Portus!

[emmagrant01]

I just got back from Portus today. This was my fourth HP con (fifth if you count Wrockstock, which... I don't), and it was a very different experience from the other three.

This was mostly because I took my baby with me: In the past, going to cons has been an experience of completely immersing myself in fandom for several days, but I couldn't do that this time. Having BG with me meant that I was a mom first and a fandomer second, and that changed the experience for me in an interesting way. I was always watching the clock or waiting for Mr. Grant to call me to say BG was hungry again. I had to be ready to leave a panel or an event at a moment's notice, and many things I could only attend half of. (And wouldn't you know this would be the weekend that BG would decide he didn't want a bottle? If it wasn't The Boobie, he was Not Interested. And alas, Mr. Grant does not possess said Boobie.)

So I experienced the con in bits and pieces, a panel here, a meetup there, and lots of chance encounters with friends old and new in the vast atrium of the Hilton Anatole. Here are some thoughts about the con, in no particular order.

• The hotel was gorgeous and huge. The central atrium area was lovely, with a large castle in the center that housed a cafe, and lots of tables to sit and chat with people, and a rather good Tex-Mex restaurant. A lovely sort of twilight settled over the place at night, and when you looked down from the room you would see people dressed in robes strolling around the castle "grounds" under old-fashioned street lamps. It was really cool!

• I only went to a handful of panels and presentations, and I have to say I was disappointed in all of them except the one on warnings in fanfic (run by the ever fantastic dementordelta). The others honestly seemed a bit juvenile -- or maybe I'm just getting old, heh. In the interest of disclosure, I was a member of the programming committee until my son was born in early January, and so I was partly responsible for vetting these panels. (I learned quite a few things that I will be taking that into consideration when we put together the call for proposals for Azkatraz.)

• The whole feeling of the con was quiet. I think there were many reasons for that, including the vastness of the hotel, the smallish number of fans in attendance, and the fact that apparently the wild and crazy people in fandom are all going to Terminus this year, heh. There was very little squeeing as people greeted each other, for example. There was not a single drunken orgy -- well, not that I heard about, anyway.

• Related to the above point, there was another conference going on at the hotel -- one of Southern Baptists. You might think this would be a formula for trouble, but it really wasn't. And I really felt outnumbered by them!

• The con felt really well organized, probably the best of any con I've been to. It never felt chaotic; the staff was knowledgeable and all on the same page. AFAIK there were no kerfluffles of any kind. Everything ran smoothly. The staff didn't even seem stressed!

• The food was really good, even the breakfasts in the morning. And a gorgeous Snarry vid was played at the beginning of the Welcoming Feast, one that seemed to shock a few in the crowd, hee!

• I didn't attend this, but I love the idea: there was a fandom swap meet one evening, a chance for fans to sell their own handmade items without having to pay vendor fees. Fantastic idea, and I hope it's kept for future cons.

• I missed so many of the people I usually get to see at cons, but it was nice to get a chance to sit down and talk to the handful who were there, and to get to know some new folks as well. In many ways it was nice to have it feel so intimate. But I still missed everyone who wasn't there...

• I went to a screening of the Wizard Rockumentary, and it was just fantastic! Seriously, it's worth $20 for a copy (you can order from the website), because it really captures the rise of Wizard Rock over the last couple of years. And there's some great footage from Lumos and Prophecy with many familiar faces! Prominently featured is mijan in full Harry get-up, and I couldn't stop seeing longleggedgit everywhere! There were lots of other folks whose names I don't know but whose faces were familiar, and it was so awesome. Even if you're not particularly a fan of Wizard Rock, I think you will really enjoy it. After all, it's about the fandom, and there is a lot about that that's universal, no matter how you participate. :-)

• I missed the Wizard Rock concerts, the Ball, and the Podcast Pallooza, so I can't speak to those. I heard they went well from various folks. I would have liked to have gone to all of them, but didn't have time.

• There was, as always, some truly stunning art in the art gallery. It never ceases to amaze me how many talented artists there are in this fandom.

• Another great idea that I hope will be continued: HPEF brought in some routers and set up free wireless in the Common Room. There were some bugs (and several of the routers fried the first day), but it was a great idea. Especially considering that you just aren't going to find a convention hotel with free wireless for con attendees; they all contract that out to ISPs who aren't going to give any of it away. But having free wireless in the Common Room is really a great idea. In fact, Slashcast just might have to sponsor a router or two at Azkatraz...

I know there was more I wanted to say, but it's late and I'm tired. I may come back and edit tomorrow.

Comments

[eskimosatan.livejournal.com]

Ha! I have the same issue with my fourth month old and the Boob. If it isn't the Boob, he is having no part of it. Usually, he's a quiet, sweet little baby, until you try and give him a bottle, at which point he becomes a screaming hellion. We travel a lot with him - because of family out of town, and I'm planning my brother's wedding in Austin. When we're not at home, the baby has an even more pronounced need to latch onto the Boob. I'm glad you got to go the con, though, and Mr. Grant deserved props for agreeing to take care of the baby for you while you went and had your fun. I know it's hard on the Men-folk who don't possess the all comforting Boob.