A Small Moment, A Lifelong Adventure - Whinny City 2019 Con Report!

I always bring a special shirt with me to conventions: the purple shirt with the black cuffs, the shoulder tabs, and the roll-up sleeves. Some might call it a cosplay – it is the shirt that my OC wears, after all – but to me, it's something even more special. It's a way for me to slip into someone that I choose to be, someone who's been a big part of who I am for over a decade, someone who is confident and competent and just wants to spend a weekend making people happy, and somepony who, a few weeks ago, was about to experience a convention that he will never, ever forget.

It was time to become Vivid once again.

Hello! I'm Cody "Vivid Syntax" Miller. I was the Programming Director at Whinny City Pony Con last weekend, and I want to tell you about it while my faith in humanity is still through the friggin' roof. Let's get started!

Preparation

After the show of the century that was Ciderfest last fall, I was freaking out about the Whinny. Ciderfest had taken so much more work than usual, and I was worried that I was underprepared. Luckily, that feeling was just a product of hedonic adaptation, and it turns out I had very little to worry about. Thanks, psychology!

You can always tell how behind I am by whether I skip game night on the Wednesday before a convention, and unfortunately, I had to do so this time to pack. I ended up going to bed after 1AM and had to get up at 5:30, so things were off to a good start.

Thursday – The Call to Adventure

Once again, I got to experience a convention with my convention buddy Charlie D (not the convention chair – people named Charlie are just generally great). We left Minnesota at around 6:30 AM and were able to get out of the cities before the rush hour traffic hit, and then it was smooth sailing through Wisconsin. I drove the first half in my hybrid RAV4, and Charlie took over for the second half so I could finish working on my panel. Procrastination or prioritization? You decide!

It turns out that a 7+ hour drive can really take it out of you, so we stopped at Target, checked into our room, and immediately slept for two hours. I checked in with my Special Events staff, some of my managers, and a few others, and then Charlie and I navigated the restaurants near the hotel until we ended up at Weber Grill. Yes, the outdoor grill people. They have a restaurant with a dress code, apparently, but matching Whinny City 2018 hoodies meet their standards. Plus, their food was AMAZING!!! Not too expensive, and Charlie got this amazing herb-crusted chicken that was simply divine. My brisket was gut-bustingly delicious, too, and I hope we can go back next year.

Charlie and I had a beer in our hotel room, and then it was time for sleep by 11 PM.

Friday – Our Heroes Gather

Slipping on the Vivid persona is all the easier when you have one of these, which is a SUPER generous gift from Charlie Worthley and the artist, Sweet Cream:

Tarzan Horse! He looks more "precious" than "ferocious," but I love him. 💜

The vast majority of my job is running around answering questions and keeping things moving, so I won't highlight that much, but suffice to say I walk around a lot.

This was Saturday. Basically, I start walking and never stop.

One of the smartest things I've ever done at a convention is print off a "Where's Vivid?" sheet for myself and anyone on staff who wants it. It's a list of every time and place I need to be during the con, which takes a HUGE amount of mental load off. I highly recommend it for anyone that wants to see lots of specific things at a con. Plus, then I can actually remember all the cool stuff I did when I finally get around to writing a report 3 weeks later!

The first order of business was meeting with my Special Events team, Kimmy (who was one of my all-stars at Ciderfest) and FIM Fiction's very own Eye-CFox, who jumped in at the last minute to be our lifesaver when we needed some help. I'll say it now and probably again later, but these folks are my lifeblood. I couldn't have done it without them, so please thank a staffer the next time you see one.

Opening Ceremonies!

...I don't have many notes here, but it was great seeing everyone! I believe I was running around with AV at that point. BUT!!! I will point out that our GOH lineup was jaw-droppingly, stunningly awesome from start to finish. I don't know if we've ever had such an energetic group that was so willing to do whatever it took to make the fans smile, and I'm so thrilled that Big Jim, Chiara Zanni, Brian Drummond, Brenda Crichlow, Marÿke Hendrikse, and Sara Richard could join us for such a magical weekend.

Oh! I need to mention the backdrop that Lost Disk and Sweet Cream made happen.

This thing! DAYUM!

Look at that! I'm in awe of how beautiful it looked, and it REALLY brought the whole adventure theme together. Y'all done good, you two!

We did something a little different with the GOH panels this year and had community guests host them. Giant thanks to Saberspark, Racebest, and Silver Quill for helping us out there. Y'all killed it!

Then came the Director's Commentary panel, where we watched the Season 8 finale while Big Jim

After that, it was the usual autograph line management and checking in on panels and AV needs and prepping the Charity Auction stuff, and then, the Beer Tasting! If you ever get a chance to go to one (and are of age), I highly recommend it. Solemn Oath does a great job, and they even gave us a special gift!

