passed away just shy of his 101st birthday.
Alison has been very busy of late. First, she was at the Cherry Blossom Festival, then she went to the Revolution Super Fest in Summerdale, PA. (I’ll have to ask her about that happy hour!) Then she went to Bloomfield Iowa with a short side trip to Hannibal Missouri for a Riverboat Cruise. (She goes to all the best places!)
And now we’re back home. To stay. For a while, at least. And the cats are happy! (“I’m happy, too!”, cried Sock Monkey.) Time to recuperate and take care of business.
Anyway, let’s do the rundown of Alison’s activities:
1. Daily Book Readings – The daily readings are currently on hiatus for an indefinite period. (But she’s thinking about it!)
2. Bonnets, Etc. - Bonnets, tin cups, books, photos, Alison sells them at her online store, 'Not Your Mothers Mercantile'. Everything autographed. Here's the link to the store: Mercantile Be sure to specify how you want them signed.
3. Cameo - You can now have your favorite cast member record a personal video greeting - Happy Birthday, Congratulations, Get Well Soon, you name it! Check it out: Cameo Website Or... cut to the chase: Alison Cameo
4. Memmo – Just like Cameo, except it’s based in Europe. So, if you want a message from Alison, especially if you are located in Europe, try this on for size:Alison Memmo (She can also do them en francaise!!)
5. Radio Show / Podcast - The Alison Arngrim Show is on every Tuesday at 5:00 pm Pacific Time. The best way to catch the show live is to go to the UBN Radio page on FaceBook: UBN FaceBook. Last week’s show was a re-run of her interview with Pat Labyorteaux (Andy Garvey). Look for a surprise guest on next week’s show. (Nope, not telling! My lips are sealed.) But, boy was that an episode to remember!! (Hint, hint!) And if you miss a show, or want to catch any of the past episodes, go to her FaceBook page for the show: Past Episodes
6. Who's Going To Do The Cooking? - Alison will be appearing on her FaceBook page, cooking something with instructions, often on Monday mornings at 11:30 am. (And now, whenever she can find the time!) She has made many incredible dishes. You can find all of these on her YouTube Channel: Who's Going To Do The Cooking? It has been a while since she’s done one of these, but I have it on good authority that there will be another one soon. (Not sure what she’ll be cooking, but it will be yummy!
Schedule, anyone? (Where do I even begin?)
As mentioned above, June & July are times for us to recharge, restock, and recuperate from our many adventures. But then things start to heat up again . . .
This one is so fresh, I can hardly believe it. So, mark your calendars and save the date! On Friday and Saturday, August 25 & 26, Alison and the gang are going to Patti's 1880's Settlement, 1793 JH Obryan Ave, Grand Rivers, KY 42045. (And there may be another River Boat Cruise on Sunday!) At this time, I have no further details. But, as usual, as soon as I know, you’ll know. Stay tuned!!
Then, September 1 – 3, Alison will be in Orlando Florida for Fanboy Expo Orlando. This will be at the Hyatt Regency Orlando, 8901 International Drive, Orlando 32819. Ticket Prices range from $10 for a child one day ticket, all the way up to $195 for a Gold VIP ticket. (The $695 Diamond VIP tickets are already sold out, and it’s only May!!) Autograph prices vary, and there are a selection of Fan Packages and Photo Op deals. The event runs from 4 to 9 pm on Friday, 10 am to 6 pm on Saturday, and 11 am to 5 pm on Sunday. Here’s the link for tickets and additional info: Fanboy Orlando Alison will be joined on this trip by Karen Grassle (Caroline Ingalls), and . . . wait for it . . . Melissa Gilbert (Laura Ingalls)!! Yep, Laura and Nellie off together, with Ma along to keep the peace! Should be good!
