A ConnectiCon to remember.

ConnectiCon 2016 was amazing.  ConnectiCon 2016 was amazing.  ConnectiCon 2016 was amazing beyond words except for me saying that ConnectiCon 2016 was amazing.  Did I mention that ConnectiCon 2016 was freaking amazing?

I’ve been going to this show since its debut back in 2003.  I’ve missed two weddings for it.  Every single year has its own unique set of happy memories, new and renewed friendships, unforgettable events, and stories I will tell until I croak.  Every ConnectiCon has been great, and I can say that with thirteen years of evidence to back it up.  I knew this year’s show was going to be enjoyable, but I had no idea it was going to be exceptional.  (Finally, a pleasant surprise in 2016.)

We could feel it from the moment the doors to the Exhibit Hall opened on Friday afternoon.  There was an unusually positive energy in the crowd and it carried through the entire weekend.  It was there in the Exhibit Hall.  It was there in the panels we gave.  It was overwhelming at the Cosplay Death Match on Saturday night.  It was there to the very last minutes of the convention on Sunday.  Garth and I were floored by the love, support, and enthusiasm shown by everyone from con-goers to staffers.  There’s a reason this show is so special to us, and this year reinforced our already unbreakable bond with ConnectiCon.

And good gravy did it feel good to be on stage again!  The events of the past year have kept me off-stage for a number of heartbreaking and discouraging reasons.  I’ve spoken on panels in front of crowds, but that’s public speaking, not performance.  Hosting the Cosplay Death Match was, for me, my return to the stage.  Hosting a show is a hybrid of public speaking and performance, with an emphasis on the latter because a good host has to keep an audience entertained and energetic.  A good host has to go with the flow of his audience’s mood while at the same time guiding them along the flow of the show.  It is a surprisingly difficult line to walk and a bad host can kill an audience’s energy.  I don’t care if this sounds like bragging, but the Cosplay Death Match was a much-needed reminder that I am a damn good host.  I helped keep nearly two thousand people excited for two straight hours.  (I only did half the work, to be honest.  This year’s standard-setting combatants and the flawless stage crew were truly what made the show as amazing as it was.)  And while I cannot take all the credit for the mind-blowing success of this year’s Death Match, I’ll take some of it and let it keep this smile on my face shining bright.

Thank you for everything, ConnectiCon.

We can’t wait to do it all again next year.