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The Barbra Reunions:
A Retrospective |
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They were
extraordinary events and amazing accomplishments. The Barbra
Reunions of the 1990s were organized by fans, for fans. They
were extremely popular, attracting attendees from all over the
world.
There were guest speakers, many renowned individuals
who had important connections with Barbra's career. There
were educational workshops and appearances by noted authors.
There were sightseeing tours, including a most unforgettable
visit to Barbra's former homes (including her Art Deco house)
in Malibu.
But most of all, everyone just had a lot of fun sharing
the joy of an amazing artist we have all come to admire and
respect.
There were a total of five Reunions between 1995 and 1999, and
perhaps you even attended some of them. Join us in our
retrospective series on The Barbra Reunions and relive with us
those wonderful memories.
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"Barbra
The Reunion"
San Rafel, 1995 |
"The Second Barbra Reunion"
New York, 1996 |
"Barbra
The Third Reunion"
Los Angeles, 1997 |
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A Brief History of The Reunions
A funny thing happened on
the way to the concert . . .
Barbra Streisand fans met each other for the very
first time during Barbra's 1993 New Years concerts in
Las Vegas and her 1994 tour across the U.S. (and
London). Lasting friendships were formed, and with the
help of
fledgling
AOL and Yahoo Prodigy message boards,
fans were able to stay in touch, creating the robust
worldwide Streisand fan community that is still going
strong today. It was in 1995 when a small group of
fans from these boards first decided to organize a get
together in San Rafel, California. The goal was
simple: to keep the memories of those concerts alive.
Thus, the Streisand Reunions were born.
As the internet fan community grew, a second reunion
was organized in 1996. This time it would be held in
New York City, and a much more elaborate event was
planned. Once again, members of the AOL board
organized themselves into a formal committee to pull
it off. It was a rousing success with fans from around
the world converging for the three day event.
Three more reunions would follow in the years to come,
and before the decade was out, a grand total of five
Barbra reunions had taken place. We were honored to
have been a member of the planning committees for two
of them.
Join us for our special retrospective on the Barbra
Reunions of the 1990s. |
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Why A Reunion?
by Allison J. Waldman
From "Barbra The Reunion" Official Program
(1995) |
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On April 24, 1942, in
Brooklyn, New York, a star was
born and her name was Barbra. Today, that star has
become a constellation - an actress, a singer, a
director, a composer, a writer, a producer, a
philanthropist, an activist, a woman of remarkable
courage, honesty and integrity. In the year past, she
made the world a much happier place by standing center
stage and singing for her world of admirers. Memories
from those 24 incredible nights reverberate in our
collective psyches, traces of her songs linger in our
dreams, and the magic of her music is replayed in our
lives each day and night that pass. There are moments
you remember all your life and this surely was one of
them.
Which brings us to this weekend and this place and this
moment in time. How do you hold the feeling, recall the
joy, find a way to share the memories and make them come
alive again? A Reunion. A gathering to celebrate the way
we were and the experience we shared when the music
played and a woman named Barbra made the world grow
quiet to simply listen to the majesty of her liquid
diamond voice ...
Her name is Barbra. Her legacy is ever growing. Our
purpose is clear. We're here to bask in the radiance of
her artistry, to remember those precious moments gone
by, to retrace the echoes of the magic of her music.
Why, everything's as if we never said goodbye. |
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