AND IT HAD BEST QUEER MASCOT ON IT! "It tastes as gay as Hoof Work." ~Me

It has a cotton candy flavor, and I'm looking forward to cracking it open soon when I've got some buddies to enjoy it with.

At the Gala (at the Gala!), I helped take tickets and tried to get some data about what people liked and didn't like food-wise. Did you see some weirdo in a staff shirt taking pictures of the buffet table? That was me!

I actually had time to hang out with friends in the late evening (WHAT???), so we went back to our room for our traditional game of Cards Against Humanity with Charlie, Morgan, and The Silly Duck. Morgan crushed us, as again is tradition.

Friends! Blurry, beautiful friends!

I also chatted with a dear friend that night. It ended up going late, and I won't go into much detail, but to anyone reading this: don't be afraid to reach out. Everyone's human, and everyone could use an ear now and again.

Early in the morning, I got back to my room to find that Charlie D was waiting up for me. We chatted a bit more and then slept very, very quickly.

Saturday – Thrilling Adventure!

After some yogurt and a granola bar (again), it was time for autographs and more running around, all leading up to some of the biggest events of the convention.

It started out with the premiere of Season 9, and hooooooly cow. Watching such an exciting episode with so many people is something else! I got to watch most of it from the back, and it was spectacular. The audience loved it, and I have to give a shout out to the AV team, headed up by Lost Disk, who did so, so, SO much work from the start of the con to the end, doing things that I couldn't possibly dream of. They're artists and experts and technical wizards, and my hat's off to them.

The end of the episode marked the "oh sweet Celestia I think my heart just crawled up my throat and ran back to Minnesota" part of the convention. Why's that? Well, if you've been to our cons, then you know that I'm the luckiest fanfic author on the planet, and I mean that without exaggeration.

This year's original script reading was called "Jungle Bungle," and as verbose as I am, I cannot describe how thankful I am to Brenda, Chiara, Brian, Marÿke, and The Colossus Jewel The Big Jim for playing along with my silly little story and absolutely slaying with it. They were spot-on, especially for only getting it a few days in advance. We're so blessed to have the stars of our show at these conventions, and even moreso that they're always so fun and so willing to put their energy and all their talents into making sure everyone has a great time. Thank you, thank you, thank you to all of you (as well as to Silver Quill, Racebest, and Pastel for reading for our mascot characters). I'm eternally grateful. Suffice to say, the audience loved it, and I couldn't help but smile for roughly a week after that.

Pictured - Treasure, shortly before being framed and put on my wall

So then my heart started beating again, and it was back to work!

Our Community Guest Crackle's Cousin Cosplay did a PHENOMENAL job running the cosplay contest this year, which took a huge load off my mind, and Cosplay Medic Kimmy once again took point for our staff while I took care of a few other things.

Next up came some ticketing for the Sponsor Dinner, and then I was off to do back-to-back author stuff, which is one of my favorite parts of any con. I sat with a giant group of writers and readers at the Author Meetup, where Fiaura the Tank Girl (one of my favorite people in the fandom), Categorical Grant, and I facilitated discussion and answered questions about all sorts of aspects of horse words. I honestly don't remember tons of details about the conversation, but that's why I treasure it so much – it was a time to relax and be in the moment, which is valuable thing at a convention. My favorite line was, though, was, "Come see our Epic Length panel at Everfree! Fiaura's on it, but she's probably forgotten about that by now."

To which Fiaura responded, "…Yes."

Immediately after that was my "Script Writing for Fanfic Authors" panel, which went really well! I talked about my script process from structure to dialogue to jokes and everything in between, and the audience got to read an alternate ending that I had written to Jungle Bungle, which would end up being one of the most important contributions I could make to the con (FORESHADOWING!).

After that, Zari enforced dinner (I'm reeeeally bad at 6-2-1, and Zari is a good enforcer – thanks, buddy!), and I got to hang out with Eye-C, Zari, Charlie, Duck, and Morgan again to play Unstable Unicorns for a while. I also swung by the AD Vendor Hall, since I'm not made of stone, and got to have some nice, wholesome conversations with the folks inside.

After that, it was bedtime.

Sunday – A Climactic Showstopper!

My awesome staff told me to go take a spin through the vendor hall, so I did that right away in the morning, talked to the Traveling Pony Museum about maaaaaaybe selling "Sensation," and ended up with a LOT of Sombra stuff.

He's so pretty!

After that, there were two big things for me personally on Sunday, and they were doozies.

