The 12th annual MY LITTLE PONY Fair took place over the weekend and I'm still attempting to catch my breath. We couldn't have imagined that we'd have such a successful year with a total of over 2,200 individual people in attendance. In 2014, we hit just over 1,200 attendees, so this was quite an increase over the previous year's numbers. I was pleasantly surprised that we had such a large crowd, but proud to say that the Fair Staff handled the influx without any hiccups. I seriously couldn't have run this event without so many awesome helpers.
The following people deserve Special Shout-Outs and my endless gratitude:
Mary and Jenny- You both helped out so much this year with things before and during the event. Without you two, the T-shirts would have been the wrong colors, the trivia participants would have had to navigate through the outdated question bank, our Vendor Hall would have been a chaotic mess, and the Fair Staff may well have starved.
Amber- Thank you for communicating with all of the program advertisers, this helped take a piece off of my plate and regain some of my sanity when things were getting wild. Also, the gallery was able to come together due to your mad case-building skills. UKPonyCon, here we come.
Matt and Steve- Thank you for being awesome PONY husbands. Seriously, how Mary and I managed to get you both involved AND have a good time is beyond me, but I'm happy you keep coming back. From Game Show Hosts, to Registration Gurus, to band members, to general fix-it guys, you both probably wear the most hats of the crew and it wouldn't be a Pony Fair without you!
Jewel- Your videos are always amazing, but this year you truly outdid yourself. I can't wait to see the footage from this year's Fair as part of your new projects!
Rose- You were amazing in your role as the Game and Volunteer Coordinator! Seriously, I cannot thank you enough for managing and scheduling all of the game volunteers. It is such an involved job and you handled it so well, even finding time to put your own twist on the volunteer badges. Your attention to detail is admirable and irreplaceable.
Autumn and Renee- Wow! You were a terrific tag team in Sugar Cube Corner and beyond. You happily accepted every new "challenge" that was thrown your way and were super hard workers. I'm so glad that you both were able to join the Staff this year!
Kevin and Michael- THANK YOU for willingly dealing with this craziness year after year when you have nothing to do with PONY other than me. :) You both are amazing friends and I'm so glad that you are able o share in my adventure each year.
Renae and Jen- Amazing job on the schedules this year! You took something I dread doing each year and made it fun and easy for attendees to use. I'm so happy that we were able to expand to an online schedule this year and get PONY Fair more tech savvy this year. Thank you both!
Cayci- Thank you for making our special guest feel at home during our event. You have a way with people and I'm so glad you choose you share your talents with us!
Karen H.- Thank you for sharing your photography skills with us. You and your husband were so enthusiastic about our event and I'm so glad that you were able to capture the convention!
Vanessa (and family!)- You all were SO helpful! It was such a terrific surprise getting so much help with everything from unloading, to game set-up, to running the gallery, and always with smiles on your faces!!
Sarah, Ashley, and Jeff- Thank you for stepping up and making the gallery your own when we needed a little extra coverage. You all are absolutely lovely and I look forward to seeing you all back again next year in 2016!!
Sharon- You are super creative and I'm so glad that you chose to share your talents with us this year through your panels, discussions, and participation in our events!
Toni (and Jenn)- Thank you so much for your ongoing support of our collector focused event. You work so hard to make sure that we can be the best we can be.
Bonnie and Susanne- Thanks for allowing us a glimpse into PONY's past, and letting us get to know the people behind the ponies. You'll always be welcome at PONY Fair!
Andrea- Thank you for coming to experience the other side of the PONY fandom. You were gracious and a true joy to be around!
Jenn B.(and Alex and Susanne) - So happy to have you back for a second year to share your art and style with our attendees. You add so much! Also, thank you for stepping in to "guard" the Hasbro table. ;)
Andy and Karen- Thank you for being our Fair Dinner hosts. It helped us so much to be able to step back and actually enjoy the dinner for once.
Angie and Steve- Thank you for covering things as needed, especially the run to drop Matt off at the U-Haul!
Alicia and Deborah (and Jen)- Thanks for stepping in and covering our "royal" bases. You helped make the event extra special this year.
NY PonyCon Peeps- Thank you for throwing so many panels and presentations in my lap. You really helped round out our offerings this year! Thanks to everyone for your help especially with the Costume Contest( Molly), running the Crafts (Stephanie), being an impromptu DJ (Keith), filming events (Bill), and being all around lovely (Karen).
Our Corporate Sponsors and Supporters- Thank You!! You allow us to put on the best PONY Fair experience for our attendees by showcasing your terrific products each year and we feel so fortunate to be able to work with each of you.