Have you ever wondered what it would be like to win one of those amazing contests where you get flown to the Mockingjay Part 1 premiere in Los Angeles? Seems like it's a fairy tale that just happes to OTHER people, doesn't it? Well, our follower Kelsi was one of the 5 lucky winners of Samsung's #UltimateMockingjayFan contest, and she is going to tell you all about the experience here.
Hello Tributes! My name is Kelsi, and on October 30th I received a very exciting tweet from @SamsungMobileUS regarding their Twitter “Ultimate #MockingjayFan” contest. I submitted a tweet to them showing that I am an ultimate fan because I love everything related to Hunger Games - evidenced here by my random cosplaying as Katniss, complete with a bow and arrow:
Kelsi's winning tweet image
So when Samsung tweeted me that they loved my submission and were sending me to the Mockingjay: Part 1 premiere, I was ecstatic! So began the processes of selecting someone to accompany me as my guest (my friend Stefan), packing, picking outfits that were red carpet ready, etc. I had to fill out paperwork and send it to Samsung right away, and then waited (not so patiently) for more information to trickle in from them.
Finally, the big weekend arrived! My friend Stefan and I headed out to begin our adventure. On Saturday November 15, we boarded our plane at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport to fly in to LAX. An hour and 15 minutes later, we landed in Los Angeles!
Hopped off the plane at LAX....
Samsung had arranged for a driver (!!) to pick us up from the airport and take us to our hotel, the JW Marriott at L.A. Live. Our driver, Sydney, waited for us at baggage claim and then loaded us into the vehicle, and was an absolute joy to be around. She is definitely my favorite driver now ;)
Kelsi and her driver, Sydney.
We checked into our hotel and went out to eat with some of the other Samsung VIP winners at the Yard House, a restaurant next door, and had a lovely time getting to know one another and discussing what was to come!
When Sunday rolled around, we had the day free to ourselves and had to decide what to do. We had never really been let loose in LA before, so we knew we had to come up with something great. First, we met up with the other Samsung winners, fans, and Molly, Dan, and Angie from PanemPropaganda at Starbucks.
;)
Here's the whole crew at Starbucks
While standing outside of Starbucks planning the rest of the day's adventure, we randomly met a Hunger Games fan who flew in from Michigan in hopes of getting a wristband to attend the premiere. We took Samantha under our wing and decided to go out on the town. Thanks to a helpful concierge at the Marriott, we discovered that we could take the subway to the Hollywood Walk of Fame. None of us had ever been on a subway nor to the Walk of Fame before, so of course we had to go!
We even saw the “Hollywood” sign in the distance and took pictures with it!
Finally, it was Monday – premiere day! We relaxed in the morning, enjoying the rooftop pool at the Marriott and preparing ourselves for the big day. We explored the area, saw the HUGE line of Mockingjay fans waiting for wristbands for the premiere, and scoped out the set-up of the red carpet (which was white, rather than red) and the after-party tent (which we could see from our hotel window). Check out the party tent below. You can also see the massive wristband line of fans behind the tent, in front of the stairs.
The after-party tent
The "Samsung Galaxy District" (our VIP red carpet area) was near the beginning of the carpet and was considered a “selfie” zone by Samsung, so the stars that stopped by were expected to stop and take selfies with the fans! We even had a Samsung rep dressed like an Avox who was our “star wrangler,” making sure that stars stopped by to see us!
Kelsi, Stefan and their Samsung "star wrangler"
Then the stars began showing up!
All the stars looked fabulous and it was such an honor to be there. The stars were all so kind, taking selfies and spending time talking with us while they signed autographs for us. Many of the fans from the huge wristband line got to go on the red carpet too!
Then it was time for the movie – which I will not spoil for anyone but will admit that it was phenomenal. I was utterly blown away! I knew it would be good but I was genuinely impressed with just how good it was.
So, that was my Mockingjay: Part 1 premiere experience. I hope you have all enjoyed reading about it and seeing the pictures I had to share. I would like to thank Molly for running this site so beautifully and for meeting up with me at the premiere (You're welcome! *HUGS*). It was such a wonderful time. I look forward to trying to attend next year, and I hope to see all of you there!
@KelsilouWho and instagram at @kelsilouwho.