Last weekend, I drove up to Atlanta to attend the Courageous Movie Premiere at the Fabulous Fox Theatre. Back in 2008, we had a Fireproof Premiere/Truett Cathy Anniversary Celebration at the Fox hosted by Chick-fil-A, and it was one of my favorite things I did that year. And that includes going to Indianapolis, Los Angeles, and Europe!
This time was no different. On Friday, we attended a luncheon with Bubba & Cindy Cathy, Bob Maday and his wife, and the Sherwood Pictures Team, in a gorgeous private dining room at the Georgian Terrace. At lunch, Bubba invited us all to go on a private, backstage tour of the Fox. We rode in original Otis elevators, walked on stage, saw the backstage dressing rooms, and lots more! It was neat to think about all of the people who have walked those halls over the years.
That evening was the Red Carpet Premiere. My dear friend Rosie came over to Atlanta for the weekend to hang out with me and be my +1. We attended the VIP reception and then headed down to the red carpet, where I snapped pictures of the cast and crew as they were being interviewed and photographed. Eventually, Rosie and I decided that it was our turn to walk the red carpet, so we went over to the fake, non-media side and snapped a few of our own. But you wouldn’t have known that had I not told you! :)
Once the screening of the movie was over, we grabbed our SWAG and made our way (it took 2 hours, mind you) to the Broadway Diner, where we had breakfast (because it was midnight) with a lot of the cast and crew and some church members.
The mornings were my favorite. On Saturday, we went down to Cafe Mims outside of the Georgian Terrace and got some Starbucks and just sat and talked. The weather was perfect. Windy and shaded. We sat there for 3+ hours. Then, I did a family photoshoot as a fundraiser for South Africa with actor and movie producer Kevin Downes and his beautiful family. More on their story when I post their shoot! On Sunday morning, I went down to the Terrace with Starbucks and “Revolution in World Missions” in hand, and enjoyed not having to do anything.
The rest of the weekend was spent hanging out with the Chambers, the Ebels, and Bill and Rosie. Erin had hopped on a plane Saturday morning to go to LA to film a movie with Candace Cameron, Matthew West, and George Newbern called “The Heart of Christmas”. Be sure to look for it this Christmas on the Gospel Music Channel!
Overall, the weekend was really great. I loved being able to see my Courageous family and spend time with some friends I don’t get to see as often as I’d like! I didn’t want to come home and come back to the real life, I wanted to sit on that terrace and read and drink coffee and chat with friends for a few more days. Just one more reason why I don’t like being a grown up.