"Hurri-con" Report: 6Pi-Con
Aug. 28th, 2011 01:11 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tehutiEarlier this week, I wrote about how excited I was for 6Pi-Con this weekend. And I definitely was. Despite Hurricane Irene, the con happened. Here is my after-con report:
Unsurprisingly, the storm hurt attendance. I've been to five of the six Pi-cons, and this one felt the smallest by far.
Vendors in general were meh. But it's a small con, so that's not unexpected.
Among the last minute cancelations was the con's sole gaming vendor. If anyone knows the folks at Foam Brain, tell them they lost a sure sale from me. I went this weekend with the intention to get a particular game that they most likely would have had with them.
And to anyone that decided not to attend at the last minute because of the storm, you missed a good con. One of Pi-Con's features is that it is small. By the end of the weekend, you've probably met and/or talked to pretty much everyone there. It's a nice change from my "normal" con experiences, where attendance is counted in the multiple thousands.
The weather really wasn't much of an issue, at least, not here in Western MA/Northern CT where the con is held. Some folks left early just in case, others planned to stay an extra day, but if you were here, you missed the worst of Irene.
That being said, rain was bad enough this morning that I choose not to drive back to the con for my early morning panel. I don't feel too bad about missing it, especially since Sunday morning first panels are almost always empty. I was more worried about high winds when trying to leave. Turns out I shouldn't have worried.
My other panels all went well enough. The programming suffered from not enough panelists in some cases to too many in others. One of my panels switched time slots, so no one showed up for it. Panel descriptions were also quite rough in many cases. Luckily, most of the panelists that attend Pi-Con are quite experienced, and can almost always find something on-topic to chew over for fifty minutes. Or just make it up.
It was very nice to see some old friends that I haven't in quite a while. Jim and KT, I'm looking at you.
A certain someone (who knows who she is) needs to let her shoes out of the closet more often.
Another certain someone is incredibly amusing the more she drinks. But everyone that knows her knows that.
There was a "Guest of Awesome" reunion panel Friday night. The description said, "We'll see how much awesome we can pack in one room." The answer apparently is "None." Of the six Guests of Awesome (including this year's Trisha Wooldridge), only two were on site this weekend. So the panel didn't happen.
For those unfamiliar with Pi-Con, the Guest of Awesome is typically someone from fandom that the con organizers think is, well, awesome, and deserves to be recognized. Five of the six have been female, most of them have been published authors, two live outside New England, and four of them are personal friends.
The game room remains one of Pi-Con's strengths. There were people there all day Saturday, usually with multiple games going on at the same time. Finally played Power Grid for the first time, and definitely want to pick up a copy.
Hung around the Arisia party for a good portion of the night. Good times. Hermit cookies FTW!
Barfleet remains awesome. Even though I'm not an active member anymore, it's always nice to see them, hang out, have a drink or two and enjoy the vibe.
There was a guy in a satyr costume getting happily drunk at Barfleet. It was one of the most appropriate things I've ever seen happen at a con.
Con rule report: Friday 7/2/1, Saturday 6/1/0, Sunday n/a. I ended up not going back today. Mixed results.
Two different members of the current con comm (who I've known for a number of years) both indicated they want to "recruit" us (meaning my family) back into Pi-Con. We'll see how that goes.
Unsurprisingly, the storm hurt attendance. I've been to five of the six Pi-cons, and this one felt the smallest by far.
Vendors in general were meh. But it's a small con, so that's not unexpected.
Among the last minute cancelations was the con's sole gaming vendor. If anyone knows the folks at Foam Brain, tell them they lost a sure sale from me. I went this weekend with the intention to get a particular game that they most likely would have had with them.
And to anyone that decided not to attend at the last minute because of the storm, you missed a good con. One of Pi-Con's features is that it is small. By the end of the weekend, you've probably met and/or talked to pretty much everyone there. It's a nice change from my "normal" con experiences, where attendance is counted in the multiple thousands.
The weather really wasn't much of an issue, at least, not here in Western MA/Northern CT where the con is held. Some folks left early just in case, others planned to stay an extra day, but if you were here, you missed the worst of Irene.
That being said, rain was bad enough this morning that I choose not to drive back to the con for my early morning panel. I don't feel too bad about missing it, especially since Sunday morning first panels are almost always empty. I was more worried about high winds when trying to leave. Turns out I shouldn't have worried.
My other panels all went well enough. The programming suffered from not enough panelists in some cases to too many in others. One of my panels switched time slots, so no one showed up for it. Panel descriptions were also quite rough in many cases. Luckily, most of the panelists that attend Pi-Con are quite experienced, and can almost always find something on-topic to chew over for fifty minutes. Or just make it up.
It was very nice to see some old friends that I haven't in quite a while. Jim and KT, I'm looking at you.
A certain someone (who knows who she is) needs to let her shoes out of the closet more often.
Another certain someone is incredibly amusing the more she drinks. But everyone that knows her knows that.
There was a "Guest of Awesome" reunion panel Friday night. The description said, "We'll see how much awesome we can pack in one room." The answer apparently is "None." Of the six Guests of Awesome (including this year's Trisha Wooldridge), only two were on site this weekend. So the panel didn't happen.
For those unfamiliar with Pi-Con, the Guest of Awesome is typically someone from fandom that the con organizers think is, well, awesome, and deserves to be recognized. Five of the six have been female, most of them have been published authors, two live outside New England, and four of them are personal friends.
The game room remains one of Pi-Con's strengths. There were people there all day Saturday, usually with multiple games going on at the same time. Finally played Power Grid for the first time, and definitely want to pick up a copy.
Hung around the Arisia party for a good portion of the night. Good times. Hermit cookies FTW!
Barfleet remains awesome. Even though I'm not an active member anymore, it's always nice to see them, hang out, have a drink or two and enjoy the vibe.
There was a guy in a satyr costume getting happily drunk at Barfleet. It was one of the most appropriate things I've ever seen happen at a con.
Con rule report: Friday 7/2/1, Saturday 6/1/0, Sunday n/a. I ended up not going back today. Mixed results.
Two different members of the current con comm (who I've known for a number of years) both indicated they want to "recruit" us (meaning my family) back into Pi-Con. We'll see how that goes.