First up was getting my copy of the script signed by the guests. I do my best not to get starstruck, but I can't really help it sometimes. Luckily, the guests are some of the best people you'll meet and knew how to handle my nerves. They all had such kind things to say about the script, including the biggest compliment an author like me can receive: that they had fun with it and would love to do it again sometime. It might seem like a small thing, but it means the world. And silly little pony that I am, I made notes of the nice things that they said, so that I can save them and bring them out someday when I'm not feeling very sure of myself.

There's no witty caption here - our guests are just the best.

And wonderful, sneaky, clever Brenda. After I got her signature, she asked if she could have a hug (as if anyone would every say no). I obliged, and not only is she a great hugger, but she also quietly told me a little secret, just for me. It was good news and, frankly, a little stunning to hear, but it made me feel incredible about the work I do for the conventions and the scripts, and I'll keep it in my heart, just like she said.

Again, I'm so humbled and honored that our guests would read my script for a live audience. Having professionals, especially professionals that I have such deep respect for, read something I've written is beyond a dream come true, and I can't thank Charlie Worthley enough for letting me contribute in this way.

Pardon me, I seem to have something in my eye…

Anyway, next came the big finish: the Charity Auction. This is the biggest event that Special Events handles, and Kimmy and Eye-C did a great job keeping everything organized and ready. The prep for the auction really does look like a scene from a movie: dozens of people running around, moving things, setting the stage, shouting (in a friendly way!) to other staff for help or to give guidance, and once the chaos is done, the metaphorical curtain rises, and we're off to the races.

The AC Racebest races, that is! We had a slight delay in the schedule, so Racebest took over the first part of the charity auction for us. Can you tell I like the guy? He does so much for the convention, and I'm always happy when we get to have him as a guest.

But about half an hour in, Big Jim claimed the stage, and folks, Big Jim has got to be some kind of mythological Greek hero or something. He stayed up there for three hours, calling out numbers, interacting with the crowd, and pouring out more energy than any human could ever be expected to have into raising money for Generations Against Bullying, our wonderful charity again this year. I was running objects around the stage and to Jim's hands, and he kept up a phenomenal pace. We even managed to finish on-time-ish!

The Charity Auction is mostly a blur, but I remember a lot of plushies, tons of art from a panel, a can of pop signed by AV, and the things I managed to snag: Assassin Monkey's BEAUTIFUL signed Zecora print, Sombra sketches by Sweet Cream (signed by Big Jim), and Sara Richard's prelim covers for the hilarious MLP Deviations comic (the Blueblood one). With that last one, I got the once-in-a-lifetime knowledge of Sara Richard's old fanfiction.net account. I've started reading one of the stories (I'm trying to find time to finish!), and I'm absolutely loving it.

And there was one other little thing that got sold.

The GOHs showed up backstage during the auction, and heroes that they are, they wanted to help sell something. There was some short discussion, and we asked them to help sell their badges, which they had worn all weekend. But then I remembered something.

I had written an alternate ending to Jungle Bungle.

And I still had several copies of it in my bag.

To say I felt bold raising my hand and asking if they'd be willing to read it cold on stage would be a MASSIVE understatement, but again, they're heroes, and they were totally down. We got up there and pitched it to the audience: they'd read the ending if it sold for at least $1000. It looked like it wouldn't make it, but then Zari bid $1000!

Then, I blacked out. I'm not kidding – I literally don't remember the next ten seconds or so ever happening, because while my scripts have sold for up to $800 in the past, I never expected them to reach that high. But I came to a few seconds later to hear, "$1900!" "$2000!" "Sold for $2000!" and was absolutely floored.

But the show must go on! Sara helped us out with reading DeeDee, and I, having not actually formulated a plan in the two minutes that this all went down, grabbed a mic and read for Mustard Mark and a little of Hoof Work. It wouldn't hit me until about six hours later that I've now gotten to read with the actors from the show, and now I'm reeling again just typing that out. It was short and sweet, and the jokes landed. Plus, Brenda saying, "This jungle's not real, though it has lots of luster. …Aaaaah, this chamber is actually an abandoned Blockbuster!" might be my new favorite thing ever.

The Auction wrapped up just shy of last year's total by about $800, but then a sweet, sweet angel appeared and donated enough to put us over the top! I wish I had his name, but thank you to him and to everyone that donated for GAB.

We moved quickly onto Closing Ceremonies. There were laughs, tears, a song by Vocal Score, an announcement about MLP-MSP (Larson and Libman! YAAAY!), photos, and so much more. It was a brilliant end to a shining convention, and as exhausted as I was, it was all worth it. I even got asked to sign the awesome backdrop (which sold for $800!), and then, all was left was the cleanup.

