It was all things Shania as the remaining Twainiacs descended upon Timmins for the seventh annual fan convention.

More about the people they have met along the way than anything else these days, those who came from far and wide were anticipating a weekend filled with gatherings, surprises and special guests.

Shania Twain Centre manager Tracy Hautanen said the centre was expecting roughly 30 fans, with the final few arriving yesterday.

"A lot of them have been here since Sunday," Hautanen said. "It's absolutely a reunion for many of them.

"They come to a place that's common for them and see friends they haven't seen in a while."

Hautanen's sentiments were echoed by the few that scattered the centre yesterday, before the official start to this year's convention.

Bianca Verhaar made her second trip to Northern Ontario from her home in the Netherlands for the convention, anxious to see those she hasn't seen since her first convention three years ago.

"I've been a fan since 2004 when I saw her Chicago concert on TV.," Verhaar said. "I loved the music and the lyrics are so good.

"I look forward to just being around everyone and having fun."

Verhaar isn't the only one to travel thousands of kilometres to visit the City with the Heart of Gold once again.

Matt Davis and his mother have been attending conventions for five years, each time traveling from Manchester, England.

Davis said he first came to Canada for the third convention, when several Europeans attended.

"I wanted to see the centre and thought with the convention going on it would be more interesting," Davis told The Daily Press yesterday. "When I got here I realized what it was all about and I met some pretty cool people."

And while it may be the people they have met along the way, it was a love for Twain's music that brought them together in the first place.

Davis said it was listening to Twain's music that introduced him to other country greats.

"I was big into rock music. When I heard her songs, I thought it was different so I would give it a try," Davis said. "When I realized it was country it turned me on to others like Alan Jackson and Toby Keith."

Even after seven years, many fans, having attended each and every convention, said it's important to make sure they have new and different activities for the fans every year, said Hautanen.

And while past favourites such as karaoke, tours and the annual trivia contest continue, one event stands out above all others: The chance to meet and speak to those who once played an important role in Twain's life.

"We try to have special guests from her past, anyone who has played some role in her past," Hautanen said, adding that in the past, former band members and even her former manager have come to visit.

"It's important to the fans that come here.

"Because they are so respectful of Shania, it's important they know she surrounded herself with great people over the years."

Throughout the weekend, the fans will travel to key places key in Twain's past including a day at a campsite to signify the singer's past camping experience and a stop at the Timmins Therapeutic Riding Association.

"Shania is very passionate about horses, so we wanted them to learn about things that Shania cares about," Hautanen said.

The weekend's major event includes a chance for fans to be treated like a celebrity as they take to the red carpet for the centre's very own CMA awards.

"We wanted to give them the red carpet treatment at an awards show and provide them with a celebrity experience," said Hautanen.

The fan convention wraps up on Sunday with a farewell brunch.

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A group of around 30, many of them sporting Shania Twain T-shirts, sat at several tables and spoke about what the singer and the convention means to them.

A number of them were on cellphones, communicating with other fans, affectionately referred to as "family," who couldn't make it this year.

John Pellumbo, a doctor from Ottawa, trailered his black 1988 Lamborghini Countach to attend his first-ever fan convention.

His quirky sense of humour made him an instant hit with this bunch of Twain-loving jet-setters, plus they liked his car.

He's known about Twain and her music since the mid-90s but it's only been in the last year he's become an "admirer," as he describes himself, not a fan.

"Most fans know everything about her, I don't know that much. I became more exposed to her in the last year because we have a lot in common."

He went through a separation around the same time as Twain and her husband, Mutt Lange, split, plus Pellumbo said they share similar life philosophies.

"I'm sure they're a lot like her too," he said, gesturing to the other fans sitting at nearby tables.

"That's why we get along so well; they're very down to earth."

Richard Sessions has been to all seven fan conventions.

"Many couldn't make it because of the economy and are following on the (Shania Twain Centre) website instead," Sessions said.

Nearly a dozen fans called during breakfast to say hello and wish the Twain jet-setters a safe trip home.

Each year the fans donate funds to a local charity. In previous years they've raised $6,000 for the food bank. This year the group donated $333 to the Rainbow therapeutic stables, one of the many places they visited while in town.

Many have met Twain and speak highly of her.

The death of Twain's grandmother last week and the possibility that the singer could be in town this week for the funeral, didn't seem to provide an incentive for the fans to extend their visit.

"We as fans have decided we aren't going to talk about it or go looking for her," Sessions said after the other Twainiacs, as they're often called, headed back to the Shania Twain Centre.

"We want to respect her privacy. We would be thrilled if she showed up (to the convention) but we're just as happy to celebrate her and what she means to us."

Selina Twain, the singer's paternal grandmother, died Wednesday at Extendicare Nursing Home. She was 86. Her funeral is today at St. Anthony's Cathedral in Timmins.

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New Shania album 'nowhere in sight'

Posted by The Daily Press

As Richard Sessions prepared to leave Timmins yesterday, he said more fans would have liked to have attended the annual Shania Twain Fan Convention.

However, the poor economy had discouraged many from making the trip, he said.

Sessions, who was among the 30 fans at this year's convention, said he's attended for the past seven years.

It's also been seven years since Twain has released an album.

Tracy Hautanen, manager of the Shania Twain Centre, acknowledged the singer's recent inactivity may have had

"We were hoping for more people (to attend the convention) but of course, the numbers are low for a few reasons and then this is a quieter time.

"So we know when things pick up with her, our numbers will pick up again."

Despite Internet rumours that were circulating earlier this year, it doesn't appear Twain will be releasing an album any time soon.

A spokesman for Twain's label says a new record from the singer is still "nowhere in sight."

The 43-year-old hasn't released an album of new material since 2002's Up!

Twain, apparently, appreciates it.

In a June 12 blog posting, Twain apologized to her fans for her delay in creating new music, writing: "I realize I'm not holding up very well on my end of the relationship!"

But Twain, who has always shunned the spotlight when it comes to her personal life, has kept an even lower profile since splitting from her husband and producer Mutt Lange.

In June, she wrote about the difficult time she's endured, and discussed trying to keep her emotions in check for the benefit of her young son.

And she also described a creatively fruitful period that followed the "personal crisis."

"Since then, I've been inspired by my pain to write and use writing as a therapy through the suffering," Twain wrote. "I truly wouldn't wish this on anybody as a means to get inspired, but it's been a productive period with so much emotion trying to find its way out. "

"However, there is no telling how long it will take me to actually finish these songs and record them so they can get out to you."

Rumours swirled on the Internet earlier this year that Twain would, in fact, have a new album out in the spring, and then the fall.

But her label representative says there definitely will not be a new studio album from Twain out this year.

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