The cast of Vampire Diaries recently went on a cast tour sponsored by Hot Topic to promote the now extended season of the new show. Damon (Ian Somerhalder), Stephen ( Paul Wesley) and Elena (Nina Dobrev) were all present at the signing and Q and A. The signing began at three in the afternoon but people were lined up before noon, I happened to be one of them in a group including my girlfriend, her sister , our two friends, my cousin and her friends. We were lined up in the hallways behind the stores and periodically checked for our irreplaceable paper bracelets. It must have been at least ninety degrees in this hallway and after four hours a lot of us began to get cabin fever.  After the long wait we were counted and escorted to Hot Topic where the signing was taking place. Upon walking into the door we had one security guard cutting off our bracelets so we couldn’t re-enter and then another telling us the ground rules as he led us to a small line. No pictures, videos, gifts, no touching, no leaning over the table, you would think we were meeting the president.

  Paul Wesley who plays Stephen on the show was the first signer at the table and the one handing out the posters. As i approached him I wondered what I should say and what he was  like. He introduced himself to me and thanked me for coming and was actually a really nice guy. He then passed my poster down to Nina Dobrev who plays Elena on the show. She was still talking to the girl before me and had already signed my poster before the girl walked away. She looked up and then went to grab another poster and all I could nervously say was ” That was my poster.” Despite that she also seemed like a really nice person and from my girlfriends experience speaking to her she was. Now finally at the end of the table sat Ian Somerhalder who plays Damon on the show and was who my girlfriend, and the rest of the group, was drooling over. He, also extremely nice and peppy, introduced himself and after we exchanged names fist bumped me and said thanks for coming. After my girlfriend and friends found out about that they tried to attack my fist and then proceeded to yell at me for washing it.  All in all the expreience with these actors was a great one and they showed no sign of an ego at all. They all treated us as if we were equals and it made me respect them a lot more as professionals.

   After the signing we headed up stairs for the Q and A taking place by the carousel. This was open to the public so there was a lot more people that showed up. Wpix 11 news was there the whole day taking interviews and pictures with the cast and fans. One of the anchorman was the host and before the cast came out they had a decent band named The Constellations play. During the Q and A the public was also allowed to take photos and videos of the cast and the questions asked that they collected hours before on the line through index cards. At some points it was tough to hear the cast over all the screaming but they had a nice chemistry on stage. It was a great day and it made me like the actors and the show a lot more.

 The Vampire Diares airs on The CW (11) on Thursdays at 8pm eastern. You can also see clips and some full episodes on cwtv.com. Below are some pictures taken by Jessica at the Q & A.