UK PonyCon report, part 6: Some thoughts

Bathed in sunshine as the con comes to a close

And at last, here's the final part of my waffling about UK PonyCon 2019. This takes the form of some semi-connected ramblings about the convention – obviously from my point of view, because writing from others' perspectives is something I can only really do in fiction. :P That being so, I make no claims that this will be a complete assessment, nor that other attendees will have had a similar experience.

This was a pretty happy con. The only thing that really went wrong was the appalling level of street noise almost throughout Friday night, and that had nothing to do with the convention itself. Otherwise, people seemed cheerful and good-natured, even when they were tired – as quite a few of us were. I think most of us will look back on UKPC 2019 with a smile, and certainly the notion that the end of Friendship is Magic might add a layer of melancholy didn't really come true.

It seems that attendance numbers were broadly comparable to last year's (900+) and that seemed a fair size for the venue. There was nearly always plenty of room to move around without things seeming too sparse – except perhaps in the refectory, which was surprisingly empty when I was there on Saturday lunchtime. Given this was the con's (and my) second year at NTU, it wasn't surprising that things were quite well laid out, but it was still very much appreciated.

UK PonyCon's committee, volunteers, venue staff and so on were all excellent. That rather goes without saying these days – this is an extremely well run con. I'm sure things are a lot more hectic behind the scenes at times, and I'm sure there were issues in places – but it says something that absolutely nobody I spoke to all weekend had any serious criticism of the people who make this convention possible. The history of MLP conventions is slightly chequered, but this one has a deservedly excellent reputation

More thoughts past the cut!

It's practically the law

I mentioned the refectory a minute ago, and undoubtedly the catering provision this year was very significantly better than in 2018. There was much more space available, queues were much shorter and the addition of a limited range of hot food at lunchtime was a welcome addition to the programme. Saturday evening was still a bit of a food desert, unless you considered cocktails to be food, but at least I knew where the chocolate'n'crisps vending machines were this time around!

I should probably mention the actual con schedule, which was pretty nice and varied. No fanfic panel, which was a shame (and yes, I know what you're going to say about that!) but otherwise a good mixture. I was pleased to go slightly out of my comfort zone on a couple of occasions, and I hope people like Apple Honey (who hosted the well-received LGBTQ+ panel) will feel encouraged by their experience at UK PonyCon. I've made sure to leave her a message thanking her for her contribution.

The showing of the 2017 movie was interesting, not least because it was the first time I'd seen it in a "cinema" setting without sitting through 20 minutes of adverts and trailers first! I like the idea of having a screen presentation of this sort, and I'd be happy to see another one next year. I'd guess showing FiM episodes might be tricky from a licensing point of view (I vaguely remember BUCK 2013 having to jump through all sorts of hoops to be allowed to show the S1 premiere) but perhaps something like an Equestria Girls film might be an option.

The record £11,000 raised for the RDA was enormously pleasing. I did think it was on the cards for UKPC 2019 to beat 2018's record, but to do it by quite such a margin almost took my breath away. While the auction contributed the largest slice of that, I thought the large tombola was a wonderful innovation, and clearly a very successful one; I'd like to see that become a convention fixture. I'm sure many of us wonder in the back of our minds whether we can sustain quite that level of fund-raising at future UKPCs, but who knows?

Also practically the law

There were one or two things I wish had been communicated slightly better. I don't know whether the decision to have gender-neutral toilets on one floor was taken very late in the day, but it came across that way. I think the combination of these and conventional gendered toilets upstairs was a good approach, but with no clear indication in the conbook, most of us only discovered this when we actually got there. I was also a little disappointed that Anna Pommes wasn't specifically credited with the con book cover art.

And so to next year. "#SpookyCon" is perhaps not the most original theme for an October convention (well, assuming it is in October!) but I'm sure it'll do the job. The more intriguing question is over the venue, which I can't imagine will be Nottingham again. I know it'll be several months until a decision is made and announced, but after four East Midlands cons in the last six years I think the convention really needs to visit a different region if it wants to remain seen as a touring event. I wish I had specific suggestions beyond "needs good rail access and budget hotels nearby"!

I think I've rabbited on here for more than enough time now. I'll simply repeat what I said higher up: that for me at least, UK PonyCon 2019 was a happy convention. I have loved the all-ages, all-generations nature of UKPC since I first attended in 2014, and that combination is almost unique in the world of Pony conventions. Certainly we are the only country where the biggest convention in our fandom is an all-gens one, and I suspect that may stand the British fandom in good stead for the future. Thank you, UK PonyCon – until next year! :)

The Scootaloo mocktail, sherbet rim and all!