With the cancellation of October's regular UK PonyCon, the convention committee decided to join the online convention bandwagon, but give it a distinctively UKPC twist. Having a schedule that actually worked for our time zone was a novel experience, for a start! Right up here, I will say that I loved the convention and thought overall it was a major success. It's probably my favourite online con so far, just shading PonyFest 2.0.
Lots of detail past the cut!
As with most online cons, chat was handled by a Discord server. In keeping with UKPC's SFW ethos, this was a bit more actively moderated than some of the others – in my view this was done very well, with generally a light touch being enough to stave off any problems. I popped in and out of my local meetup group's Discord as well, which helped to reproduce the feeling of catching up with friends during a con to share experiences.
Bexi's opening ceremony was very familiar in tone, even if she was presenting from her front room, and it reassured us all that this would be worthy of the UK PonyCon name. After this was an update on the RDA, UKPC's excellent and long-running charity partner. My first regular panel was Art Storm, presented with her usual verve by excellent artist StormBlaze. Even as a non-artist, this kept me interested throughout.
Then it was time for that most beloved of con experiences: schedule clash! I ended up hopping back and forth between Anna's My Little Pony - History, which concentrated on gens 1 to 3, and The Convention Survival Guide with Luna's Auditor. This didn't tell me a lot I didn't already know, but it was well thought out and will probably be very useful for first-timers once we can return to meeting up in person.
It did feel rather strange that "going to find lunch" consisted of walking to the fridge rather than going to the venue café or a pub, and I did miss that aspect of convention social life. However, it meant I could get right into the Bingo contest. This is a UKPC staple, but I'd never actually had a go before. Naturally I did terribly, with one of my ponies (Copper Glow) being the very last one out of Bexi's
Once that was done, I skipped over to Reskell's Furries and the MLP Community panel. Unfortunately I was waiting for a plumber to arrive at this point (another problem you don't have at con venues!), so I wasn't able to give the panel quite the attention I'd have wanted. After that, a good panel from Amethyst Shade of UK Bronies & Pegasisters, encouraging people to get involved with the meetup/social side of the fandom. (Online at the mo, of course.)
I had a brief break at this point. Conventions are rather intense affairs, and all the more so when you're squeezing a whole weekend into one day! So next up was the first two-thirds of the European Conventions panel with Bexi of UKPC, HypnoHooves of Griffish Isles, Jamis of Czechquestria, Steam Loco of newcomers PonyCon Holland and PerryDotto of GalaCon. This was great stuff, with lots of insight but without the US-centric assumptions that don't always fit European events.
I wasn't able to stay until the end of this because I had an unmissable date at 6 pm: Archer's Quiz! Archer is legendary at UKPC – she's attended every single one since the first in 2004(!) – and her quiz is just as famous. Well, infamous: when so-called "easy" questions are about G2 accessories, you know you're in for a ride. It did feel a tad more rushed than the in-person version, probably because team discussion was slightly harder, but the essential atmosphere and Archer's Derpy obsession were present and correct.
Since I wasn't really into the hyper-energetic, ultra-memey SFM Ponies of Equestrian Cinema stuff of UKPC stalwarts JollyOldCinema and co, I had another breather at this point, though with half an eye on Bexi's amusing "Fabulous" Fakies panel. Then we were treated to a short live concert by PrinceWhateverer, with "Solidarity" taking on extra piquancy, followed by the appearance of Railway Dash bringing us the remarkable PlushieCon Online! We ended up with 529 plushies, of which yours truly contributed a grand total of eight. :P
I hadn't been intending to bother with Chaos the Vampiroo's METAL GEAR PONES as I know nothing at all about Metal Gear Solid, and though Lavender Harmony is very good at what she does, I'm just not especially into DJing wubs. I did spend a little time in the audience at the convention staff's Jackbox session, though I must admit that my votes in the Quiplash rounds were generally out of kilter with what most other people went for! Then a few minutes listening to BassPon3 – good, but again a bit wubbish for me.
There was an unexpected highlight late on in proceedings, which was a video message from Elley-Ray. She was... well, she was very Elley-Ray. There really is nobody else quite like her! I know she's not to everyone's taste, but I hugely enjoyed her few minutes. And then it was time for the closing ceremony – and the news that the staff were seriously considering a two-day UKPC Online in October, at the time the original con was due. I really hope that happens, regardless of how much the country has opened up by then.
Sadly there was no room for the Cartoon Riff that normally ends Saturday night at UKPC, and which in 2018 gave us all a Crab Rave with a difference. On the plus side, the charity side had raised £1,040 – with more to come once everything has been counted! For a con of UKPCO's size, that's a very pleasing total. I contributed a bit myself with a little bit of merch shopping, mostly at the con's Redbubble store. I'll leave posting a photo until everything has arrived – a problem you don't have when buying in person!
Was there anything I didn't like? Not much. But one irritation was the harsh way a number of panellists were cut off just as they were ending their pieces, in some cases literally in the middle of saying goodbye I do understand that it was important not to let the schedule slip too much, but this particular problem was much more prevalent than at any of the other online cons I've attended. I really don't see that allowing 30 seconds' grace when someone is already clearly saying goodbye would hurt anyone.
So, for next time – assuming there is one? To be honest, I wouldn't change a lot. I think the general feel and atmosphere of the convention was very good. It would be nice to have at least one music act who was lighter and less wubby, though I appreciate it can be harder for a UK-based event to get hold of musicians than for an American one. Singalongs would be nice too, but I can't see how they'd work online, unfortunately.
I think that's everything. (No it isn't. —Ed.) Oh, yes. Bread. UK PonyCon now has its very own convention meme, to go with the likes of "Fuf" for PonyFest and longer-established stuff like Fanta at GalaCon. Why bread? Like all the best memes, it just happened. Before the con, someone in the staff Discord answered a question with the bread emoji, and before long it had spread into the wild. I'm sure the easy punning opportunities with UKPC mascot Britannia (G1, G4) didn't hurt!
Let's hope the October weekend does happen. If so, I'll see you for BreadCon 2 in the autumn!
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