I spent my last 2 weekends at conventions.
Fortunately for me, they were both fun conventions instead of boring/work related ones. (Okay, some of those are fun too.)
The point being, I got to spend time hanging out with “my” people in two different worlds and just enjoy being part of a community. It was refreshing, fulfilling, and re-energizing. And now, I get to tell you all about it.
Convention #1 – LACon V
LACon V was the host for the 84th annual World Science Fiction Convention, or WorldCon. This is the global, traveling Science Fiction/Fantasy convention where they award the Hugos, one of the most prestigious awards in the genre.
I had never been to a WorldCon before. As this one was quite literally on my doorstep, in Anaheim, CA, about 2 hours away from my house, I figured it was worth making the trek down at the end of August.
I absolutely love science fiction conventions. Wherever you go, whatever the convention is focused on, it’s pretty much the same community of like-minded people. It’s easy to fit right in because there’s very much a “one of us” mentality.
I didn’t know most of the people at this convention. Unlike my home convention, CONvergence, where I help run the thing and know at least a quarter of the attendees, I was constantly introducing myself to total strangers. Despite this fact, I felt welcomed and very much a part of the group. They even had special “My First WorldCon” badge ribbons for us first-timers.
What excited me most about this convention was getting to see a friend whom I hadn’t seen in well over a decade. We used to do GenCon together (a major gaming convention in Indianapolis, IN) but I haven’t been to that convention since I stopped performing with my Celtic band. (The “I Like Moss” and “#Lichensubscribe” badge ribbons were from her.)
I also got to see many of my former Guests of Honor from CONvergence, some of whom were up for Hugo awards.
I went to several panels on different topics within science fiction/fantasy. Like a panel all about the upcoming season of Murderbot with the producers and Martha Wells, the author of the books the series is based on. (Watch it if you haven’t seen it, it’s brilliant.) I also went to a writing workshop about Ekphrasis poetry, which is poetry written in response to visual art.
I got to spend the whole weekend immersed in geek culture, art, expression, and conversation. It was wonderful.
The highlight of my weekend was seeing the presentation of the Hugo Awards. It was fun to see so many of my favorite authors and even a few performers represented among this year’s nominees. And one of my former Guests of Honor won her category for best novella!
Convention #2 – Camp Hollywood
The 28th annual Camp Hollywood and National Jitterbug Competition is focused entirely on swing dancing. Everything from Charleston and Lindy Hop to Balboa and Shag (yes, that’s a dance name). Imagine 1,800-ish swing dancers whipping around a large ballroom with 3 separate floors to a full big band and you’ve got an idea of what I did last weekend.
The mornings are filled with classes on everything from the basics of each dance form to advanced techniques that you can use in all forms. The afternoons are spent watching or competing with some of the best dancers in the world. Then we dance late into the night. Some of us even into the wee hours of the morning. (I didn’t last past 3:00 am this year.)
Every year, the convention brings in amazing teachers in each dance form, including special guests. Many of these teachers (including mine) learned from the “old timers” of the Golden Eras of Harlem and Hollywood.
This year, we were honored to have 2 members of the original Savoy Ballroom dance group in Harlem teaching us. I took two of their classes and attended their panel talk. These ladies were amazing. And hard task masters! They kept us going nonstop during those classes. But it was totally worth it to learn from them.
Again this was the chance to be totally immersed in an amazing community of people dedicated to and celebrating the thing they love. In this case, all things swing dance. I spent the weekend being swung around the floor by friends and strangers alike.
Common practice is to walk up to someone, ask them to dance, then introduce yourself at the end of the dance. By then, you’re already friends, because you just spent 3-5 minutes communicating through the common language of the dances we all know and love. It was fantastic.
The Power of a Rubber Chicken
A large part of Camp Hollywood is dedicated to competitions. People come from all over the world to attend but also to compete, as both prestige and prize money are at stake.
I have competed in past years as part of the student team from my dance studio. We didn’t compete this year, but we do have two couples who are competition level, as well as a few folks who competed in various events.
Needless to say, we all showed up in our team sweaters to cheer our teammates on in every competition they were in.
One of my teammates found a couple of rubber chickens at CVS right before the event and brought them as an amusing way to make some noise for our team. They became a highlight of the convention. We squeaked them as loud as possible as we cheered our people on in each event.
The chickens became a thing. They were loud enough to hear over all the cheering, so they stood out, even in a large room full of people. And once the competition MC heard them… Well, we couldn’t help ourselves. They made us, and everyone around us giggle hysterically.
Our teammates who were competing started listening for the chickens. They all said it really helped to hear us out there, squeaking and cheering them on. They knew we were supporting them and it made a huge difference in their energy as they performed.
So much so that one couple won 5th place in the Amateur Lindy Competition and Second Place in the Amateur Showcase competition. The other couple won 1st place in the Amateur Balboa competition. Neither of these couples had ever placed at Camp Hollywood before.
I even saw at least one other person with a rubber chicken squeaking and cheering for their teammates on the last day of the convention. We became trend setters! Chickens for the win!
The Purpose Behind These Conventions – Building Community
Every convention and conference, regardless of what it’s for and where it is held, is about building community. Even the ones designed to sell you stuff.
These gatherings are created to remind you of the ties that bind you all together, whether you’re science fiction geeks, dance nerds, professional plumbers, or marketing technology pros.
And yes, there are conventions and conferences for every single industry and niche out there. Including professional plumbers.
One of the reasons I love going to these conventions is to fill up my own personal reserves on this feeling of community. It brings me back to my own work more energized and excited by what I do for a living.
Because email marketing is all about building community. It’s about welcoming people into your world and showing them how they belong. How we’re all in this together, whatever “this” may be.
Whether you’re a mission-driven business or organization with goals to change the world or you’re a mom-and-pop shop where people come in every week to say hi and catch up on the latest news, you’re forming a community around your business. The more you nurture and support your community, the more they’ll do the same for you.
Sending that weekly nurture email is one way of building that community. Holding or participating in a conference, convention, or event is another way. Every way you can bring your people together in community is a win for all of you.
Thank you, as always, for being part of my small, but mighty community. I appreciate you being here. Know that I am squeaking a metaphorical rubber chicken to cheer you on every day.
If there is anything else I can do to support you, whether it’s a quick discussion about a problem you’re having with your email marketing or directing you to useful resources to get started, please comment below or drop me a line and let me know.
Finally, all of the pictures in this week’s newsletter are from the conventions I attended. Including this one where my convention worlds collided! It was the Star Trek theme night at Camp Hollywood.
