My Convention Experience

This is part of an e-mail letter that I wrote to my niece,Maryann I couldn’t wait to tell her about the happenings during the Writing.Com’s second Convention in King of Prussia, PA, which was held on August 15, 16, 17 and 18. Then I thought it would be nice to share some of my thoughts on this fabulous event and post it into my portfolio.

Richard and I got back from the Convention Monday night. We had a very nice time, and I didn't feel too uncomfortable among all the young people, which represented over 90% of the attendees. Even with the SM and SMs parents and two or three other older authors, I was still the oldest there. But I didn't miss a beat.

I did have a minor trial with the Creative Sessions, something like a continuing campfire; only each participant had 3 to 5 minutes to begin a story and write a few words according to the pre-set theme on the clip board. When time was called, you had to pass the clip board to the person on your left, who was suppose to continue the story. I couldn't believe the zany passages that the participants wrote. On the back of our badges that we wore around our neck to ID all of us at the Hotel, there were four letters of the alphabet printed in large letters. They were arranged differently on each badge. When we arrived for the Creative Sessions, we were advised to sit at a table that had the first letter listed. They had each table set up with a different letter as the centerpiece. During the four campfire sessions, we changed places according to the next letter on our badge, and sat at a different table with a different group. Each time I moved to another table, the person on either side of me was Zoo - Salted and Roasted , then John~Ashen ,The Milkman , and demor, a retired businessman. I'm not too sure about the others. There were always about 8 persons at each table. It was so much fun, and after the sessions were over, we were advised to keep our campfire writings, the pen and the clip board as souvenirs.

Then I left to go back to my room a half an hour early Saturday evening when it was Open Mic Night. That’s when some of our attendees performed with readings, comedy and other entertaining offerings. I found out later that the SM proposed to the SMs and gave her a diamond engagement ring. I was disappointed that I was not present to witness the expression of surprise on the SMs’ face. I was told later that the family knew that the SM was going to pop the question, but that they kept it a secret from the SMs.

We were kept busy with activities throughout the weekend, but we did have free
time from 2 to 6 in the afternoon before the evening’s formal dinner that Sunday. Richard drove scribe1, slydogg, and me to the giant Mall nearby. It was my first time in a Mall that had indoor parking. It was huge, and anyone could easily get lost in there. Elaine purchased black hosiery that she needed for that night and Sly Dogg bought a cute Teddy Bear for his mom. I sat at a bench near Nordstrom's, and it was a good thing, too, because the kids walked around in circles trying to find their way back to me.

The Auction was fun. Richard excelled with a donation of $395, and he received
an Award for being the highest contributor in his bidding. The highlight of the auction was Zoo Duck agreeing to have his hair cut or cropped, dyed; you name it, to the highest bidder. That was his donation to the auction. Can you imagine that?

Well, when formal night arrived and Zoo Duck made his entrance, we all but
landed on the floor from laughter. He looked like a rooster. They cut his
hair and dyed the middle top red and the red strands stood up stiff like the Funky teens used to wear their hair. The rest of Zoo Duck’s hair was slicked back and was streaked with green and blue. They even had some of his hair sticking out like a paintbrush near the base of his neck. He certainly was a good sport about it all.

There's so much more that I could mention. Overall, the food was very good at
the hotel, the staff anxious to please, and the SM and SMs went all out to make
the Convention even better than it was last year. There were fun touches like
gold and silver stars; candy and party favors atop the tables and dog tag awards were
given out every so often. Our goody bags contained many wonderful items, including a survival guide, which we carried everywhere we went in order to get as many of the attendees to sign and write something on their bio page. Richard and I wore our white monogrammed T-shirts with the Writing.Com logo during our afternoon of free time. On the back of the shirt, each attendee’s user name was displayed.

Monday was the last day of our second annual Convention, and sadly it came to a close. We milled around during our final luncheon and hugged each other as we said our goodbyes. We all had a wonderful time. I just know that most of us left with happy visions of meeting again next year.