A Peek At The New Nancy Ann Storybook Dolls; Another Busy Day of Doll Activities at National Convention

Wow...only one day left at the UFDC National Doll Convention! Talk about time flying by. As promised, the photo is of one of the new Nancy Ann Storybook Dolls sculpted by Dianna Effner with costumes designed by Londie Phillips. I think that this new sculpt captures the charm and personality of the vintage Nancy Ann Storybook dolls with a fresh, updated look.

Events today included the Madame Alexander dinner and the Maggie Iacono luncheon (a highly coveted ticket). The day started at a civilized hour (9am) with the Annual Meeting of the UFDC...well, civilized if you weren't a voting delegate who had to wake up starting at 6:30 am to get voting credentials!

The day didn't end until 11pm, after two large gatherings (all attendees were invited; no ticket required)--the Doll Costumer's Guild Gathering and the Kish Collectors' Gathering. In between, the day proved hectic, since the sales room was open to the public, and since it was the last chance to see the Competitive Doll Exhibits and the Special Exhibits and to put your tickets in the raffles for the literally hundreds of convention helper dolls and related items.

I also attended the Publisher's Preview tonight (my first time as an author and an About.com Guide instead of as an attendee!). The Publisher's Preview allows pubishers and authors to preview and sell books, magazines, and related items. Its quite a bit of fun, with flyers and samples given out freely.

If I seem a little less exhuberant than usual, please forgive me--I seem to have a bit of the creeping convention crud that many people are catching at this convention. It is actually the first convention out of the last nine that I've caught anything (which is a bit amazing since conventions just have to be huge breeding grounds for germs), so I shouldn't complain; however, I did grumpily spend half the day in my room missing doll events, trying to recover.

Tomorrow is the last day of the 56th Annual Convention, ending with the gala banquet and the charity auction of the centerpiece dolls provided by the Tonner Doll Company. There is one banquet charity auction centerpiece on display, and she is breathtaking--tomorrow evening's auction should end the convention in a spectacular way.