Colossalcon 2016 Report

I am surrounded by giants! Or I'm just short without heels. Photo by Jibrii

Colossalcon has been consistently one of my favourite conventions every year. I ran into a few issues leader up to this year but the overall experience was great and I am very happy that I was able to attend. I met a lot of new people which gave me that old school con feel where everything is new again but you are also surrounded by old friends.

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Preamble

A few weeks before the con I injured myself. I stepped on a sewing needle that snapped and lodged itself inside my foot. It had to be surgically removed and I had the stitches removed a few days before leaving for the con. My doctor cleared me for going into water - after the surgery I wasn't allow to wet my foot at all - so I took some extra measures to protect it from infection by buying spray-on bandaids and water shoes.

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Thursday

Relaxing with my roomates on our patio.

The day was spent hanging out with friends driving down to the resort, setting up in our suite, and enjoying the waterpark. It was wrapped up by visiting friends at the party villa. It was nice and relaxed which is what I needed considering I could only take so much excitement with my bad foot.

Friday

On Friday I wore Ursula from OUAT for part of the day and did a few shoots with Daniel Lin, Pitfire, and a few hallway shots here and there.  I was really happy to wear her a second time since I barely got photos last year due to the rain. I'm also proud with how well my makeup turned out.

*FYI for all those people who want to shoot a mermaid tail at the event*
Waterpark staff apply photography rules differently. Earlier in the day I saw a bunch of mermaids perched on the faux rocks on the side of the wave pool (inside) and the kiddie pool (outside) for extended periods of time without a problem but then later in the day I got kicked out of the same spots.  I was told a few times that I could drown... in 3 - 5 inches on water in a  pool that didn't go deeper that one foot while in the presence of a photographer and assistant during the shoot. There is no point in arguing with the lifeguard since they are just doing their job - no matter how unreasonable it sounds. Some people were luckier than me and had no problems but it could be the fact that  I was in a costume and tail and they both sent up flags in their mind.

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Side note: booking rooms for the following year was a nightmare. People waited in line for hours and only the lucky ones got a room. I saw it firsthand as the line snaked outside our room in the hallway to outside our room next to our patio. Some waited 6hrs to be told they weren’t any rooms left. What's the point of attending the con if you can't have fun because you are waiting in line for hours for next year? Also the phone booking was hectic the following Monday morning from what I hear. If you want Colossalcon to fix this get in touch with them through their survey. The second page deals with the hotel booking issues.

Saturday

Saturday was a little busier. I put on my Swanna for the first time and shot with M1 Photo, UV Photography and Anna Fischer. I got rained out of my afternoon  plans. It was a bit of a downer considering I was sitting around waiting for the shoot only to have it continue to rain. Oh well. I managed to get a few shots in my sparkly heels with no adverse effect to my foot, so that’s my silver lining.  I also got to join up with two Pokemon gijinka groups throughout the day. A Pokemon costume is the easiest way to meet new people at the con.

Although I love the look of my Swanna I think I’ll have to change the boning in the corset. It feels a little floaty and I think the plastic boning is to blame. I went for plastic since its water friendly but now that Colossalcon has passed I’ll swap them for spiral and spring steel and see how it affects the structure.

Saturday night, yet again, I went to party with friends in various rooms and the party villa. I had a blast. By this point I could dance a little, hooray for a quick recovery! It was great touching base with people and spend time with new friends.

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Sunday

Sunday was relaxation day. Our group went to the convention to check out the games,  the flea market, the dealers room, and artist alley. I was a little bummed that one of the artist I liked wasn’t selling any more. I had a blast playing dance and taiko drum games in the arcade. We wrapped up the day by grabbing lunch at The Reserve, which was really lack lustre. It’s too bad because the restaurant used to be really good, but has really gone downhill in the last 2 years.

The drive back to Toronto was filled with scratchy throat karaoke and I wouldn't have it any other way.

I met so many amazing people over the weekend and I can't wait to touch base with you all again! <3

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