Mmmm ... Baycon
Rather than a blow-by-blow recap of the weekend, I’ve decided to simply note some highlights of Baycon 2010:
- Entering the Masquerade for the first time, as Sally Jupiter/Silk Spectre I from “Watchmen”. I even had my hair done up in her style! I didn’t win anything, but a judge later apologized for not being able to give me a prize (there were just too many wonderful costumes, she said - which was certainly true), gushed over my outfit, and encouraged me to enter again in the future. Wow, that’s almost better than an award! I was genuinely touched. She also said I should have entered for Workmanship consideration based on my hair alone. :-) (I didn’t do my own hair, though, so I don’t think I qualified.)
- Running Consuite for the first time (lots of firsts this year), and having it go over so well. We were a mad scientists’ lab, and people really seemed to enjoy the theme - especially the Department of Carbonated Chemistry, where they were encouraged to mix sodas with more than two dozen flavors of Torani syrups. The line got to the door of the room a couple of times!
- Sitting in the Hiss & Purr (the post-con forum for attendees to say what they did and didn’t like), and having a lady announce, “Consuite was sweet this year!” She complimented the food, the theme, and how we “kept it up” for the entire weekend instead of letting it get messy by Sunday evening. Sabre, our Vice-Chair, asked me to stand up, then said, “This is your Consuite head.” The whole room applauded! I think I started sparkling! (But not in an emo-vampire kind of way.)
- Decorating a birthday cake for Artist Guest of Honor Lee Moyer. I was thrilled that he liked it so much ... but I’m not going to try decorating a cake the night before the con again. I have way too much to do with setting up Consuite! (Bless William, my second-in-command, who did a lot of the decorating and setup so I could do the cake without pulling all my hair out.)
- Tom’s Paranoia LARP, which he spent weeks and weeks preparing for. It was so popular that he ran it twice at the con, and a bunch of people have asked him to GM a tabletop version! I’m so proud of him. :-)
- This is a weird highlight, but: being locked in Consuite with a dozen people for 20 minutes late Saturday night during a medical emergency on the floor. We were asked to stay in the rooms to keep the hallway clear for paramedics. Everyone in the room accepted the situation with good spirits, especially after I encouraged them to heartily partake in the snacks. “The more you eat and drink, the less we have to clean up, so have at it!” (NOTE: apparently a rumor went around that the medical emergency happened IN Consuite and involved an illegal and addictive substance. I would like to state for the record that this is NOT true. There were no emergencies in Consuite, nothing illegal was in there, and the only addictive substances we had were the cookies.)
- Being sought out by people while in my Kaylee costume on Sunday. Apparently, word got around fast that I had ribbons (“Yes Sir, Captain Tight Pants!”). A girl in a similar costume found herself accosted by people who thought she was me. Oops.
- Winning two pieces in the Art Auction: a painting of panda bears (originally painted onto a feather), and a gorgeous pendant of a cat. Both pieces were done by Sandra SanTara.
- The one panel I managed to sit in on: the Birds of Prey demonstration. The Eagle Owl was especially gorgeous, and the birds’ low-flying passes over the audience was great fun!
- Seeing old friends and making new ones: always the best part of the con!
- Entering the Masquerade for the first time, as Sally Jupiter/Silk Spectre I from “Watchmen”. I even had my hair done up in her style! I didn’t win anything, but a judge later apologized for not being able to give me a prize (there were just too many wonderful costumes, she said - which was certainly true), gushed over my outfit, and encouraged me to enter again in the future. Wow, that’s almost better than an award! I was genuinely touched. She also said I should have entered for Workmanship consideration based on my hair alone. :-) (I didn’t do my own hair, though, so I don’t think I qualified.)
- Running Consuite for the first time (lots of firsts this year), and having it go over so well. We were a mad scientists’ lab, and people really seemed to enjoy the theme - especially the Department of Carbonated Chemistry, where they were encouraged to mix sodas with more than two dozen flavors of Torani syrups. The line got to the door of the room a couple of times!
- Sitting in the Hiss & Purr (the post-con forum for attendees to say what they did and didn’t like), and having a lady announce, “Consuite was sweet this year!” She complimented the food, the theme, and how we “kept it up” for the entire weekend instead of letting it get messy by Sunday evening. Sabre, our Vice-Chair, asked me to stand up, then said, “This is your Consuite head.” The whole room applauded! I think I started sparkling! (But not in an emo-vampire kind of way.)
- Decorating a birthday cake for Artist Guest of Honor Lee Moyer. I was thrilled that he liked it so much ... but I’m not going to try decorating a cake the night before the con again. I have way too much to do with setting up Consuite! (Bless William, my second-in-command, who did a lot of the decorating and setup so I could do the cake without pulling all my hair out.)
- Tom’s Paranoia LARP, which he spent weeks and weeks preparing for. It was so popular that he ran it twice at the con, and a bunch of people have asked him to GM a tabletop version! I’m so proud of him. :-)
- This is a weird highlight, but: being locked in Consuite with a dozen people for 20 minutes late Saturday night during a medical emergency on the floor. We were asked to stay in the rooms to keep the hallway clear for paramedics. Everyone in the room accepted the situation with good spirits, especially after I encouraged them to heartily partake in the snacks. “The more you eat and drink, the less we have to clean up, so have at it!” (NOTE: apparently a rumor went around that the medical emergency happened IN Consuite and involved an illegal and addictive substance. I would like to state for the record that this is NOT true. There were no emergencies in Consuite, nothing illegal was in there, and the only addictive substances we had were the cookies.)
- Being sought out by people while in my Kaylee costume on Sunday. Apparently, word got around fast that I had ribbons (“Yes Sir, Captain Tight Pants!”). A girl in a similar costume found herself accosted by people who thought she was me. Oops.
- Winning two pieces in the Art Auction: a painting of panda bears (originally painted onto a feather), and a gorgeous pendant of a cat. Both pieces were done by Sandra SanTara.
- The one panel I managed to sit in on: the Birds of Prey demonstration. The Eagle Owl was especially gorgeous, and the birds’ low-flying passes over the audience was great fun!
- Seeing old friends and making new ones: always the best part of the con!