Hello Everyone!
It’s been a very long time since I’ve written a blog post, mainly because I’ve been busy, but also because it’s been a tough year. Never mind all of that though, since I want to talk about this year’s Can*Con held in Ottawa, Ontario.
It occurred last weekend (Oct 18-20th, 2019) and it was such a great event that I wanted to talk about it.
I’ve read countless Tweets from Con-goers by Vendors and Staff and all of them make me smile. If anyone is unaware, I’ve been the Volunteer Coordinator for a couple of years now. This is due to the fact that I will be publishing my first novel, I love meeting people, and I love working with aspiring authors. Part of my love for this event is because we learn valuable things about the publishing industry. Each year, people bring new perspectives and wonderful personalities to the table. It’s the idea that authors are human, and not intimidating mythical creatures that we ‘common folk’ can’t touch. And I used to look at published authors as such. However, after being the volunteer coordinator has taught me that authors are quirky and awesome people. So my ‘job’ is extremely rewarding for many reasons.
I’d like to start by saying that I honestly can’t thank the volunteers enough for all of their work. I’ve learned a great many things from each of them and enjoy getting to know people from all walks of life. Even if people haven’t had the experience of chatting with the volunteers know this: volunteers help to make conventions like Can*Con amazing. Anytime you see them, if you know who they are, please let them know that their work is appreciated. It means a lot.
Having said that, many people at Can*Con have done just that – they talk to the volunteers and sometimes give items or cookies as a thank you. (And last year, I was given something that put me in a much better mood. I was stressed out at one point and I almost cried because that gesture meant so much. I forget who the vendor was but sincerely THANK YOU.)
Oddly rewarding moments occur during Can*Con like the guest that came by with two tiny puppies! I was able to hold one and he was shaking a ton so I gave him back to the owner but it was cute. I actually did a double take because I didn’t think I had seen them the first time. In fact, there is a picture of it on Twitter!
I had the fortune of attending a few more panels this year than normal. Just to put that into perspective, normally I only get time to see a couple. This time around, the volunteers were so awesome that I had a chance to go to a few more. (I’m talking, maybe 8 panels) There were a couple of panels that were highly technical in that they were discussing Big Data and how information is being used. The super summary of a couple of those panels is the idea that Data is inherently neutral and that, it only becomes ‘good’ or ‘bad’ depending on how the data is being used/interpreted. The other take away is that privacy concerns are technically much greater and that legally it’s hard to protect citizens from breaches. So, as a person that lives and works predominately online, the idea of privacy and data collection concerns are important. Honestly, I’m loving the new science track!
While everyone was at the Aurora Awards (which you’ll get to hear about in a moment), I settled on staying at the hotel and sat in Greg Wilson’s D&D game. I tweeted a couple of quotes from the players throughout the game, and amazingly the party lived! Greg – who goes by ArvanEleron on Twitch, live-streamed the shenanigans so I’m shamelessly plugging that VOD here:
https://www.twitch.tv/videos/496924614
It was a great time and the audience was laughing mightily. Clearly, we are the hardcore gamers that ignore all other things just to see what other players do.
The Auroras occurred at the same time, and while I wasn’t there, the whole event was live-streamed on Facebook (Here is the link) because there were technical issues with streaming to YouTube. It was a beautiful ceremony and all of the winners were quite deserving of their awards. All of the winners are listed here:
https://prixaurorawards.ca/home/archives/2019-aurora-archives/2019-winners/
But rest assured that I am now among a group of people that won the Aurora for Best Fan Convention. However, this couldn’t have been possible without our fearless leaders Marie and Derek nor without our Programming team including Evan, Brandon, Cortni, and Erin. They work tirelessly to make sure that our panels and events at Can*Con are epic! Our volunteers fill in the gaps like getting different things done, controlling the flow of pitch sessions, making sure that attendees with various disabilities are able to get to panels without being swarmed, etc… Every year, I have a bunch of Brandon’s students who are always fabulous. Each person is different and is eager to help out. Honestly, part of the fun is being able to chat with the students. (I also helped a couple of them figure out how to make characters in D&D). I can’t forget our tech lead, Tyler, who makes sure that the panelists have projectors for their presentations. I barely get a chance to see him during the event but that’s the mark of a great tech person. I need to definitely thank Julienne, Raven, and Caycee in the ConSuite for providing the snacks and the coffee/tea. These lovely people make sure non of us faint, and provide a space that congoers can chat. Honestly, their work is invaluable to Can*Con. Finally, I have to give MP the biggest shoutout of all. She runs the registration desk flawlessly. Often I work alongside her, but she is the real brains of the operation. Two years running she has set up pre-purchases of Derek’s Quantum series (which can be found on Amazon.com here, but I’m sure there are other retailers) and this makes sure the book launch runs as smooth as butter. She ALSO helped set up the entirety of the Aurora Awards with a couple of the students. MP is quite integral to Can*Con and I think there is no one better for the task.
I personally wish to thank everyone for making Can*Con amazing and I can’t wait for next year!
I will get back to writing blog posts again from this point forward. So, I’ll talk to you all next week! I have a book to finish writing!
Anyways, that’s all for now.
Be sure to follow me on Twitter, Twitch, and Discord! I write for Chalgyr so be sure to check out my game reviews there!
Until next time!
Susan "Jagtress" N 