On March 7-8, 2008 Joel Cooke visited the MegaCon 2008 convention in the US which is a huge, Multi-Genre convention with thousands of attendees, and this was Leah Cairns' first-ever American convention appearance.

While MegaCon is primarily a comic/anime themed show, it definitely has an element of SciFi to it as one can tell from the guest list that it had for this year, as well as the previous year when they had both Mary McDonnell and Jamie Bamber. When I first arrived at the convention center on Friday afternoon, I saw that Leah Cairns was already busy signing a few autographs and talking with some of her fans that had stopped by her table.

Leah Cairns at MegaCon 2008

Surprisingly the convention center was fairly empty of convention goers, even for a Friday afternoon, but the upside of this was that it give Leah Cairns the opportunity to interact with her fans one on one, and for them to ask her questions about the various movies and shows that she's done, an opportunity that you rarely get at a convention of this size. Leah happened to be the first guest to show up at the convention, and throughout the day she had a steady stream of fans who were more than eager to meet her, and it was the same for Leah as well.  This helped to dispel the notion that Leah had mentioned earlier in her Battlestar Blog that no one was going to show up.

You could tell that Leah definitely loved to interact and chat with her fans, as she eagerly answered any questions that were thrown her way, ranging from how did she get her start in acting, to what "Battlestar Galactica" Season 4 was going to be like. She even managed to get the shyest of shy fans to talk with her as well, getting them to respond with more than just a word or two. For those "Battlestar Galactica" fans who showed up at her table, she told them to keep on watching as Season 4 will be the best season yet, and it would blow them away.

Leah Cairns and some Battlestar Galactica fans at MegaCon 2008

Leah was delighted to see a contingent of fans who had shown up at the convention dressed up in various costumes from "Battlestar Galactica", and impressed with the effort put forth in making the costumes as well. Across the row from Leah Cairns' table, was fellow "Battlestar Galactica" co-star, Mark Sheppard, and later in the day when things had pretty much slowed down, she went over to his table where they talked for a little while. Then some of the "Battlestar Galactica" fans saw this, and seized the opportunity where the two of them were together, and began to ask them questions about the show, effective starting an impromptu "Battlestar Galactica" Q&A session, which resulted in Mark talking with the fans for well over an hour.

Mark Sheppard and Leah Cairns at MegaCon 2008

Then on Saturday morning, the convention got into full swing, with thousands of fans lining up and filling the outer entrance hall of the center hours before the doors were opened. The autograph area was definitely a lot busier than it was the day before, and it also brought more fans by Leah Cairns' table.

Leah Cairns signing a Cylon Centurion head at MegaCon 2008

The most impressive item that Leah added her signature on at the convention, was a fan made replica Cylon Centurion's head, with a working light that pulsated from side to side. It was almost as if it was the real thing!

Even Leah's husband, Kevin, got into the spirit of signing autographs, as when Leah Cairns took a break on Saturday, someone walked past and inquired about getting an autograph, he responded and asked "Who should I make this out to?" as he picked up a sharpie and proceeded to uncap it as if he was going to sign it. This elicited a bewildered look from the passerby, which then turned into a laugh as they said that they'd come back later when the "real" Leah Cairns was signing.

Leah Cairns' husband Kevin at MegaCon 2008

Overall, I would have to say that this convention was definitely a great way to welcome Leah Cairns as a guest at American conventions, as she plans on doing more in the near future.  She definitely had a good time meeting many fans of hers and of the TV Shows and movies that she's been on, as well as just talking to them about anything.

Just meeting Leah Cairns was the highlight of the entire convention for me, as I've heard so many good things about her, and she definitely was that great fan-friendly person that people have described her as, and more! I cannot wait to meet Leah again at another convention in the future.