Oddly enough, every time I step through the door into a Fest for Beatles Fans \u2013 whether it\u2019s held in New Jersey, New York, Chicago, Las Vegas, or Los Angeles, I hear Simon and Garfunkel singing. Yeah, you heard me: Simon and Garfunkel.<\/p>\n
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Oh sure, over the hotel speakers, The Beatles are joyfully \u201cyeah, yeah, yeah-ing their brilliant way across the universe,\u201d as it should be. But in my head, I hear:<\/p>\n
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\u201cHome where my thoughts escapin\u2019,
\nHome, where my music\u2019s playin,
\nHome where my love lies waitin\u2019
\nSilently for me\u2026silently for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Home. Going to a \u201cBeatlefest\u201d (as we used to call it) means coming home again.<\/p>\n
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Mark and Carol Lapidos always say that the fest is a Thanksgiving Dinner without the family arguments. And that pretty well sums it up.<\/p>\n
\nAll the usual characters are there\u2026the same family members we\u2019ve seen over and over for the past five, ten, twenty (or more!) years. You know, Michelle and Jessica in their flowing, glorious attire and 10-12 inch heels. The man who has every elegant Beatle suit ever tailored. That group who sets up a full band in the lobby and sings away, all night long\u2026and the tanned, smiling man who dances to every, single, solitary song. Mark Hudson with his \u201clove-is-a-many-splendored-beard\u201d and his crazy-mad command of \u201cWorking Class Hero.\u201d The fresh, hopeful teens out to win the \u201cBattle of the Beatles Bands.\u201d Jim Demes who works his buns off with a sincere smile ever on his face. Bruce Spizer who barely chuckles when I call him a \u201cBeatleseffin\u2019pedia.\u201d Gregarious Judith, supremely talented Eric, and our sweet friend, Dara.<\/p>\n
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My family. Our family. Home again.<\/p>\n
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We do the traditional things. We dance to the sounds of Liverpool’s nightly concerts. We take part in the trivia contest. We go to Jude\u2019s Sunday morning Early Bird speech in the Main Ballroom (Hint! Hint!) on \u201cThe 180 Hardest Days of The Beatles Career.\u201d We watch \u201cA Hard Day\u2019s Night\u201d on Friday evening just before the Author\u2019s Symposium. We get autographs from our lifelong heroes\u2026and at least once during the weekend\u2019s span, we just stop and sing along with The Beatles.<\/p>\n
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It\u2019s at that moment that we remember why we came here: for the friends, of course. For the family. For the fun and the programs and the laughter and the carefree moments out of time. But most of all, we have traveled here to celebrate our champions, The Beatles\u2026to lift a glass or two and say, \u201cThose were the days my friend.\u201d To remember.<\/p>\n
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We stand beneath the posters of their bright, 1960’s smiles, and we recall a time less harried, less riddled with care, less uncertain, and less angry. We remember the hope that was ours and the days that stretched ahead golden and full of promise. And it reminds us that this can happen again, if only we try\u2026if only we stay true to those things in which we once so ardently believed.<\/p>\n
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At the Fest for Beatles Fans, we come home to ourselves\u2026to whom we were and to whom we can be again.<\/p>\n
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Join me March 20-22 and be reborn<\/a>. In Rye Brook, New York, YOU are waiting for you. I wouldn\u2019t miss that appointment.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Grab your #TicketToRye RIGHT HERE<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n