Babs Confabs

People. People who love Barbra Streisand are the luckiest people in the world now that the third annual Barbra Fan Reunion is underway in West Hollywood, right near the heart of Streisand land.

Not only that, but another Babs confab is taking place just blocks away. This one was organized by a decidedly different set of Streisand fans who say they weren’t invited to the reunion. So they set up their own convention at Le Parc Suite Hotel.

Both events--held in honor of Streisand’s 55th birthday last Thursday--featured guest speakers, plus collectible and memorabilia shows that are open to the public today. Neither, so far, have featured Streisand herself.

As part of the reunion, hosted at the Wyndham Bel Age Hotel by fans who met on the Internet’s Barbra Board, enthusiasts from 22 states and nine countries took a pilgrimage Saturday to the entertainer’s former Malibu estate.

Groupies also chatted with authors who have chronicled Streisand’s fame, fortune and fascinating following, listening intently to “never-before-told” stories of the “Funny Girl” and boogieing to Barbra at an all-Streisand disco dance.

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The other event, hosted by Ken Joachim, curator of “Hello Gorgeous,” a privately run Streisand museum in San Francisco, featured a preview of the rare Streisand collectibles to be auctioned today at 4 p.m. The event also included a musical tribute and retrospective comedy, which continues through tonight, featuring top-notch Streisand impersonators.

Organizers of the original reunion say Joachim is raining on their parade. They say they invited Joachim to their event. But Joachim insists that he was not included and argues that the reunion excluded many admirers. Regardless, the fans, who came from as far as Japan and Australia, are deciding for themselves which happening will be “The Main Event” and at the same time soaking up as much Streisand as they can.

“I’m so happy to be here with people who love Barbra as much as me,” said Reiko Shimizu, a six-year die-hard fan who flew from Japan to attend her second fan reunion.

Swooning Streisand lovers shared their adulation. A Santa Monica woman showed off the Streisand signature tattooed on her left bicep. Another admirer dangled the “Funny Girl” decals embossed on her long red fingernails.

Even Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan got in on the fun, sending a plaque welcoming reunion attendees to the city.

There was big-time Babs bonding too. A Seattle woman recalled how she purposely brushed by Streisand on a dance floor at a premiere party for “Hello Dolly” in 1969, just so she could touch her. A New York native shared how she accidentally bumped into Streisand while working as an extra on “The Mirror Has Two Faces.” Another told of how she shook Streisand’s hand at a Brandeis University dinner.

For most, however, the highlight was the Saturday pilgrimage to Streisand’s former 22 1/2-acre Malibu estate where she performed the 1986 “One Voice” concert special. Last year, fans took a similar tour of New York City, visiting the theaters where she performed and the neighborhood where the star was born.

As they wandered the Malibu grounds, which Streisand donated to the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy in 1993 for environmental and conservation studies, they viewed the four homes that Streisand designed, including an early American barn that was modeled for a scene in “A Star Is Born,” and the hot tub that she used on an album cover.

Across town, fans attending the “Hello Gorgeous” event perused nearly a dozen souvenir booths featuring hard-to-find photos, playbills and posters that were set up on the roof-top tennis court. They also surveyed items such as two chiffon Arnold Scaasi dresses that Streisand wore during “Yentl.” The collectibles will be auctioned to the highest bidder, and proceeds will benefit the museum in San Francisco.

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At night, the outdoor venue was transformed into a stage where impersonators provided the closest thing to the real Streisand. Dressed in a faux leopard coat and feigning a pose from the opening scene of “Funny Girl”--in which Fanny Brice pronounces, “Hello Gorgeous”--a Babs look-alike entertained the audience. Another dolled-up diva closed the show with a rendition of the closing scene in “The Mirror Has Two Faces.”

Robin Lipman--who saw “The Mirror Has Two Faces” 16 times the first week, says he has watched “A Star Is Born” 163 times and even purchased the dress Streisand muddied in the movie--took in both events, savoring every bit of Streisand she could.

“This is the greatest weekend of my life,” said Lipman, 36, an administrative assistant from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., who wants to be buried in the Streisand gown. “I don’t want it to end.”