Founders Day Cruise to Alaska Will Benefit The Bubel Aiken Foundation

Have you ever dreamed about going on an Alaskan Cruise? How about an Alaskan Cruise that includes Faye Parker and Diane Bubel, co-founder of the Bubel/Aiken Foundation? Well, Diane Walsh has done it again and will be making the arrangements for all those interested in this fantastic deal. Why not come sailing with us?


The cruise will be on the Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines ship Rhapsody of the Seas and will depart from Seattle, Washington on May 22nd 2009, returning to Seattle on May 29th, 2009. You will need to arrive in Seattle on the May 21st 2009 in order to be there in time for the cruise departure. Royal Caribbean will donate a portion of the cabin charge for every cabin booked, and used to the BAF. Other means of benefiting TBAF will be discussed pending approval from the Foundation.


Your ports of call, at this time, will be Juno, Skagway, Tracy Arm Fjord, and Victoria, British Colombia. Pricing upon request, Diane must get your commitments now however, as time and space are limited. Don't forget that there are about 30 excursion trips that may be added to your voyage, including panning for gold, flying over the glaciers, wilderness trips to gaze upon the grizzlies. The excursions are at an extra charge, but they can add to the total cruise experience.

Since space is limited, deposits must be in by September 29th if you want a guaranteed balcony or junior suite. The deposit per cabin would be $500.00 or if you are sharing it would be $250.00 per person based on double occupancy. Inside cabins, if still available, can be deposited on at a later date, but must be arranged at this time. Airfare can be arranged through Royal Caribbean or you may obtain it on your own.

Thank you for the opportunity to serve you. Please e-mail Diane if you have any questions at dawalsh2@aol.com.

Clay Taking UNICEF's Message to Mexico

In a blog posted today to the official fanclub and in an interview with the Minneapolis/St. Paul Star Tribune, Clay announced that he will be spending Christmas with UNICEF in Mexico. While in Mexico, Clay will be UNICEF's eyes and ears as the country rebuilds in the wake of the devastating flooding that has hit the Central American country recently.

Clay will be accompanied by a UNICEF entourage and his mother Faye Parker, according the Star Tribune interview:

My mother and I are going to do a UNICEF trip to Mexico in the aftermath of the flood. I've done UNICEF trips to Uganda, Indonesia and Afghanistan. Possibly my brother, too. We may all spend our family holiday on a UNICEF field visit in Mexico this year. It'll be the first time that we've not done the same old thing for the holidays.

Clayboarder Has Dinner with Faye Parker

The Clayboard's yea4clay dined with Faye Parker last night in Raleigh, as part of an auction she won earlier this year. She shared her experience with us in a posting to the Clayboard:

Last night I finally got to have my dinner with Faye. I won a Wake Co. Literacy Council auction, and the prize was dinner with Faye. My sister went as my guest and Faye brought her best friend. Faye is so sweet and easy to talk to. Since I'm a big talker the whole evening was like four old friends who hadn't seen each other in a while catching up on all the news. We gabbed nonstop and laughed ourselves silly over lots of topics. I asked her, "How much are we allowed to talk about Clay?" :-) She said, "As much as you like, but you probably know more about him than I do!" It was a wonderful evening, and one that I'll never forget! It's obvious where Clay gets his warmth and personality from.

OK, now that I've got your attention...HA! No, seriously, Faye really didn't say anything we don't already know. I think she polices what she shares pretty carefully. And I'm sure she has to. I know she wouldn't want anything she said to compromise Clay's privacy. I debated whether to share this or not, but I don't think Faye or Clay would have any problem with this. About halfway through dinner, her iPhone rang and she answered it. She said, "Hi... what am I doing right now? I'm having dinner with two of your fans! Wait a minute, son, it's so loud in here, I can't hear you." With that, she left the table to take HIS call outside. I said to her friend, "OH. MY. GOSH. That was Clay on the phone!!!" She laughed and agreed. I said, " I can't believe he called right during our dinner!!" WOW!! Faye came back a few minutes later, and, of course, I fangirlied all over the place about the call. Faye laughed and said, "Oh, he just calls when he wants something!" Then she said, "You might be happy to know that I told him about you, and he knows your name!" Believe me, that just MADE my day! I still have to pinch myself to realize that I can now say that I know Faye Parker! AND CLAY KNOWS MY NAME!! Does life get any better than this?

