Ailyshah,one of the board members at Garrett Minds, has posted her recap of the Neal Cassady birthday bash that was held in Denver two weeks ago. She braved the snow to attend and brought back a wonderful account of the event, pictures and some great videos.

Here’s an excerpt:

The show started a bit later than planned due to road conditions and the Cassady’s were having a good time talking to people. I was one of those people. I started talking to someone behind all the souvenirs and she was giving me info on the shirts and such. Then she asked me how did I hear about the event and had I come last year. I told her I wasn’t here last year and I supported an actor that was in the movie and I heard about from one of the websites. She instantly broke into a grin and said, “You mean Garrett, don’t you?” I couldn’t help but laugh and I said, “Yes, he’s a really good actor.” She then told me that Garrett was supposed to be there but he couldn’t since DIA had shut down. I was surprised because I was under the impression he wasn’t coming at all. She replied with “Nope. He was scheduled to come but couldn’t get in. Neither could my mom’s siblings. So now you have to meet my mom!”

She grabbed her mom and told her to talk to me. Jami asked if I was someone she already talks to on a certain website and I told her no. She was so sweet and she said “Oh you’re new! Well let’s talk then because you seem like fun!” We then chatted for a bit about my Dad and her Dad. She said she was glad we both were celebrating our fathers and that’s what we should do….

Mark started the ceremony by telling everyone that John was in England and wasn’t able to make it since he was visiting his mom Carolyn. Then he told a funny story about Garrett Hedlund and a text message that came to John. He said, “Most of you might already know about this story, especially if you’ve been keeping up with the tabloids. But John was so baffled by a text message he received from one of the actors. John said, “Garrett Hedlund just sent me a text that said, ‘I’m sleeping with your mother.’ Now of course you can imagine the confusion that John had. But as it turns out Garrett is dating the actress Kirsten who plays Carolyn.” Everyone was laughing at this since we could picture someone being so confused especially if they knew their mom was in England! Mark said Garrett and John have become friends and talk frequently.

Ailysha filmed some of the performances from that night. This video is Jamie, Neal’s daughter, reading the end of On the Road while David Amram, a musician who was friends with Jack and Neal, accompanied her.

Several more videos and more of Ailyshah’s account of that night are at THE SOURCE. Please visit there and leave a comment, thanking Ailyshah for sharing!