General Hospital Takes Over Graceland

General Hospital held a fan celebration at Elvis Presley’s Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee from January 17th to January 20th. This was the second annual fan convention that Graceland has hosted for General Hospital. GH stars turned out in abundance! The line-up included Genie Francis (Laura Collins), Ingo Rademacher (Jasper “Jax” Jacks), Laura Wright (Carly Corinthos), Steve Burton (Jason Morgan), Maura West (Ava Jerome), Donnell Turner (Curtis Ashford), Wes Ramsey (Peter August), Sofia Mattsson (Sasha Gilmore), Katelyn MacMullen (Willow Tait) and Josh Swickard (Harrison Chase). General Hospital’s Executive Producer Frank Valentini was at the event too!

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Fan events have become more popular over the past few years for General Hospital actors and actresses but the fan celebration at Graceland is on another level! Tickets are bought at different levels that grant access to different events throughout the weekend. All the fans that attended kicked off their weekend with a happy hour celebration on Friday night, January 17th, 2020. Some fans went on to an exclusive “Welcome to Port Charles” dinner and kick-off party following the happy hour! At the end of the night, classic episodes of General Hospital were shown. They played three episodes, the third annual Nurses Ball and the 2015 and 2016 Nurses Ball episodes!

General Hospital Spoilers – Panels

Saturday started off with hour-long cast panels that were moderated by GH’s very own Laura Wright. The first panel included Wes, Sofia, Katelyn, and Josh!

These four talked about growing up, their first jobs, the different methods they all use to memorize their lines and which storyline has been the most challenging for them to play on GH so far. The second panel included Genie Francis and Donnell Turner.

Donnell explained how he had grown up watching General Hospital and had always wished he could be like Luke and Laura. He went on to tell the audience how lucky he is that he now gets to act alongside Genie! Genie made sure to compliment Donnell back by stating, “may I just say that when I work with this man, I never feel alone.” He responded by letting her know that she is never alone with him! It looks like their friendship is as strong in real life as it is on screen!

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— SOS/CTS/HH (@SoapOperaSpy) January 23, 2020

Sunday’s panels were just as fun as Saturday’s. The first panel for the day was with Laura, Steven, Maura, and Ingo. Maura made sure to wear her blue suede shoes in honor of Elvis for her panel. These four friends spent the majority of their panel joking around with each other and the audience.

These four covered many topics which included how they started their career into acting, how they are similar or different in real life compared to their characters and talked about their real-life families! The last two panels included executive producer Frank Valentini.

He moderated a special Q&A with Genie Francis and then a Q&A for himself. Genie admitted the proudest scene she had ever filmed was in the T.V. miniseries North and South with Patrick Swayze. When Valentini took the stage by himself, he talked about the elephant in the kitchen, the Corinthos kitchen that is!

Many fans have noticed the new moss centerpiece in the Corinthos kitchen and how he did not think it would cause quite the stir that has. He jokingly talked about the set designer’s vision but that if the talk keeps going he might have to change it out, but it will not be with an ordinary bowl of apples!

GH Spoilers – Extra, Extra

The cast panels were not the only benefit fans experienced throughout their weekend at Graceland. There were many photographs and autograph opportunities with the cast members! The actors were even placed in front of backdrops created with Port Charles’s views.

Laura Wright signed autographs and took pictures in front of a backdrop of the Corinthos living room! Laura shared on her Instagram page that she saved every post-it note that held a fan’s name who stood in her line because she wanted her fans to know she was “so grateful you chose to spend your afternoon waiting and hanging with me.”

Saturday night even had Port Charles’s own Dr. Drake, or as the rest of the world knows him Rick Springfield, come in and give a special concert for all the attendees! He rocked Graceland with all his classics such as “Jesse’s Girl.” Talk about a night these fans will never forget! The fan celebration was held the weekend before Martin Luther King Jr. Day, so Genie Francis and Donnell Turner made sure to visit the National Civil Rights Museum to honor MLK. The National Civil Rights Museum was created at the Lorraine Motel, where MLK was shot and killed. Genie stated that “this holiday will have even greater meaning to me now” following their visit!

What an amazing weekend for everyone that attended! Stay on the lookout for any GH fan conventions that are headed to a town near you!