Faye Parker Welcomes Japanese Claymates

A quick follow up to the story we posted on Saturday about 13 Japanese Claymates coming to see Clay live in California and North Carolina. Here are some photos of the Japanese contingent being welcomed to America by Clay's mom Faye Parker at the San Diego pre-party held last Thursday before Clay's concert.

Faye Parker Wins Dancing With The Stars Dance Contest

Clay's mom, Faye Parker, and her partner, Dick Hensley, won the recent Dancing With The Stars dance contest held in Raleigh last weekend. The proceeds from the event go to the North American Andy Transplant Foundation.

In an article here in Clay's Daily Double, we told you how Clay and Brett showed up to cheer Faye on as she competed on Sunday, April 29. She danced to "Perfect Day", from Clay's first album, "Measure of a Man", and received all 9's. The audience was then able to vote for their favorite dance team, which turned out to be Faye and Dick! You can see Faye's dance by going to Clack Unlimited and downloading the video clip.

Congratulations Faye!!

Happy Birthday Faye Parker

Mama Faye turns 61 years old young today.

Happy Birthday Faye!

Tidbits 5/2

• The CB's ncsupack88 says she heard a radio ad promoting Clay's August 10 Cary, NC concert today on WRAL-FM in Raleigh:

  Just heard that sweet sounding voice and the lady advertising "An Evening with Clay Aiken and the NC Symphony". Started out with him singing INvisible and then went into WY, then WISYS and advertised the album ATDW with ATD playing in background. Ended it with MOAM playing. Really good ad IMHO. I hadn't read about any other ads but I'm sure this could be in the wrong place so mods do your thing if this is wrong.

• AOL Television-American Idol on Fox - "Top 10 Reasons Why Idol Season Six Sucks...

  Reason Number 10 - The Current Crop Can't Compete: Bo and Carrie. Clay and Ruben. Just saying the names makes us feel nostalgic. They manged to win us over with their compelling background stories and personal growth during the competition.

  Click on Clay's Name to go to Clay's AOL Artist page.
• Publishers Weekly - Clay's "Learning To Sing" was one of the bestselling books of fall 2004. - "Learning to Sing. Clay Aiken. Random House (253,540)"
• Steel Kaleidoscopes on why they think American Idol has "jumped the shark" -

  Season 1 was unique, a brand new show with compelling content that introduced America to Kelly Clarkson. Season 2 gave us the Clay Aiken-Ruben Studdard competition (which Aiken should have won). Blake Lewis is no Chris Daughtry. Or Clay Aiken. Or Bo Bice for that matter. The male talent in Season 6 is the weakest in six seasons.

• TIME on the success of AI alums - "even Season 2 runner-up Clay Aiken, more than 4 million."

• Carolina On My Mind - mama Faye dances her way to the top. You can vote for Faye and her partner Dick by making a donation to the North American Andy Transplant Foundation here.

Clay Spotted At Faye's Dance Contest

As many of you know, Faye Parker entered the Southern Women's dance contest in Raleigh, and that contest was this weekend. And who do you think showed up at the contest to cheer his mother on?! Why both Clay and Brett! The Clayboard has lots of pictures and stories from people who were at the event.

Ztilb had a friend at the show, and she gave us this information:

My friend is there right now and I am talking to her on the phone. She said that there were tons of photos taken so we should have some clack.

He was wearing a white shirt, short sleeved casual shirt, and the cargo shorts and the flip flops and poofy hair, parted on the right side. lol

She was sitting 6 rows behind him and saw a lot of the back of his head! He did sign a few autographs and stood up and applauded after Faye performed.

