Writer's Forum

Presented by Tom Blomquist and Brenda Lilly

Tom and Brenda opened Friday morning at the Great Smoky Mountain Heritage Center. Attendees gathered to hear them speak of their experiences writing for Christy. Brenda and Tom explained how writing for a series works, as well as discussing some of the challenges faced by writers, both creatively but also in terms of a greater body of work. Christy fans well know the diverse and rich characters the writers had to draw on when imagining and penning stories of the cove. Attendees enjoyed sharing in the anecdotes, and Tom and Brenda took questions at the end of the session.

Casting Corner

Presented by Jo Doster and Jan Powell

Jan and Jo both worked on different aspects of casting Christy with excellent results. On the West Coast, Jan worked on a great deal of the guest star casting, also called 'stunt' casting, that each episode required. He explained the process of casting calls and how many actors, once cast, were sent directly to the Townsend set - often in the same day they auditioned. In Townsend, Jo was responsible for casting local talent, finding many of the familiar Christy cast faces. Both recalled how at that time the best and fastest way to get audition tapes sent was via Greyhound bus rather than a mailing service. For the first time, attendees not only heard about the Townsend experiences but the California counterpart. It was by their account a chaotic but fun time, one which both treasure. Attendees were able to ask questions at the end of their presentation.

After the morning segment, many attendees chose to have their period-style photographs taken by Mary Grace Photography. Moonshine jugs, shot guns, and straw bonnets all made appearances in some very creative photos!

Whiskey-running Ladies - photo by Mary Grace

PAX Movies Introspective

Presented by Michael Lilly, Tom Blomquist and Brenda Lilly

In the PAX Introspective, Tom, Mike, and Brenda all shared about their experiences in Canada filming the movies. Brenda talked about her role in essentially wrapping up the Christy movies. They spoke of the fun of having [and filming] both endings - of working to decide which man Christy chose. Tom explained about the challenges of the production. Of prime importance were budgeting, cast concerns, locations and more. At times a joy, at others a struggle, all worked very hard to create the best product. In his first ChristyFest™, Mike Lilly shared about his experiences, evolving from dialect coach to relatively spur-of-the moment Bob Allen. He explained how a dialect coach is there to help with the accents, to reduce the [in this case Canadian] inflections, and try to infuse a more native Southern sound. Mike told his stories with humor and grace, at one point stopping to acknowledge the 'other' Bob Allen in the room, Jeffrey [Buckner] Ford. It was a great session giving new insight into the creation of the PAX films.

Meet the Cast of Christy

Focusing on their roles in Christy, all of the Cast members present assembled on the stage to talk about their various experiences on the show and movies. Buck Ford, with his unmistakable commanding voice, asked his colleagues a wide range of questions. Lane Batot spoke of his work as an extra and his involvement with the animals - a dearly loved aspect of his time with Christy. Bruce McKinnon shared about his experiences as Jeb and the way he worked to create the role. Bonita Allen [Mary Allen] joked with her on-screen husband Buck [Bob Allen] about the time she had to run up and down the porch steps as he was about to be operated on in The Pilot. Bonita recalled the trusting crew member who gave Bonita her baby, who bounced along for each take. James Lunsford, who was the stunt double for Little Burl, spoke of his experiences doubling for the young child and placing himself in a bit of danger as he was rigged to slide down into a crevice. Michael Lilly elaborated more on his unexpected turn as Bob Allen, how he knew he was playing the same character as Buck, but could never replace him. In his laid-back manner, Andy Stahl shared about portraying Tom and working with Dale on Dickey [Opal] and the others in the series as well as the PAX films. Mike Hickman [Bird's Eye] spoke of his enjoyment portraying Bird's-Eye Taylor.

Attendees present Tom with a Hawaiian shirt - his favorite style

At the end of the session, attendees were able to ask questions and mingle with the Cast and Crew members before dispersing for the day. Some went to visit Mary Grace for more vintage-style photos: all were eager for what Saturday would bring.