CAPCon 2012 Wrap-up!

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Whew! Where do we even begin to start with a quick wrap up of the convention, eh? I suppose the best place is going to be at the beginning. Things got off to a good start on Friday morning with the opening of the convention space, lots of set up and rushing around went into getting the space ready for folks, and folks we did get! There was a ‘Getting to Know You’ social first thing in the morning where people who showed up early could meet and greet, and despite it being a bit on the early side, we had many people enjoying themselves.

The very nice and imaginative ZorroDaddy got us all going in the afternoon with his amazing story time reading (look for a video soon!!!), while RuleOfThree, Benny from NeverGrownUp and others held an informative and ice-breaking discussion about what Age Play means to different folks. Following this time slot, there wasn’t much time to regroup and switch things around before the Being Big and Being Little classes got fully underway, giving our attendees a unique insight into either their chosen role, or the other side of the fence.

Following these two classes, we were very proud to announce the opening of our vendor rooms and changing rooms, giving attendees a chance to get in more comfortable attire, and to perhaps purchase more attire from the likes of Misc. Etc. and Madame Wiladina’s Boutique, along with the carpentry skills of Tigeris and Goliath (click here for inquiries about rocking horse commissions!) and their scented candle molds. Our very own RuleOfThree and the above mentioned NeverGrownUp stores were selling directed age play clothing and materials, while DigitalVisions Photography was set up to make your photographic dreams a reality!

After a little break for shopping, eating, and socializing, the Opening Ceremonies taught our attendees the rules and basics of CAPCon attendance, with much laughter and information shared. Then it was PARTY DOWN before we had to shut down for the night, and say good night for the evening. We’re not sure where everyone ended up, but we hope it was in a good place.

Saturday morning started up early with a pair of classes presented by the very lovely and insightful Miss Chris and the enigmatic couple of Sysiphe and NullMoniker. Miss Chris spoke about Punishment and Discipline, and while the author of this post did not personally get to witness it, I am given to understand that it was a very tearful discussion, with lots of opening up and breakthroughs by the attendees. On the other side of the wall, the class on Playing on the Edge of the Sandbox was busy horrifying and shocking it’s attendees into seeing age play in a totally different light.

So, I suppose it’s a good thing that the next set of classes were a bit more light-hearted, with Benny’s No Grown-Ups Allowed and our very own HoppingBunny and Rockr speaking about how age play relationships can be had on a long-term, every day basis. Both of these classes discussed very different aspects of the age play community, and were very insightful and fascinating to watch and learn from!

After a short break for lunch and socializing, it was right back into the classrooms, with an extremely informative panel by Miss Chris on age play with tendency towards playing in different time periods, from Victorian era up to the very near past, giving folks a bit of insight into where a good number of the things that shape our play (sissification, petticoating, punishment, toys, etc.) originated. Again, NullMoniker and Sysiphe shocked and awed with a class about some of the darker sides of age play and sexuality. Quite the dichotomy of classes, to be sure, but both very much appreciated and very well received!

The afternoon was punctuated, perforated, blasted and perpetrated upon by the breakout of a large-scale NERF war between our attendees! Indeed, the Battle for CAPCon Gulf was ON! Darts flying, foam being distributed from the orange barrels of plastic rifles… Who could have asked for more chaos and fun?! Until it came to an end, and then we had to declare a winner. That winner was…. Everyone who participated!

From there, we changed the tone from confrontational to welcoming, accepting, and understanding, as RuleOfThree MC’d our second annual Little’s Exploratorium. There were many interests on display, and tons of information exchanged. It was a great learning and growing experience for everyone involved, and helped to bring our attendees closer together.

I’d love to give a run-down of what happened at the 2012 Little’s Pageant, I really would. But that’s a whole post in and of itself, so look for that coming in the future. Sufficed to say, it was pretty amazing from top to bottom, and thanks very much to our judges, MC NaughtyFreckles, and most of all our participants.

Saturday night was wrapped up by a very innovative and imaginative presentation by Riley Kilo to help and calm everyone down and bring a nice, calm close to the night with a bedtime story. Of course, that was only temporary as once the Con itself closed down, I can only imagine the level of parties going on up in people’s rooms. Wow, talk about a wild night.

Sunday… what can we say about Sunday other than “emotional”, eh? Closing ceremonies left many of our attendees with a moist eye and a heart full of love and acceptance. Following all the final bits, we managed to grab most of our presenters and some of our attendees to get some thoughts down on audio that we’ll be posting very soon, once things get edited up. Look forward to it!

So what’s next? Well, there’s CAPCon 2013, for starters, so look for more information in the coming months. For now, your tired and worn out staff need to rest, nap, cuddle, hug our teddy bears and recuperate from bringing you all the best CAPCon experience we possibly could. Thank you all. It couldn’t have happened without you.