Then, on September 23 & 24, she’s off to The Prairie Folks Antique & Crafts Festival in Pawhuska, Oklahoma. (Where!?!) It all happens at the Osage County Fairgrounds located at 320 Skyline Drive on September 23/24 in Pawhuska, OK! Saturday 10-5 and Sunday 10-4. Admission is $6, and children under 12 get in free. An “Early Bird” ticket for $15 gets you in at 8:30am for the first picks of the Festival vendors and in line to see the LHOTP actors! Alison will be accompanied on this adventure by Dean Butler (Almanzo Wilder), Charlotte Stewart (Miss Beadle), Wendi Lou Lee (Baby Grace Ingalls), Patrick Labyorteaux (Andy Garvey), Pamela Roylance (Sarah Carter) & Jennifer Donati (Rose Wilder). And that’s not all!! This is where the Prairie Folks meet the Pioneer Woman. On Saturday, September 23rd at 7:00 pm there will be the Little House Murder Mystery Dinner Theatre. This will be held at the Pioneer Woman Mercantile Event Center, 532 Kihekah Avenue, Pawhuska. Tickets are $165, and include dinner, Murder Mystery, and a professional photo with the original LHOTP cast members. Keep in mind, there are only 100 tickets available for the Murder Mystery, and it WILL sell out! (Plan ahead, already!) And that’s STILL not all! On Sunday, September 24th, you can have breakfast with the LHOTP cast members! Tickets for this are $100 and include admission to the festival for Sunday. Again, there are only 100 tickets for breakfast available. You know, this sounds like way too much fun!! (And I’ve never been to Oklahoma!!) For early bird tickets, go to: Early Bird Tickets For VIP Breakfast tickets go to: Breakfast Tickets
And then she’s back in France. Again . . . For a while . . . So, that means if you want to order from the Mercantile and have her sign it, you have to do it before she leaves for France!
Rumour Control
1. A Confessions US Tour? Could we even imagine??
2. Ever been on a cruise? We haven’t, at least so far . . .
3. Whatever happened to Sylvia? You remember Sylvia?
Miscellaneous
New Readers – Welcome to all of our new readers who signed up in Pennsylvania and Missouri. As promised, this will come out no more than once per month, and we won’t send you anything but the Newsletter. One word of warning: If you are signed up through your school or work account, we occasionally use a word that may not make it past your language filters. (Confessions of a Prairie . . you know!) Hey, we’re not swearing like sailors over here! Well except maybe for Sock Monkey. (“Hey!”, yelled Sock Monkey!) Welcome aboard!
Auditions – Everyone loves audition stories. How did you get the part? What was it like? Did you do anything funny? Well, here are two LHOTP Audition stories:
Alison: Alison Audition
Melissa Gilbert: Melissa Audition
Tribute to Kent & Michael – This last weekend was sort of a LHOTP Double Header, so to speak. While many of the cast were cavorting in Iowa and Hannibal Missouri, there was something a little closer to home. The Autry Museum of the American West held a tribute to Michael Landon and Kent McCray. Here’s a link to some photos from the event: Autry Photos As you can see in the photo of the panel, there is Stan Ivar, Pamela Roylance, Leslie Landon, Susan McCray, Matthew Labyorteaux, and Dean Butler. And Alison and Melissa sent videos. And a surprise visitor to the event was Mariam Fife, one of the set teachers from the Simi Valley filming sessions. From all reports it was a wonderful event.
50th Anniversary Report – The 50th Anniversary is not until 2024, a year away! Here’s what I know so far:
Walnut Grove – OK, we’ve heard back from the LIW Museum in Walnut Grove. They are still in the planning stages, but their target dates are July 18th through 21st. I will keep in touch with them for future updates.
Simi Valley – Well these folks are way ahead of everyone in the planning process. They have actual dates March 22-24, 2024. And they meet every couple of weeks to move things along. (Plans are getting elaborate!) And you can now sign up for their mailing list at: Simi Valley E-Mail List
Rumoured additional events include The Hollywood Museum, Chiller Con in New Jersey, and various other locations around the country. (And maybe Europe, too!) As time goes by, more people are realizing that this is the 50th anniversary, and it’s a big deal. There will be many more events going forward.