We had more help than we've ever had before for AV teardown (and again, a GIGANTIC thank you to everyone that came and helped!), and Lost sent me to go get food at around 8, because Lost takes good care of me. She's been an amazing AV lead, and I hope I get to work with her again many times in the future (and watch her flyball!).

My buddy Zinnabar! With Charlie in the background!

I went to dinner with Charlie D, Zari, Duck, and Morgan for our traditional Lou Malnati's, and I realized how much my feet were throbbing. It was a fun dinner, though, and I loved getting to see my convention friends one more time for some conversation.

And when I got back a little after 10, something magical happened: Lost Disk told me AV load-out was done! It's the earliest I've ever heard of it happening, and again, I can't thank AV enough for being the first ones in and the last ones out. If I can do anything more to make it run smoother next time, please please please let me know. Lost also was dark and mysterious and gave me a gift. It was all rolled up, and when I asked what she was giving me, she just said, "You'll understand why when you open it." Lo and behold, it was the Hoof Work banner she'd won at the staff raffle! She knew how much I love our gay construction horse, and it was an incredibly sweet gesture. I can't wait to hang it up.

I spent a little time at the Dead Dog party, then headed up to bed after saying goodbye to Zari. I had gotten everything I needed out of the convention, and it was going to be an early morning.

Happy, Tired Convention Horses

Monday – Denouement

…or at least it was supposed to be. We packed up as quickly as we could, though, and after a few more goodbyes, some hugs, and a few trips to ensure all our stuff was packed, we were off on the 8-hour drive home. We made it safely – Charlie D is quite the conversationalist in a car setting, which makes the time fly by – and I got to see my wonderful husband again for the first time in many, many days.

Plus I got all this neat stuff! Now to figure out where to put it...

The Epilogue with the Hook for the Next One

Whinny City is my favorite con, hooves down. MSP might give it a run for its money, but WCPC is in my favorite city to visit, it's a small, intimate con, and seeing queer representation meant the world to me (https://www.fimfiction.net/blog/727877/it-started-with-a-gay-construction-pony-a-whinny-city-17-con-report ).

There are so many people that come together to make this event happen, and I have to say some thanks. First up: Charlie and Michelle Worthley - y'all are superhuman. I appreciate you more than words can ever express, and I look forward to the day when we get to look back on the conventions and smile. And probably gripe a bit, but either way, we'll have friendship and plenty of beer.

To Jim, Chiara, Brian, Brenda, Marÿke, and Sara – Thank you for all the energy you put into the con. Every time I turned around, you were making someone smile, and while there are only so many ways to say that the world is brighter because you're in it, I hope the message comes through loud and clear: you're incredible treasures, from your head to your toes.

To my amazing managers: We couldn't do this without you. You're all so skill. So, so good at what you do, far better than I will ever be in any one of your departments, and you always deliver with programming that is beyond what I could ever conceive of. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

To Kimmy and Eye-C: Special Events is a weird animal, and you tamed it with the best of them. Thank you again for keeping me sane and on track and for always putting yourselves out there and doing whatever needed to be done. You're my heroes, and I really, really hope I get to work with you again *cough*.

To the rest of the staff: I hope you always remember how important you are and what a huge difference you make in the world.

To Lost Disk and Dave: you both know what you did. Go team!

To Charlie D: you're the best convention buddy I could ask for. Thank you for always watching my back and being there when I need a hug or to vent or share excitement. I'm incredibly lucky to be your friend, and I'm excited for Everfree!

To Zari: I might have literally died without you telling me to eat. Thank you for keeping my priorities

To all my friends and every single person that said hello, came to a panel, or just smiled and had a good time: thank you. The convention is for you, and seeing all of y'all have a good time makes it all worth it.

Even if I'm busy most of the weekend, there's something magical about turning into a pony for a few days. I'm Cody for most of my life, and I like him (most of the time), but for these weekends, I get to be Vivid. Vivid is who I strive to be: helpful, focused, smiling, enthusiastic, skilled, and above all, kind to everyone he meets. The space every attendee helps create at a convention is magical, and I'm going to look back on these conventions for the rest of my life as something I can be proud of.

But there's still plenty more to come. Next month is Everfree Northwest, where I'm a special guest for the first time at any convention, and shortly after that is MLP-MSP F, where I'll serve as Vice Chair. Looks like my pony side is going to get a lot of exercise this season, and I couldn't be happier with him.

Thanks for reading, all. You're the best.

~Vivid

That's all, folks, but only for now.

Comments

[Patriot Pony]

Nice! But man, I live in Virginia, wished that I can go to other conventions where Bronies have their fun.

[HowlingMoon]

Glad you had such an amazing time! Hope to meet ya at one of those cons some day!

[CoffeeMinion]

It was great seeing you at Whinny again, even if it was only a couple times briefly.