We'd known for a while now that the (series) voice of Pipp Petals, AJ Bridel, would be a special guest at UK PonyCon 2024. That in itself was an announcement that was decidedly popular among UKPC's multi-gen base. Then, the day before yesterday, we started getting teasers from the con committee that another major announcement was in the works. Of course, this led to a flurry of wild guessing, but at 7pm all was revealed: Ashleigh Ball will be joining UKPC in Nottingham too!
I don't think anyone much predicted this to happen. I don't have specifics at my hooftips as to whether she's attended any cons in this fandom recently, but I believe Ashleigh Ball has not been a Pony convention regular for quite some years now, since before Covid indeed.¹ Certainly the announcement has brought a lot of excitement, and I'd hope and imagine quite a few more ticket sales as well. I warmly congratulate everyone at UKPC who helped make this possible!
¹ She was at Vanhoover Pony Expo 2023, but they have a fairly major location advantage for VAs!
As for me, I am going to get there this year if I can. I've now bought a ticket, but it remains to be seen how much of the con I can actually attend. Hotel prices have soared since Covid, and with con tickets also rising above inflation as their own costs increase conventions are becoming, if not an unaffordable luxury, certainly one many people have to think harder about than they did five years ago. I may make a post here on this general subject in the nearish future.
But that's for another day. For now, I am still bouncing around like a bouncy thing. Meeting Actual Fluttershy, aka Andrea Libman was basically unbeatable for me, but Ashleigh Ball is one hay of a coup. It means UK PonyCon will have hosted four of the Mane Six's VAs in the last few years, and had Tabitha St. Germain not been defeated by her implacable work schedule last year it could even have been five. Who'd have predicted that five years ago? Certainly not me.
With Applejack's VA joining AJ Bridel (who I'm going to have to tell autocorrect is not "AJ Bridle"!) UKPC this year is quite clearly going to be AJCon! :D
YEEHAW!
ReplyDeletewho I'm going to have to tell autocorrect is not "AJ Bridle"
That is absolutely perfect, and I love it.
yay, wish I could get to cons, but no dice, sadly.
ReplyDeletelove that she's called AJ Bridel and she voices ponies rofl :P
That's great! You will, of course, tell us poor scrubs who can't attend all about it?
ReplyDeleteI think it's practically the law for me to post a con report by this point!
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