No other updates at this point. I’ll keep checking, though.
Nellie Oleson Doll – I can’t tell you how happy Alison is to have her own Nellie Doll. She even did an unboxing video when she got it. ( Alison Unboxing ) And you, too, can have a Nellie Oleson doll of your very own! These are Produced by a company called The Queen’s Treasures. Here’s the link to their website: The Queen's Treasures Remember, they’re the ones who did the Oleson and Ingalls bears. Some fun!
Flash from the Past – Many, many years ago, Alison did an interview for our good friend Woody McBreairty. This was in April 2010. Check this out: Woody Interview
Maintaining our lives in the age of COVID-19 – Well, on the good news front, the Pfizer vaccine was just approved for use in children aged 6 months or older. This will help, because as you know, when a child catches something, it gets brought home to the rest of the family.
The interest and attention to COVID seems to be waning. This is not so good, since COVID-19 is the third leading cause of death in the United States for the third year in a row. But then again, we now have more treatments. We even have ad slogans: “At the first sign of COVID, I get Paxlovid!”
Bottom line, it’s still here, and is likely to be here from now on. What do we do? Well, we have all the tools we need. Keep up with your precautions. Hand washing is important. I still wear my mask a lot of the time and will be getting my next vaccine booster in about a week. We need to make this something we live with, not something we get sick or die from.
And for our Fauci moment: "I don't know how to explain to you that you should care for other people." But we must.
Prairie Tidbits
Olivia Barash (Sylvia Webb) – Olivia played the part of Sylvia Webb in what is possibly the most controversial story in the history of Little House. It was a two-part episode entitled “Sylvia” in 1981. From IMDB: “New student Sylvia Webb, who has physically matured faster than most of her classmates, piques the physical curiosity of some of her male classmates. Albert goes along at first, but quickly becomes friends with Sylvia. However, he is unaware that she is trapped in a horrifying world: She's being stalked (and is eventually attacked by) a masked rapist . . “ Here is an interview with Olivia from Entertainment Weekly in February 2023: Olivia Interview Wonder what she’s doing now?? Hmmm . . .
Pat Labyorteaux (Andy Garvey) – Pat has been making the rounds of the autograph shows, regaling everyone with tales from LHOTP, JAG, and Sumner School, to name but a few. And you can still get in on his Acting School. ( Working Actors School )
Dean Butler (Almanzo Wilder) – OK, never done this before, but it just so happens that today is Dean’s birthday. Happy birthday, Dean!!
James Cromwell (Harve Miller) – James got to play the love interest for Lucy Lee Flippin (Eliza Jane Wilder) in a two-part episode from 1980. Here’s the scene where he meets Eliza Jane: Harve Meets Eliza James has continued with his career and has been in more movies and TV shows than I can count, going all the way back to 1974. Here’s his IMDB page if you want to check it out: Cromwell IMDB
The Saga of Sock Monkey (Chapter One Hundred & Nineteen)
Sock Monkey was bored. OK, he was in France, which is good. He and Alison are off on another adventure, which is good. They were doing a show, which is good. But for now, they were in rehearsal. Which is boring if you’re not in the show. At home, he got to direct, he got to tell everyone what to do. He got to feel important. Here, he was pretty much just a spectator. He had to find a way to work his way into the production. He had explored the theatre and gotten lost more than a few times. He had climbed up into the lighting and swung across the many catwalks. (At least there were no cats on them!) He had even gotten himself thrown out of the dancers’ dressing room! But now… Wait, maybe he could find a cat to torment! This is France, and there are cats everywhere! And they are at least as snarky as those two back home. He needed a plan . . .
(To be continued.)
There you have it. The fourth Nellie Newsletter for 2023. Stay safe, mask up, wash up, get your booster shots, and be good to each other.
As usual (Comme d’habitude), be good bonnet heads, and I’ll talk to you next month.
- Bob |
