The Spectrum #20 awards ceremony, in conjunction the Spectrum Fantastic Art Live 2 event, was held live at the Midland Theatre on May 18, 2013 in Kansas City, MO. The doors opened at 7:00 p.m., with catering by Jack Stack Barbecue. The show was a free bonus to exhibitors and three-day ticket holders of SFAL2.
The show began at 8:00 p.m. with a live dance presentation by Quixotic Fusion. The $40 three-day ticket price for SFAL2 is a steal when considering that you can see this performance within the grandeur of the historic Midland Theatre at no extra cost. Quixotic combines dance, light, fashion, art and music for the ultimate in sensory stimulation.
The Spectrum awards ceremony immediately followed. Captions fall under each photo. Thanks to Jim Vadeboncoeur, Jr. for providing me with the stage pictures to share. 
Spectrum founders and show organizers, Arnie and Cathy Fenner, opened with introductory remarks and thanked everyone for coming.
Here I am accepting the Silver Award in the Advertising category on behalf of Android Jones for “Ganeshatron.” Android was unable to make the event due to a prior engagement.
David Palumbo graciously accepts his Gold Award for “Fed” in the Book category.
Allen Williams spoke form the heart when receiving his Gold Award for “Tree of Tales” in the Concept Art category.
The Shiflett brothers announced the recipients for the Gold and Silver awards in the Dimensional category–or was that Silver and Gold? The recipient envelopes got mixed up, which provided the brothers, and later Peter de Sève, with comedy material to make the evening more fun.
The show ended with a second performance by Quiotic fusion to wrap up an extraordinary live presentation.
Congratulations to all of the award recipients, including Brom who received the Grand Master Award. The complete list of winners is listed further down.
The after party lasted into the night. I asked Jonathan Leveck to run and grab my camera and take a few pictures for us to use on my blog.
Here is Arnie Fenner talking with Gold Award recipient in the Dimensional category, Virginie Ropars.
Arnie Fenner and myself talking about something or other, but not work. We’re having fun.
Charles Vess was happy to receive a Silver Award in the Book category for “I Didn’t Know She Was a Bottle Witch” from Tanglewood.
From left to right: Mark Schultz, Craig Elliott, Mark A. Nelson and me.
Left to right: Me with Craig Elliott and Gary Gianni.
See you next year at the Midland Theatre for another fabulous evening.
Spectrum #20 Award Winners
Advertising:
Gold: Dan Dos Santos, Dragon Empress
Silver: Android Jones, Ganeshatron
Book:
Gold: David Palumbo, Fed
Silver: Charles Vess, Tanglewood: I Didn’t Know She Was a Bottle Witch
Comics:
Gold: Paolo Rivera, Daredevil #10
Silver: David Petersen, Mouse Guard Black Axe #4, Page 19
Concept Art:
Gold: Allen Williams, Tree of Tales
Silver: Daniel Dociu, Guild Wars 2, Norn Lodge
Dimensional:
Gold: Virginie Ropars, Acanthopis III
Silver: David Meng, Sashimi
Editorial:
Gold: Sam Bosma, Stability
Silver: Sam Weber, Cancer Monster
Institutional:
Gold: Kekai Kotaki, Stampede
Silver: Lucas Graciano, Dragon Swarm
Unpublished:
Gold: Cory Godbey, The Fish Master
Silver: Andrew Mar, Tell-Tale Heart
2013 Grand Master award:
Brom
Thank you to Arnie and Cathy for putting on an amazing evening!
Enjoy,
John
John Fleskes
Flesk Publications
text copyright © 2013 John Fleskes. Pictures copyright © 2013 Flesk Publications and Jim Vadeboncoeur, Jr.
Great post John. And only real men wear pink. You are “the” man.
Ha, yes, well.. it is a well known fact to my friends that I will never wear pink. I’m always wearing dark earth tone colors. The shirt I had on, which is a light red color, magically shifted to a pink color through the camera lens and with the lights on stage. Sigh.
–John