Check out ClayFanNC's first hand review at The Clayboard as well.

Here is an exerpt: He seemed reluctant to stand up when he asked to ... after being introduced. My feeling was that he didn't want to steal Mario's thunder. He is so kind that way. One thing that made me feel good was that Brett also received lots of applause and cheers! He also gave a big smile and a wave to the crowd. I was so happy for Faye that her two sons were there... how touching. After Faye finished her dance, Clay stood up and clapped ... with the most amazing smile on his face ... it was something to see!

Faye danced to Clay's song "Perfect Day". She and her partner got all 9's for their dance, as did one other team. I can only imagine how proud both Clay and Brett were of their mom and how thrilled she was to have them there. After the audience votes are tallied, the winners will be announced at both
www.asteptogold.com and www.g105.com/main.html (The Bob and the Showgram on WDCG-FM in Raleigh at 8:00am...they stream.

To see Faye's dance, go to Clack Unlimited and download the video clip.

Here are the pictures of Clay that are also available at The Clayboard (see link above):

Faye Parker To MC NC Pageant

The Goldsboro News-Argus says Clay's mom, Faye Parker, will serve as Mistress of Ceremonies for this year's North Carolina Pickle Princess Pageant to be held this Saturday in Mount Olive, NC.

The first event to kick off the 2007 North Carolina Pickle Festival will be held at 7 p.m. Saturday in the Mount Olive Historical Assembly Hall at 207 Wooten Street in Mount Olive.

The 2007 North Carolina Pickle Princess Pageant will have more than 25 contestants from all around the state competing for the chance to represent the Pickle Festival and the town of Mount Olive for a year.

Mistress of Ceremonies for the event will be Faye Parker, the mother of singer Clay Aiken.

Tickets are $8 in advance and $10 at the door and are available at Classic Moments Boutique in Goldsboro.

For information, visit the pageant website at www.ncpickleprincess.com or email ncpickleprincess@aol.com or call 734-8792.

Tidbits 2/24

• Faye Parker, Clay's mom, is walking for Cystic Fibrosis. Go to Faye's "Great Strides" home page if you would like to donate toward her fundraising goal of $1500. Good luck Faye!
• Tiffers66 at The Clayboard tells us of a Clay mention in the movie "Scary Movie 4": "It's in Scary Movie 4 in one of the deleted scenes. One of the main characters is trying to get to Chingy (a rap star) but there's too many fans in the way so the girl says "Look it's Clay Aiken!" and all the fans go running to find Clay."
• The Republican - Short Clay mention in this Idol-related article ... "Past participants who have become successful recording artists include Kelly Clarkson, Clay Aiken and Carrie Underwood."
• Topix.com - quotes Clay from Us Weekly ...

  'I'm so jealous, because I was considered the most successful 'Idol' loser, and now I'm not. Jennifer Hudson has won a Golden Globe. ... Now I'm second place again.'
  
  - Clay Aiken in Us Weekly

• This is one of the saddest things 19E has done yet... "Idol boot camp" for kids between the ages of 12 and 15... uhh....
• E! News - "Idol Camp will cost aspiring Kelly Clarksons and Clay Aikens $2,900 for a 10-day session, four of which will take place this summer at a private school in Massachusetts."
• XMF (blog) - "For just $2090, 700 "lucky" children can be pushed by their showbiz parents into a "non-competitive" (yeah, right) boot camp for aspiring Clay Aiken and Will Youngs."
• Newsday - American Idol's biggest showstoppers - "Season 2: Clay Aiken, "Solitaire" - He aced this Neil Sedaka song."
• Microsoft XBox.com - random Clay mention in this gaming article ... "So if you want to fight to Clay Aiken, you can plug in your Zune or other MP3 device and give someone an Icon style beatdown while jamming to an Idol."

• Nothing here yet today.