41st anniversary
The crew of the Heimdal celebrated its 41st Anniversary with the theme
“HEROES AND VILLAINS"
April 12, 2025
Time: 5:00 pm
Lynchburg Grand Hotel
601 Main Street
Lynchburg, Virginia 24504
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Heroes and Villains … and Aliens, Oh my!
By Linda Smith
The room was full of people talking comfortably with each other. The conversations were interrupted occasionally with bursts of laughter … the kind of atmosphere shared by people who know each other well and have known each other for a long time.
Suddenly the room went completely quiet and all eyes turned towards the door. Darth Vader had just entered the room, looked around and pointed his light saber at the crowd. The saber suddenly came to life and so did the people in the room … clapping at Vader’s unexpected appearance. It was MAGIC in the making.
41st Anniversary Party - Celebratory Video
Earlier we had all gathered in the lobby, signed in and picked up a bag of mysterious items, including glow stick bracelets and a suspicious small bag of Unicorn Poop.
We entered the ballroom passing by a display of OUR HEROES. Life-size replicas of Captain Kirk, Captain Picard, Captain Michael Burnham, Mr. Spock and an impressive Storm Trooper ushered us into the large room and we found our seats. We were all there with a few extras … guests not dressed as we were but hoping to be a part of a 41- year history still in the making and being celebrated.
King Arthur and Morgana, Stitch, Dr. Who, Roy Rogers and Dale Evans entered the room and Princess Diana was there with Willie Nelson. It was a crowd loaded with dignitaries and celebrities but there was no paparazzi and no red carpet under foot. It was the ‘usual crowd’ of people, FRIENDS that found nothing unusual about all being at the same function dressed impressively because we’d done it before on a number of occasions. To the observer it would have appeared to be an entire room full of HEROES AND VILLAINS. To those of us present it was ‘just US being US … “
The Queen of Hearts arrived followed by Indiana Jones.
The room drew a collective breath when Ellen Louise Ripley came in holding her cat, Jonesy. She was followed by the life-size ALIEN himself – protruding spines and tail, 6-fingered hands and a massive head filled with rows of very sharp teeth. And then the dignitaries laughed, all 42 of us, and the event began.
There were WELCOME addresses and a virtual blessing followed by an impressive buffet. There was a fun video following dinner and after that, the very special audience was entertained for an hour by a very special entertainer / singer / impressionist / dignitary himself. He made his entertainment interactive, went into the crowd and sang especially to several guests in his Elvis Presley persona. He invited Willie Nelson onto the stage to share the spotlight with him singing a song.
After a year of raising funds and doing good deeds, the HEROES and even the VILLAINS in the room relaxed and enjoyed being entertained. It was OUR turn.
And then Darth Vader appeared at the door. His light saber sprang to life and he greeted everyone … friends and colleagues … with a breathy, respirator-whispered, “HELLO.” The guests clapped and cheered in appreciation of one of our own.
And the “Costume Contest” began. There were judges and prizes for the winners.
The dignitaries had an opportunity to walk across the stage and show their special ‘fashions and personalities’ to all present. It was additional entertainment as stories were shared about the outfits and laughter filled the room.
Not surprisingly, Darth Vader walked away with the prize for BEST ALL AROUND costume and presentation. Our Queen of Hearts was chosen BEST DEPICTION OF THE “HEROES AND VILLAINS” THEME and Ellen Ripley and her endearing ALIEN received the prize for MOST HUMOROUS.
The evening ended with drawings for 6 door prizes.
The occasion was our non-profit club’s 41st anniversary party – a costume event. It gave us an evening of fun, friendship and fellowship; a chance to relax after another year of fundraising that assured the less fortunate in our area … people and animals … of having a better Christmas. It was a year that included our Annual Space Camp Contest in area schools - the winner will be taking that trip in June and is the 17th. student we’ve made the trip a once-in-a-lifetime possibility for. We are good people … all of us HEROES at the party whether we were dressed as HEROES or VILLAINS.
For that one night we could be anyone or anyTHING we wanted to be … for fun … with people with whom we shared many things in common – friendship, unusual and delightful senses of humor, an abiding civic responsibility and a genuine desire to make life better for kids, the less fortunate and discarded animals. Did I mention we are GOOD PEOPLE?
At the end of the evening, as founder and president of the club, I was asked if I could have imagined we would still be around 41 years later? When I started the club in 1984 that was the farthest thing from my mind.
Laughing, I added, “ Way back when I started this club at the tender age of TWO, I NEVER imagined I would be filing an annual tax return for this club. That’s STILL a surprise every year when I do it.”
It was easily the BEST anniversary party we have had, celebrating our accomplishments, our friendship and the fact that most of us have grown up and gotten older TOGETHER.
Dressed as our favorite HEROES AND VILLAINS, we collectively understood that you’re never too old to play … and that makes my heart happy.