Signs of Something Special

As I stood in the enormous convention space that would attempt to hold the even more enormous TeddyCon Convention, I got the feeling that, from the big end of the room to the nursery on the other side, there would be a little something special about the weekend to come that would forever remain.

At the Pre-Con munch on Thursday, I could feel the buzz of everyone and got the feeling that the magic that CAPCon possesses would be gracing TeddyCon, too, with its presence.

The convention space held two classrooms, an activities area, a social area, diaper and changing rooms, and then of course, that amazing nursery. But let me see if I can break all of this down …

When not making origami frogs or taking handfuls of candy from the jar at the entrance, I kept moving around the entire convention space – realizing that was probably the only way to be able to experience it all. And much like CAPCon, at TeddyCon, there were always multiple options of things to do – at any given moment.

Everybody’s contentment to relax, even if relaxing meant getting so wind up with excitement that they were bouncing up-n-down, was such a blessing to see. And the fact that everyone was respectful of everyone else was a greater blessing still. That was the first hint of family to me.

From origami frogs-n-cranes to face painting to finger painting to making-n-painting life-sized paper dolls to getting the back of your diaper decorated to perler beads to model magic sculpting to making pacifier clips (I love this. I’m having to reference the schedule to remember it all), the activities were more numerous than could be counted. But the greatest part about them was watching people sitting around those activity tables and really getting into their projects.

Both classrooms kept cranking out sessions with topics galore: Relationships, Meeting People, Wet and Messy Fun, Stories & Games, a class on understanding, a class on gender and even a fascinating look at the past, present and future on Sunday afternoon.

Friday night, the cinema played was The Lego Movie. And I laughed my head off at some of the subtle references made within it – like how the front of the space astronaut’s helmet was cracked right in the middle of the chin. Having been a Lego maniac myself when young, I can tell you that this was the absolute truth of what happened. I had tons of Lego astronauts – all with broken helmet chins.

And during the movie, everybody munched down on three enormous bags of popcorn, lounging on blankets, in the huge lawn chairs, some even in the play pen.

But, oh my. I still need to tell you about the nursery! Occupying almost a third of the entire convention room, this nursery had Little Philly’s Ball Pit, a stuffie corner, a lego section, a walker, a tricycle, a play kitchen area – with foam number-n-letter mats all over the place, matchbox cars everywhere, a puppet theater, a high chair and Little Philly’s latest creation … a crib! I kid you not … kid!

But don’t take my word for it. Have a look for yourself!

Friday night, I got the opportunity to read a story and then we all wandered off to the room parties. I’m sure there were other parties that first night, but the one I wound up at was held in the hotel room right next to mine – a Pizza-palooza hosted by Bud (Bud75 on FetLife). He’s an extremely nice guy who would give you the shirt off his back. And if you’re not friends with him, you need to be. (Psst: Single BabyGirls, he’s a dream daddy and is still new to the community. That means he isn’t taken yet. Just sayin’.)

At Bud’s Pizza-palooza, the room was packed, a Mario Kart tournament breaking out for some as others moved over into the next room for TheGreatGusby’s Cards Against Humanity until early in the morning.

Saturday held many of the classes and activities listed above, but, as with Friday, there were pony rides being offered in the con space. And as I kept walking around, I noticed the raffle table – more than ten feet long with at least 25 or 30 items up for grabs.

Meals could be found at the various restaurants and stores within a few miles around the hotel and I was quite happy to find a convenience store less than a mile away that had my beloved Turkey Hill Iced Tea. (Thank you, Bud75!)

Saturday evening held the first TeddyCon Little Miss and Talent Pageant – in the nursery. And that first class of participants will forever remain known as “The Inaugurals”, if I have anything to say about it. LOL As a matter of fact, I think I used the word Inaugural at least a dozen times throughout it.

As the judges deliberated over extremely difficult decisions of who would win, the raffle items were drawn and handed out. For some reason, it seemed that the lucky folks who won more than once seemed to be sitting on the wall on the left side of the nursery. Hmm. I think I’ll be sitting up against that wall next year. 😉

After the winners were announced, we broke out into singing and everyone lounged all over the place for the remainder of the evening until the con space closed down.

I think one of the best things about events like CAPCon and TeddyCon is that the atmosphere is always inviting to all. And what this means is that someone who is young and has never attended anything in their life could be seen getting into a lengthy conversation with someone else who has attended more events than they can remember. East Coasters mingled with the MidWesters who made the journey out. There was even a fine upstanding gent who came from California. I believe a few also made the trip from Seattle, if I’m not mistaken. But wherever they originated from, they all had a welcomed place at TeddyCon.

Saturday Night hosted more parties – one of which being a massively populated birthday party. And by that point in the weekend, that feel of family had filled the TeddyCon atmosphere and every one of us.

But though Sunday morning arrived (a bit earlier for some of us than others), TeddyCon didn’t slow down at all. The morning held more classes and activities as did the afternoon. And at the closing circle that afternoon, we all took a moment to say thank you to Phil and Meri and everyone who had put this event together, helped to run and attended it.

Yes, there were tears afterwards. But those went to show that TeddyCon meant something special to them.

TeddyCon has just begun and it will return in 2015. The TeddyCon family will grow and there is a place in that family for you. Do understand, however, that as TeddyCon grows, there will only be so many tickets available each year. And there is no greater truth than to say that: When the tickets are gone, they’re gone. Sometimes, waiting to the last minute doesn’t pay off and availability may no longer be there.

So, I can not encourage you enough to take a look at TeddyCon.org and to check out the TeddyCon groups on FetLife and other ABDL sites. And next year, when the postings for TeddyCon 2015 begin to go up, please consider attending, sooner than later.

Next Convention up? CAPCon 2015 – March27th – 29th in the Chicago-ish area. And no longer do we ever have to exchange goodbyes with heart-breaking statements like: “See ya next year.” Now, we can say: “See ya in a few months.”

TeddyCon Webpage: http://teddycon.org/
TeddyCon FetLife Group Link: https://fetlife.com/groups/75248
TeddyCon Profile: https://fetlife.com/users/2381294
Lil Ella’s Posting about TeddyCon: http://ellasplayspace.blogspot.com/2014/10/teddycon.html