shaniasupersite.com

'Family Reunion' for fans

Hardcore Shania Twain fans gather in Timmins

The Daily Press
By Kristine MacDougall
August 14, 2011

Bianca Verhaar is a big Shania Twain fan who has attended the annual fan
convention for the past four years. She travels from Holland to Timmins every
year for the event.

A small but dedicated group of approximately 20 people came out for the 9th Annual Shania Twain Fan Convention in Timmins.

People from around the world arrived last week for the event, with some coming as far away as Holland.

"For the last three years, I have been here, " said Bianca Verhaar of the Netherlands. A big fan of Shania Twain's music for several years now, she was happy to make her fourth trip to Timmins.

"I love visiting and meeting all the friends that come every year," she said. "Timmins has a lot of nice people. I love to come back here."

Convention organizer and manager of the Shania Twain Centre Tracy Hautanen said this year's event was smaller in terms of attendance, but very enjoyable nonetheless.

"This is more of a reunion year, than a convention," said Hautanen. "We're ramping it up for the 100th anniversary (of Timmins) next year, and we'll be promoting it a lot for our 10th anniversary.

"We're also here to pay our respects to a fan that we lost this year. His name was Charlie Reinhardt. He used to come every year, and he passed this January. This reunion is dedicated to Charlie."

The annual convention includes activities for attendees every year, said Hautanen.

This year, it included horse back riding, boat rides, a trivia contest based on Shania Twain's new book, some behind the scenes footage of Oprah Winfrey's special, a walk through the centre based on Shania's tour there last October, a brunch, a dinner and karaoke night dedicated to Charlie, called Charlie's Ranch.

"We love to have them all here," she said. "They're our biggest ambassadors."

One of the centre's ambassadors, who spoke highly of Twain and her music, was Richard Sessions of Goshen, Indiana.

"I think she's important because of the examples she's set in her life," said Sessions. "She has a lot of good moral values that I think the world needs. That's reflected in her music."

Returning year after year for the annual event, Sessions said there is one thing that he appreciates most about attending a convention like this.

"Every year we do something that is related to Shania's life, but the great thing about the convention is the friends you meet," he said. "We have people from all over the world, and we really feel like a family — it almost has a family reunion feel when we're here.

"We really enjoy getting together, sharing a common interest in Shania."

Throughout the four-day convention, fans gather together to enjoy Shania Twain's music, partake in various activities and events hosted by the Shania Twain Centre in Timmins.

"This year we went horse back riding," he said. "Shania really loves horses and she loves to go horse back riding so one of the activities we had this year was to get that feel of riding a horse out in the Northern Ontario wilderness.

"We always incorporate something about Northern life in Canada — that gave Shania her background and helped develop her into who she is today."

As a dedicated fan of Shania Twain and her music, Sessions said the annual fan convention has been a big part of his life for several years. It has provided experiences and opportunities he would not have otherwise had.

"This is my 11th visit to Timmins," said Sessions. "If it wasn't for the Shania Twain Centre, I would never have come to Timmins."

And like many who visit the Shania Twain Centre every year, there is one reason why he keeps coming back.

"I come here because of how it enriches my life. It's the people, it's the fans," said Sessions.

"It's because Shania's music has brought us together."

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