CLEVELAND ROCKS!

March 19, 2007

Yesterday, while Darius, Collin, Jason, and Daniel were having a blast at the Altanta Motor Speedway (see our new pictures), five of us (Logan, Ben, Sam, John Hadden and Allison Firor) were traveling to Ohio for the Cleveland International Film Festival. We had been hearing so many good things about how well run this festival is and how hospitable the people are here, and we are finding that to be absolutely true.

Last night, for example, Hyla Winston, who is a friend of a cousin of Tracy Seckler (Charley's mom) invited all of us over for a homecooked meal. On our meager budget, we've never been known to turn down a free dinner, so we happily accepted. She went all out for us, and not only was the food incredible (especially the dessert), but we really enjoyed meeting her and her extended family. Yep, Cleveland rocks.

This morning, we had our first screening at what is called FilmSlam, a part of the festival that is geared specifically to teenagers. The theater was packed, and they loved the movie. High school students are always our favorite audience, and this group was no exception. They asked great questions at the Q&A.

We spent most of the afternoon watching other movies, then had our second screening at the regular festival this evening. When we arrived at the theater, we were pleasantly surprised to find a packed house (over 300 people), something we're not accustomed to outside of Athens. By then, Daniel, Jason, and Dylan had joined us. One snafu: Logan forgot the Oprah postcards and wasn't in the theater when he was introduced (oops). But Ben stepped up and did an awesome job. What an incredible audience! When the show was over, we got a standing ovation that lasted for several minutes! And the Q&A was awesome.

We were all wearing our brand-new series (of six) DGW t-shirts tonight, and everyone in Cleveland wants one. We'll be selling them soon on our website (www.dariusgoeswest.com), so if you want one, send us an e-mail (logansmalley@aol.com), and we'll let you know as soon as they're available. All proceeds go to Charley's Fund (www.charleysfund.org) for DMD research.

Tomorrow we have another FilmSlam screening in the morning and another regular festival screening in the evening. We hope the word spreads, and we pack the house again!

DGW...Know about it!