Getting off the Tilt-A-Whirl

[owlkeyme]

So we arrived at PantheaCon in good time, our space was in a decent location with a lot more room than last year's space. We didn't have ANY altercations with the vending staff this year, so yay! Everyone was happy all around. We somewhat lacked in proper placement for where we should put our bodies while people shopped, so we'll have to figure that out for next year, or more likely, go for two spaces. The woman next to us didn't seem to do too well, so maybe that space would be a possibility. Anyway...so things started out pretty fast and furious, and overall, we had a very good, profitable weekend for vending.

Then we headed up to SF to pick up my artwork and for my performance at La Luna Rouge...and unfortunately, I had to eat right beforehand, which made me feel pretty ill afterwards, but I lived. LLR was at the London Wine Bar, which was a really neat space, and the crowd was primarily what I would call "old goth" ---Keith said it was exactly how it used to be when he was doing the scene, and we're talking well over 10 years ago. Very interesting! If it hadn't been for the chaos of the weekend, we would have come earlier and stayed later, but that just wasn't happening. The set was about 15 mins, and in hindsight, I would have gone for 12-13, because of the crowd and layout, but in this types of situations, it's hard to gauge how things will go. On our way out of the city, Khris got in an accident (she's OK, the car's mostly OK, and the insurance will cover it), so we got home a tad later than we had hoped...and I think I was death-warmed-over come Saturday morning.

The whole workshop thing proved to be a more harrowing adventure, but had a very fulfilling ending. In short, the green room/programming folks had me down for 3:30 Saturday, which is what was agreed upon. However, the event program had me down for 7pm on Sunday...and I specifically didn't want that spot because Shuvani was doing their thing at the same time--two dance events at the same time. So on early Friday when I discovered this, it was discussed that notices would be put up, changes would be made, etc..etc. Saturday comes along, and it's not in the daily newsletter or on the Changes board. The only way anyone knows when the workshop is, is because of the stack of flyers I made. So, I had about a dozen folks at my workshop on Saturday---a great and enthusiastic group! Not bad, all things considered. I was happy and content. Sunday, I check things out, and as far as the rest of the known world knows, my workshop is still scheduled for 7pm. No updates, no changes. Houston, we have a problem. So we headed up to the green room to discuss options, and met with Rayborn on the way. Our solution was, since my room was a really big room, and Shuvani was scheduled to be in a much smaller room, and were only going to do a 20 minute or so set, we'd move them into our room, and then continue the workshop at 7:45pm. It worked out splendidly, with about 200 people showing up for the performance, and at least a 100 staying for the actual workshop (participatory workshops often freak a good percentage out). The only issue was that I didn't come dressed to do the workshop, I was wearing stockings, a mini plaid kilt-skirt with straps, and a small blouse. So I overkilled on my hips with stuff, and it all worked out ;) Maybe someone took a picture....the outfit alone would have caused several heart attacks in the dance community ;) Especially my foxtail *grin*

I really miss being involved in the whole aspect of a festival---this only really happens when you're sleeping in the same place it's happening at, like at Starwood or Caduceus. The Double Tree in San Jose was 20 minutes away from where we live, so we just commuted back and forth.

Anyway, this morning when we got there, the power was out at the hotel, and apparently about 2 miles in radius. Consequently, vending opened much later than expected, we stayed longer then expected, but the buying was good! Came home, had some miso soup to battle the sickness I'm currently feeling, and crashed on the bed for a few hours. Feeling a bit better now.

I think it was a successful weekend. We met lotsa new people, saw old friends, made money, made people happy, and brought home a few small treasures. And I need more sleep."