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SwanCon Report
Apr. 10th, 2007 12:49 pmI feel awfully happy about how that all went. Everything ran smoothly, and as far as I could tell there weren't really any weak points in the whole con. I've received plenty of positive feedback - thankyou to all the nice people who said nice things - about both the programme and the con overall.
I'm especially proud of the masquerade. I'd sort of made it my personal mission to advance the masquerade beyond merely being "a big room with music in it". I wanted to create a well-laid-out space so that everyone - dancers, chatters, minglers, chillaxers, etc - could all feel comfortable and have a great time. In that respect, I think I definitely succeeded. I had a fantastic time sharing DJ duties with Dave Cake, and we managed to keep the dance floor quite packed for the entire night. The costume turnout was phenomenal - I don't think I've ever seen such a huge effort.
My programme was, as far as I could tell, very well received. I got to actually participate as a panellist for the first time ever, and I've definitely found a liking for it. My "Top 10 Movies Based on Comics" panel in particular was terrific fun (V for Vendetta won, if anyone was interested). I was a little disappointed that, with all the running around I had to do, I had to miss out on so many panels. There were at least a dozen items I didn't make it to where the panel topic had actually been my own idea, so it was a shame to not get to see them happen.
Highlights were numerous, and I won't go into detail, but the art show, the box party, the Magical Hat of Mystery panel, the market day, the speeches and so many other things provided hours and hours of fun. Some huge thanks are due to everyone who participated and made the con such a great time.
As far as I could tell, the opening ceremony video was quite well received, which made me feel all nice and fuzzy.
The guests were lovely. David was friendly, if a little humourously arrogant. Elizabeth was delightful - very friendly and approachable. Matthew was great, although I didn't manage to see much of him. Shane was especially great, and I was very disappointed that his car troubles prevented him for attending more than a couple of days.
I think by far the coolest thing about this Swancon for me, though, was how much more integrated I now feel within the Swancon community. When you're a major committee member, you're quite visible to all the con-goers. Add to that being the guy who speaks to everyone at both the opening and closing ceremonies, and pretty much everyone suddenly knows who you are. I must have had more new conversations and made more connections at this con that my previous half-dozen combined. It's a really great feeling, and I look forward to making even more new friends at 2008. I've already raced through some friends-of-friends on LJ to add all the people where I could place real-names to lj-names. If you read this, and you met me at the con, feel free to friend me and I'll friend you back :)
So, I think all in all SwanCon 32 was a roaring success. I actually heard a few people say that it was the best con they'd ever been to. While I'd never claim to have run the best SwanCon ever, just knowing that our convention inspired such huge reactions is a great feeling. I'm really so happy that everyone had such a good time.
I can't wait for next year!
I'm especially proud of the masquerade. I'd sort of made it my personal mission to advance the masquerade beyond merely being "a big room with music in it". I wanted to create a well-laid-out space so that everyone - dancers, chatters, minglers, chillaxers, etc - could all feel comfortable and have a great time. In that respect, I think I definitely succeeded. I had a fantastic time sharing DJ duties with Dave Cake, and we managed to keep the dance floor quite packed for the entire night. The costume turnout was phenomenal - I don't think I've ever seen such a huge effort.
My programme was, as far as I could tell, very well received. I got to actually participate as a panellist for the first time ever, and I've definitely found a liking for it. My "Top 10 Movies Based on Comics" panel in particular was terrific fun (V for Vendetta won, if anyone was interested). I was a little disappointed that, with all the running around I had to do, I had to miss out on so many panels. There were at least a dozen items I didn't make it to where the panel topic had actually been my own idea, so it was a shame to not get to see them happen.
Highlights were numerous, and I won't go into detail, but the art show, the box party, the Magical Hat of Mystery panel, the market day, the speeches and so many other things provided hours and hours of fun. Some huge thanks are due to everyone who participated and made the con such a great time.
As far as I could tell, the opening ceremony video was quite well received, which made me feel all nice and fuzzy.
The guests were lovely. David was friendly, if a little humourously arrogant. Elizabeth was delightful - very friendly and approachable. Matthew was great, although I didn't manage to see much of him. Shane was especially great, and I was very disappointed that his car troubles prevented him for attending more than a couple of days.
I think by far the coolest thing about this Swancon for me, though, was how much more integrated I now feel within the Swancon community. When you're a major committee member, you're quite visible to all the con-goers. Add to that being the guy who speaks to everyone at both the opening and closing ceremonies, and pretty much everyone suddenly knows who you are. I must have had more new conversations and made more connections at this con that my previous half-dozen combined. It's a really great feeling, and I look forward to making even more new friends at 2008. I've already raced through some friends-of-friends on LJ to add all the people where I could place real-names to lj-names. If you read this, and you met me at the con, feel free to friend me and I'll friend you back :)
So, I think all in all SwanCon 32 was a roaring success. I actually heard a few people say that it was the best con they'd ever been to. While I'd never claim to have run the best SwanCon ever, just knowing that our convention inspired such huge reactions is a great feeling. I'm really so happy that everyone had such a good time.
I can't wait for next year!
