At the Con feedback panel Sunday evening, one person remarked, “I really appreciate how many different kinds of things there are at ConnectiCon. Unlike other conventions that focus on one theme, this Con has so many areas, I never get bored, year after year.” He then went on about how their website sucks (it does) but that first comment is the best way to describe this large, Northeast geek convention. It’s fan run with an emphasis on community and involvement, not sit-back-and-let-us-entertain-you.
I’ve attended this convention for seven years now, and every year have a new experience. This year my focus was the Artist’s Alley because my daughter and I were selling Teapunk, our newest venture. We had lovely neighbors, and one of my favorite memories of the weekend was convincing them to don glow sticks and come raving with us on Saturday. They had way more fun then they expected. I suspect I was the oldest person at the rave, but I look forward to dancing like a fool every year and had exactly as much fun as I was hoping. (Those last two sentences remind me of something Bilbo Baggins would say.)
We met up with the dozen or so lovely people we see every year, and I brought my son for the first time. He’s twelve and has been wondering when his year would come. I brought my daughter for the first time when she was thirteen because I felt it wasn’t geared for kids. This year the whole group noticed a more family-friendly atmosphere with young children attending and some events just for them.
My daughter, Lilianna, spent her time selling TeaPunk while wearing her awesome kimono that she made herself. She made the most money with her eye swirls.
But she took breaks to hit people with foam swords, hang out with friends, watch the Fan Made Videos, and dance at the rave. She was a happy fifteen year old all weekend, so that’s a success for this geek mom.
Luke spent Friday sitting near me behind the table looking at all the crazy costumes, and meeting all the people that have been hearing about him for years. He got a lot of “You look just like your mom!” Luckily, he wasn’t insulted. Saturday and Sunday he ventured out with some of my friends to play table-top card games, and miniature war games. Luke got very excited by “man barbies” as my friend Mike describes his own fascination with miniatures. I also took him to the Sea Tea Improv show, and Art the Hypnotist. Both shows he really enjoyed.
Beyond selling things, I ran a panel about running RPGs for kids. It was a small audience, but considering there were two other panels for that target group at the same time (puppet show for kids, and Middle-Age Geek panel) I wasn’t expecting more. The people that came seemed to enjoy the info- I even ran a short Shadowgame demonstration.
I also did some juggling with my friend at his instructional panel, and attended the History of Chess by another friend. I played “I Love You Japan” at the Masquerade, which was a blast because it’s the only time thousands of people:
1. Listen to me sing.
2. Understand my geeky jokes.
My nineteen-year old nephew Peter spent most of his time boffering and video games (especially DDR.) But he would visit from time to time.
To grab some attention at our artist table, my nephew and I played our version of ‘Game of Thrones’ on ukulele and melodica. Later, I walked around with a Teapunk sign on my chest playing the melodica, which got some cosplayers dancing around me. Awesome.
There was also a river festival going on at the same time, which is where the convention center happens to be located. Saturday night had the most beautiful fireworks I’ve ever seen. It was a beautiful convention overall, which is what I’ve come to expect.
