Sekh's Party... So what is it?

A Goa'uld fest? No....... try a damned good way of raising money for a good cause CCFF...

I spoke to Trish or Sekh, as she is commonly known thoroughout the Stargate fan world, about the Party and how it came about as one of the most well known gatherings outside of Gatecon.

• First of all, Why decide to have a Sekh's party? How did it start?

It started off as a dinner for half a dozen of us who knew each other primarily via the DANIELites & then Gategoers. I thought it might be a nice idea to put faces to names before the convention - Planet Hollywood seemed to be the perfect place. I opened it up to the list (Gategoers) & ended up with about 90 people signing up!

• What sort of teething problems did you encounter?

The name for one *lol* - when dealing with PH (Planet Hollywood) I'd been asked the name of the group - I typed 'Sekh's'. Had a phone call 20 minutes later from a very confused manager asking if I really meant it - "Sekh's Party????!!!". We wen't with it. Trying to convince PH that I really did mean 90, not 19 people & that yes I am in England. Other than that things went smoothly - folks wanted to have a good time, so we did.

• What made you choose CCFF?

We had been looking for a charity whose work would benefit as many people in as many countries as possible. Jr had begun his fundraising for CF. The CCFF's research helps kids with CF around the world. It has proven to be a great partnership.

• Have you always supported CCFF as the charity you donate to?

Our first year we donated funds to MaW.
Subsequently the majority of funds go to CCFF, though we have also donated to the Twin Towers Orphan Fund & the 911 Firemans Fund.

• How many attend the Party?

About 220 - which is a full house. When PH closed we had to find a new venue & Mavericks fitted the bill - funny thing is there is not that many places even in Vancouver which can accomodate us & our needs!

• How did you get the actors on board?

We asked. Simple as that. SP was never intended as a 'meet the actors' kind of thing, it has always been a 'meet your fellow congoers' event. Having Jr & other 'guests' come on board has been a wonderful bonus. We have been incredibly fortunate that guests have been so willing to get into the spirit of things, we have a laugh, we meet folks, we raise funds for charity.

• How did you get the items to auction?

We have been blown away by peoples generosity. The studio donate many items to us, they have arranged for special items, such as the 65 Roses of Stargate Quilt, to be autographed & have been wonderful supporters of the party - Thanks guys! Other items have been donated by partygoers & by companies we've asked. It never ceases to amaze me the willingness of people to help, all you have to do is ask. Because the party is self funding (ie the costs are all covered by the 'fee'), 100% of all the money raised from the raffle & auction go direct to our charities, nothing is taken out for admin or to buy prizes etc.

• The 65 roses, how did that idea come about, and how did you get them to autograph it?

Children find it hard to say Cystic Fibrosis, it often comes out as 65 Roses (the full story is on the party website). Becky has created wonderful quilts for SP & other events for a few years now. It was a 'light-bulb' monent - combine the 65 Roses theme with Becky's quilt. The next step was to contact the studio and ask for their help, which they kindly gave. Other autographs were obtained by us & friends at conventions. 140+ autographs later, the 65 Roses of Stargate quilt was in full fling. I don't think we've had a single person turn us down, they want to help, it's a great cause & it's something that will never be repeated.

• Just recently all hell broke loose as they lost their venue, so I asked Trish what happened...

When Planet Hollywood went under in 2001, we found Mavericks - a sports bar which could exclusively accommodate 250 of us, had audio visual capabilities, & we could afford! Early 2003 Mavericks underwent a full refurbishment & we were assured that their facilities would be the same or better. Unfortunately this was not the case, they went from being an 'event' venue to a standard dinner/dance restaurant, which looks nice, but could not offer us the facilities we needed or required. So with about 6 weeks to go we had to find a new venue! A massive search ensued. The studio volunteered to help us look, but to no avail. Funny enough there are not that many places even in Vancouver that can accommodate the numbers we need.
We had contacted literally dozens of places & either they couldn't accommodate 250 people, were booked on the 10th or were waaaaay outside our budget.
Finally the Crystal was contact, to be perfectly honest, out of sheer desperation. The situation was explained to Dil, the manager of the Crystal, & he offered us the use of their flagship Crystal Ballroom. At this point the studio came back to us & said that Reel Appetites, the Stargate studio caterers were happy to help us!
Without the Crystal at York & Reel Appetites I can honestly say there would have been no Sekh's Party this year.

So there you have it! A great time is had, people meet up with others from various websites and fan messageboards AND they make money for charity. What better way? Next time you go to Gatecon, why not go along to Sekh's Party and raise money for a good cause at the auction and meet up with your friends, you can be sure that it's all worth it! While you are there make sure that you get a ticket for the 65 Roses quilt of Stargate. Or you can buy online, but hurry you only have till midnight to buy them online if you are not attending the party, I've got mine!