Article on the Philly Party

Congrats to Erin and Meg for throwing a great party! And look at the picture of Erin at the bottom. Aw, how cute! =) Thanks to Kristin for sending this in.

Putting their ‘Roswell’ fanaticism to good use: Two area teens have planned a benefit inspired by their favorite TV show.

By Jennifer Weiner
INQUIRER STAFF WRITER

For your average teenager, throwing a party might entail rounding up friends, purchasing large quantities of fried or frozen snack foods, putting the latest CD on the stereo, and letting the good times roll.For Erin Seeherman, 15, of Lower Merion, and Megan Jordan, 17, of Washington Crossing, throwing a party means: inviting an executive producer
from Los Angeles; renting a hotel ballroom; securing celebrity memorabilia to auction; lining up two day’s worth of screenings, events, and food; charging $70 at the door; and pledging all proceeds to pediatric cancer patients.

Their event at the Adam’s Mark Hotel today and tomorrow is a bash with two missions – to raise money for a cause inspired by an episode of Roswell, their favorite TV show, and to persuade executives at the WB network to keep the show on the air for a third season. Set in the New Mexico town of the same name, Roswell tells the story of three adopted teens with special powers who
don’t know where they’ve come from, or why, and who try to lead normal high-school lives while avoiding the prying eyes of the sheriff, and dodging FBI agents bent on eliminating all evidence of alien visits. Critics have hailed it as touching and smart, but it has struggled to find an audience,
drawing 4 percent of all households with their sets on at 9 p.m. Mondays, as compared with top-rated Everybody Loves Raymond on CBS at the same time, which gets 19 percent.
Among Roswell’s most devoted fans, though, are teenage girls such as Seeherman, a sophomore at Lower Merion High, and Jordan, a
junior at Council Rock High.”The writing and the acting are done so honestly, not dumbed down for teens,” Seeherman said. “You really feel for these characters, and you feel like you know them.”These days, thanks to the
Internet, being a fan means more than sitting back and watching. It means going online, instant-messaging viewers all over the country, posting fan fiction, downloading pictures of the stars, and joining in Web chats with the show’s creator.Last year, when it seemed Roswell might be canceled, fans used the Web to launch a nationwide campaign to send network executives bottles of
Tabasco sauce with the message “Roswell is Hot.” They organized a Los Angeles party, which Seeherman attended, that raised close to $27,000 for charity by selling donated props and costumes from the show.”I really wanted to do something on the East Coast,” Seeherman said. Fellow crashdown.com
visitor Jordan was thinking along the same lines. Together, they enlisted the help of Suzette Mako, a party planner and Roswell fan, and rented the Adam’s Mark ballroom. The charity they chose, the Pediatric Cancer Foundation, was a natural fit, Seeherman said.

In one Roswell episode, the character Max Adams (played by Jason Behr) uses his alien powers to save a young girl suffering
from bone-marrow cancer, then heals other children.The weekend’s events will include screenings of as-yet-unaired episodes, and auctions of props and personal items donated by stars Katherine Heigl and Miko Hughes. Roswell creator Kevin Kelly Brown, who will attend the party at Seeherman’s invitation, said he was astonished by fans’ devotion. “I never expected anything like this,” Brown said.The party runs from 2 to 10 p.m. today and noon to 5 p.m. tomorrow.

If you’re interested in attending, e-mail Seeherman at ________ with your name, address, and when you want to attend.

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