Wednesday, January 13, 2016

CherBear's Thoughts: Pacific PonyCon 2016



It's been a while, I know since I wrote anything, I've been extremely busy & for good reason too. But this isn't about that, we're here to talk 'bout Pacific PonyCon 2016 that was held here in San Diego, CA Jan 8th-10th.

First off, I am exhausted but its a good kind of tired considering what I went through. This is technically my first pony 'themed' con & the reason I say its a good kind of tired is due to the fact I heard & spoke to folks that went had said they had a good time. As an off note: I was able to see both sides of the coin per say.

Day 0 - Set up day was pretty standard, as many of you may or may not know, the venue was held over at the lovely Kona Kai Resort & Marina. It's a lovely place to stay & albeit a small capacity I think made the best of it to make it fun overall for every attendee. Things were able to be set up smoothly & ready to go for the next 3 days. 

Day 1 - As it started to roll around, I admit I didn't realize I would be having a morning routine going for the next 3 days. Not that I didn't mind. Other than the early morning prep chat & waiting to throw in my contribution into the con I was able to walk around & check out the whole hotel. Saw where the vendor hall was, the CCG room, the video game room & KFA room. No worries, I was able to check out the panels...not like I didn't have a choice...heehee. Rest assured I did get to see what was to come for the next couple of days. It was nice to sit on some community guest panels [got to introduce myself to Keyframe] & sat in on the VA panel w/ Andrea Libman, Peter New & Rena Anakwe. My day did end late but can't stop there, there's still 2 more days to go.

Day 2 - Well...spoiler alert, I had known I was going to be apart of a how to panel featuring SoCal artist & well, yeah...I ended up being on there. Oh, but before I go on, the morning routine started as usual, got to wander around the convention before having to go to well yes, my panel. Albeit, it was a small turn out, I guess it couldn't have been helped considering we were stacked against 3 stronger panels but I look at this as the bright side of practicing public speaking. I think all 4 of us were nervous 'bout talking & wasn't even sure how to talk out into a room. Who was I with? Well, Star Sketcher, BrownWolf & Stephen Luque. Either way it was a learning experience [for me it was fun too] & I am better prepared for next year. The rest of my day evened out to standing in on a few more community guest panels & the VA panel once again. I could tell the kids were having a good time & were happy to ask the VAs their questions. Was able to say hi to Eile Monty [which btw I think it was neat to have this small venue, she randomly showed up here & there] & shook hands w/ Nowacking. During later into the evening, I think I was able to say hi to Tony Fleece [kinda surreal] & finally got something to eat for dinner. The day ended late & as much as I wanted to party, I had to rest up early because I had a long early day tomorrow for me. 

Day 3 - Final days always seem to be one of those, "I can't believe its almost over." kind of feeling. The morning started really early because I had to prep pack then take care of some important things before starting to sit in on all the panels. Strangely a bit cold but it was fun to see the panels. Charity Auction was always fun, the community guests had more panels [said hi to ToonKritic] & finally feedback & closing ceremony. Once after all things were said & done, we cleaned up, went to our own after party & reflected on the con.

Overall, I won't lie, there was so much I didn't begin to mention that happened. There was a beach party, 3 wendigos pinata breakings the past 3 days, lots of kids were there having fun at the KFA room, The Party Cannon on Day 2, Kids Scavenger hunt, other community guests I had seen, I could go on - but as I said early on - it was a good kind of tired knowing & seeing that folks had a good time this weekend. I do look forward to the next Pacific PonyCon!

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