The Las Vegas Stories. Sandie Leeming

Today another great fan's story. Thank you so much Sandie Leeming.

As soon as I knew of this star ceremony I knew I wanted to be there. It wasn't just the opportunity to honour David but also the opportunity to meet those fans around the world I had been speaking to on Facebook and late night zoom calls for so many years. 

I booked my ticket in January along with my friend Kathryn and it was a long winter counting down the days till I could go. I had been to Vegas in 1978 but realised it would have changed so much over the years. 

The first day we were at Ballys hotel it was very hot and it was lovely to meet some of the fans I knew through Facebook around the pool that afternoon. There were so many hugs going around and lots of chat.  

 

The next day we had the Fans night but during the day we walked around Vegas and found David's star at the foot of the Eiffel Tower not far from where we were staying. Vegas did not disappoint.  You could be anywhere in the world from a fake Eiffel Tower to  fake Venetian waterways and even a London Eye. It was totally over the top spectacular.

The festivities began in earnest that evening at Fan night.   It was so lovely to get together with other David fans sharing stories singing along to all the songs and dancing.  We all ended up doing the conga at the end of the night. 

It was lovely to meet Johnny Ray Miller that evening and I bought a copy of his book which he signed for me. 

I loved the next day which was a tour bus visiting all the places David hung out and the Chapel where he married Kay in 1977.  We all were given a glossy  picture of David on a stick and we were waving these around and singing along to the songs. One of my memories of that day was the bubbly Erin from Australia singing all the PaPapa' s on The Partridge Family song " Let the Good Times In" and us all singing along to " Having A Ball" 

The day of the ceremony on what would have been David's 72nd birthday was very special. We all gathered at the Star at 11am.  It was a lovely warm day but not too hot. We were all sat around the Star singing Happy Birthday and I felt his presence. Its funny how all the fans I spoke to said the same thing it was there at that ceremony that we felt him. It was so uplifting. 

After the ceremony at the Star we all went back to the hotel and the afternoon event of speeches was due to take place.  So many people like Bruce Kimmel, Frank Fabio ,Timm McCoy, Johnny Ray Miller and The Cowsills gave beautiful speeches sharing their memories and love for David.  Later the majority of fans had left the conference room there were just a few of us left talking to Bruce , Johnny and Johnny's friend Scottie. Scottie had a never released song by David from the 1970s called " I'll be your magician" on his phone and played it for us. 

The evening meal that evening was really special too with so many of us gathering at the Italian restaurant. A lovely meal and David's birthday cake with a copy of the Star on top. I  spent hours talking to my new friends who were by then friends for life.

David once said he had the best fans in the world and I am sure that he was right. Wherever he is now I am sure he felt all the love that came from all of his fans over those  special days in Vegas.

I am so glad that I was able to be there and  to meet so many lovely people and I will never forget those magical days  and hopefully I will see some of those people I met again. 

This whole event was organised so well and with love  for David by all who were involved 

I want to thank everyone who made this a great success and an amazing experience for me and I am sure everyone else.I had a great time

Sandie Leeming