MELBOURNE EVENT: Tommy Caldwell & Kevin Jorgeson Live on Stage - Melbourne

Melbourne, 20 July 2019

I am lucky. So damn lucky!

A day prior my departure to Melbourne, I joined Melbourne Rock Climbing FB page. There I saw a post from Nicole Vaughan that volunteers for various roles needed for Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson Live on Stage - Melbourne (Astor Theatre). I messaged her immediately to secure a spot. I offered myself to help for both afternoon and evening events. And yup, it was granted! 

In between two legends

I started my volunteering at around 11am. I helped the team to organise the magazine and banner display. Then continued as gate keeper to scan the ticket of the patron coming for this event, plus encouraged them to enter the prize. Prior the end of my duty, I saw both Tommy and Kevin casually entered the theatre and not many people recognised them. LOL!

The organiser, Adventure Entertainment, was so kind to let us, volunteers, to join the session. The show was started with an introduction, then both Tommy and Kevin shared their climbing backgrounds and about the Dawn Wall project. It then continued with the screening of the Dawn Wall Movie, with 20 minutes intermission in the middle.

After the screening, there was Q&A session. I though that it will let audiences to launch questions to those two legends, but unfortunately not. All questions were asked by the moderator. But still, it gave meaningful perspectives about climbing. There was one topic I really love.

Q (more or less): What do you guys think that we, Australian climbing community, could learn and adopt from your experience?

A: Climbing is more than just our physical ability to scale the crag. As climbers we have to aware, to take care of our environmental. Be environmentalist, be conservationist . Respect to local community and authority as well. We are lucky that in States (USA), we could work hand in hand with many stake holders so that we could resolve or at least minimise any issue, especially about the accessibility to the crag. 

Big applause to both Tommy and Kevin, not only for their achievement to climb the Dawn Wall but also their humbleness to share their experience and insights in rock climbing.

I continued my volunteering into the second shift. I was appointed to help distributing the goody bag to the VIP guesses attending the Meet and Great Session. There they could see those two lads up close, have little chat and photographs. Politely I asked Emma and Nicole (the volunteer coordinator) whether I could join the line or not. And they said, "YES!"

Yeay!!!
But then, when my turn came to stand in front of Tommy and Kevin, I lost my words. I admitted to them that I had starstruck syndrome. LOL! I asked them to sign my event T-shirt and The Push (book by Tommy Caldwell, I purchased earlier).

OMG, I was so, soooo happy! Can't thank enough to Adventure Entertainment for giving me this beautiful time to meet the living legends in rock climbing. I wouldn't hesitate to offer myself to volunteer on another event.

 

Cheers!

-ari.sita-