Well I have been back from PantheaCon for a week now and I’m
still taking in some of the things that happened. It’s amazing that anything happened at all,
considering how short my stay was and how some unplanned “adventures” tried
(but failed) to derail an awesome weekend.
I enjoy traveling. I
like the whole process of flying from booking flights to picking up checked
luggage and everything in between. I
like to think of myself as an experienced planner of trips and an adaptable
traveler who can overcome whatever random obstacles are thrown at me. Well, I kind of blew it in that regard this
time.
In an effort to book an affordable flight, using my preferred
method of payment, I ended up booking a flight that didn’t even leave until
after 8 PM on the Friday of PantheaCon.
That was a huge blunder and I will never repeat it simply to save
$75. As a result of this decision, I
reached my hotel room (about 3 blocks from the primary hotel) at 11:30 PM. I was too tired and it was too late to go
over to the con so I hauled my 100 pounds of luggage (no lie) up to my room and
crashed.
Saturday morning at PantheaCon is a wonderful thing to
see. I got a good night’s sleep and
hoofed it over to con fairly early on Saturday morning. I had to hang around a few minutes for registration
to open, but they whisked me right through.
By the time I had checked in at the Green Room (since I had a workshop
scheduled), the Llewellyn table was up and running. I gave Elysia a big hug and got to meet my
publisher, Bill Krause, for the first time.
After apologizing for missing the Llewellyn’s author “get together” on
Friday night, we chatted for a bit before Elysia was off to another panel and I
took a quick tour of the vendor’s room.
I thought that the vendor’s room was a really nice mix this
year. Last year it seemed a little
lopsided, but this year I thought there was a great mix of vendors and that
they were well distributed. I was
surprised to see several vendors with large assortments of buttons for
sale. I thought that was very cool. It was refreshing to see a good assortment of
less expensive items for sale. I also
like PantheaCon’s policy of having a vendor’s room that is open to the general
public. I’m not sure if that’s to
appease a California law or just good business on the Con’s part, it is a smart
move that certainly won’t hurt the vendors.
PantheaCon brings together quite a diverse spectrum of people. The most recent head-count I saw put attendance
over 2,400 people this year. As you can
imagine, attendees run the gamut from strict Wiccans to free-wheeling
Solitaries to many who do not describe themselves as “Pagan” at all. People from a huge variety of lifestyles and
spiritual backgrounds gathering under a single roof has some pretty obvious
opportunities for conflict. Luckily, the
energy of PantheaCon is a very positive one of inclusion, so conflicts are rare
and generally handled quietly. Sitting
in the hotel lobby, as I did for several hours, is one of the most unique “people
watching” opportunities I have encountered.
Around lunch time on Saturday, I moved towards my workshop
rooms. The Con had doubled my space from
last year and I had brought enough materials for 64 people (at least a dozen
more than had been in my best-attended workshop in years past). I know that the previous year I had planned
for 30 people and had just enough materials to allow 35 to make incense. I thought that more than doubling my planned
capacity would be enough. I was wrong.
For workshops, attendees cannot get into line more than 15
minutes before the scheduled start time.
I had to set up for 64 people inside the room as well as set up the
projector to work with my netbook, get my PowerPoint queued up, and get
merchandise out for sale. Needless to
say, I was completely occupied for the 45 minutes leading up to start
time. I was blown away when one of the
wonderful Con workers came to me and said that when they allowed people to line
up, 53 people immediately got into line for this workshop. That was still 15 minutes before the doors
would be opened.
I just can’t say how humbled I was in that moment. To think that so many people were interested
in spending a little time making incense just took my breath away. Once the doors were opened, the 64 seats
filled quickly and I ended up with another 20 people sitting around the edges
of the room. A few of them even bought
incense making kits so they could join in on the fun! I’ve participated in many festivals,
retreats, and conventions, but I have never been so moved by an audience at a
workshop.
The workshop itself was awesome. This was the first crowd to get to see my
PowerPoint. It was an amazing group of
people. I was very fortunate to find so
many people to share my little corner of the universe for a few hours. I do not know if I lived up to their
expectations, but I can say that they completely exceeded mine! I was wiped out of books in a matter of
minutes. I sold dozens of incense making
kits and related material. Everyone was
kind and patient while I helped people roll incense and check out with their
books.
A very wonderful lady stayed behind and helped me clean up
after the magnificent mayhem subsided.
We cleaned up and cleared the room for the next presenter in record
time. Aside from 9 sets of measuring
spoons vanishing, it was the most flawless workshop of my career! My deepest and most sincere thanks to
everyone who attended the workshop this year.
There were only 3 of the 85 attendees who had ever been in one of my workshops
before, so I hope that I set the other 82 firmly on the path of using natural
incense. If there is anyone who wanted
to attend but couldn’t get in (is that even possible??) then I can’t wait to
see you next year.
Assuming I am lucky enough to be chosen to present again at
PantheaCon next year, I plan to propose a second workshop for those who have
already attended the beginner’s workshop.
After my workshop, the rest of the time at the Con was
pretty much my own. I went back to my hotel
room and took a rest before going back for some fun. I got to sit in on parts of a number of
workshops (including a most interesting one on kyphi – sad I only got to stay
for a few minutes since this is a topic I plan to cover in more depth as I work
on the 2nd edition of my first book) and meet a lot of people.
On Sunday morning, I manned the Llewellyn vendor’s table
while the Llewellyn folks went to offer a panel about how to get
published. I was able to chat with a
variety of Con attendees and meet a whole new assortment of friends. River Higginbotham and I spent a great deal
of time discussing the Pagan community.
We traded war stories about community building and he keyed me in to
some very interesting things going on nationwide. It was a very enjoyable, and very
enlightening, conversation and I really appreciate him taking the time to chat
so freely with me. I didn’t want the
conversation to ever end but I had to check out of my hotel room, so we parted
ways.
I got to drop an incense making kit on an unsuspecting
Oberon as he passed me outside the restaurant.
His arms were full so he didn’t even have a way to refuse my gift if he
had wanted to!
Is this a boring report from PantheaCon? If you’ve never been, it is difficult to
explain just how overwhelming it is.
There are so many interesting and powerful energies running loose that I
have trouble focusing on anything for more than a few minutes. Needless to say, there is something going on
every minute of every day from start to finish.
I hope to be lucky next year and get called in the room lottery so I can
stay in the main hotel. I think I will
avail myself of the massive number of great parties and suites far more if I
can stay in the hotel while meandering back to my own room.
Aside from getting food poisoning on Saturday night and
nearly starving to death (again) in the San Jose airport while searching for something
to eat that was gluten-free, this was a nearly flawless trip. I had such an incredible time, got to hang
out with amazing people, have the most unbelievable workshop of my career, and
got through it all safely. My car was
waiting for me in long term parking and it took me right home. All I can say is that I can’t wait for next
year!!!!