{"id":3920,"date":"2014-11-03T12:08:23","date_gmt":"2014-11-03T17:08:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thefest.com\/?p=3920"},"modified":"2014-11-03T12:09:36","modified_gmt":"2014-11-03T17:09:36","slug":"by-any-other-name","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thefest.com\/by-any-other-name\/","title":{"rendered":"By Any Other Name"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>
\n 
\nWe call it The Fest.
\n 
\nWe could say \u201cconvention\u201d or \u201cgathering\u201d or \u201cconference\u201d or \u201cmeeting.\u201d But it\u2019s more than that.
\n 
\nIt\u2019s also \u201ccelebration\u201d and \u201cparty.\u201d The Fest for Beatles Fans \u2013 whether it\u2019s held in New Jersey, Chicago, Las Vegas, or L.A. is always so much more than the trite, run-of-the-mill weekend symposium or show. It\u2019s indeed a festival\u2026a joyous f\u00eate uplifting of The Beatles and who they were and what they stood for, then and now. It\u2019s a fest of their love.
\n 
\nIn Los Angeles two weeks ago, we experienced that feeling with an awareness borne from time to think and reflect. Oh there were crowds and we were busy, but we weren\u2019t OVERWHELMED the way we were in February at the New York Fest\u2026we weren\u2019t inundated as we were in Chicago. The authors and presenters and speakers who gathered on the \u201cLeft Coast\u201d had moments to digest what was going on and to let the HISTORY of the moment sink in.
\n 
\nDirectly across from my booth in the Marketplace stood Julia Baird, John\u2019s sister, taking time to have her photo made with every single person who asked \u2013 signing autographs and sharing memories. At times, I could feel how very exhausted she was, but like John, she turned no one away. Julia kept smiling and hugging and making each fan feel special and unique. And when they walked away she didn\u2019t roll her eyes or secretly snipe at them. Her love for each person was genuine. I know. I could see.
\n 
\nBeside me sat Ruth McCartney, takin\u2019 the mickey out of everyone in her path\u2026especially me. She had a blast from the moment she arrived \u2018til the last second that she walked away. Selling her own brand of McCartney tea, Ruth was a force of fun to be reckoned with\u2026a whirling dervish of deviltry. She was all nudge, nudge, wink, wink. Loved it!
\n 
\nIt was a weekend for standing and chatting with Bob Eubanks who once brought The Beatles to the Hollywood Bowl\u2026a weekend for learning The Cavern Stomp from the lovely Freda Kelly, who (quite fortunately) will never\u00a0 ever change\u2026who will always, as the song says, \u201cstay as sweet as you are.\u201d It was a weekend for laughing with Ivor Davis over\u00a0 Ringo\u2019s 1964 escapades and for smiling from ear-to-ear as Dave Morrell spun his web of loosey-goosey experiences, sharing the moments he spent with John just \u201chorse-doggin\u2019.\u201d Those were the days, my friend.
\n 
\nThe L.A. Fest was a weekend of music: the rock rant of Mark Hudson, the mad sax of Mark Rivera, and the \u201cHey Jude\u201d of Mark Lapidos. All reMARKable.
\n 
\nIt was Denny Laine, Denny Seiwell, and Laurence Juber all WINGing across the stage together\u2026together, minus\u00a0 One.
\n 
\nIt was Bruce with the serial number and history of every Beatles record ever made and Chuck with a photo of each stop along the concert highway. It was me with 4000 footnotes and Kit with two upcoming books and Michelle and Jessica flowing past in 8-inch platform heels and burgundy \u201cHelp\u201d-inspired, hooded capes. It was \u201cLiddy Dave\u201d with his quick wit and Candy with her inborn Beatleness. It was Susan stepping up to emcee us all\u2026and Wally toting his penguin, a wry Thisbe (or Pyramus?).
\n 
\nWe photographed one another. We made Beatles news for Steve Marinucci and Adam Forrest. We got up the courage to tell Julia how much she meant to us (well, I did). We bought T-shirts and books from one another. We had dinner together. And we laughed. We laughed as if our lives outside those walls realm had vanished, as if Joy was all we had.
\n 
\nFor one weekend, we were all sixteen again.
\n 
\nSomeone called The Fest for Beatles Fans a family reunion without the squabbles\u2026and it is. It\u2019s\u00a0 a magical mystery tour where she loves you and everyone feels fine. It\u2019s a ticket to ride to a realm where each quirky person is completely accepted and totally loved.
\n 
\nWhen John Lennon gave his stamp of approval to Mark Lapidos\u2019s idea to create a \u201cBeatles Fest\u201d forty years ago, he was unwittingly endorsing The New Apple\u2026a gathering of creative souls to sing, dance, act, speak, read poetry, do yoga, imagine, and remember.
\n 
\nAnd so, in an important way, we are continuing The Business of The Beatles. But to most of us, it feels like nothing but \u201cfest!\u201d
\n 
\nHow many days \u2018til the next one?
\n 
\nJude is a John Lennon author\/historian whose writing style is geared for fans, as she explains in great detail all angles of events in a very enjoyable manner. Head to Jude’s website to explore her works:\u00a0 http:\/\/www.johnlennonseries.com\/
\n 
\nFollow Jude on Twitter @JudeKessler
\n 
\nFollow Jude on Facebook here<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  We call it The Fest.   We could say \u201cconvention\u201d or \u201cgathering\u201d or \u201cconference\u201d or \u201cmeeting.\u201d But it\u2019s more than that.   It\u2019s also \u201ccelebration\u201d and \u201cparty.\u201d The Fest for Beatles Fans \u2013 whether it\u2019s held in New Jersey, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[29,84,35,117,30],"class_list":["post-3920","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fest-memories","tag-beatlefest","tag-jude-kessler","tag-los-angeles","tag-the-beatles","tag-the-fest-for-beatles-fans"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thefest.com\/?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3920","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thefest.com\/?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thefest.com\/?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thefest.com\/?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thefest.com\/?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3920"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.thefest.com\/?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3920\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3923,"href":"https:\/\/www.thefest.com\/?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3920\/revisions\/3923"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thefest.com\/?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3920"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thefest.com\/?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3920"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thefest.com\/?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3920"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}