My Overview of Swancon 50

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to go to SwanCon. This is a Convention that focusses on Sci-fi Fantasy and Horror based in Perth. I hadn't heard of it until last year and as soon as I did I knew it was an event that I would like to attend. I even committed myself to hosting some panels about publishing and podcasting a few months ago. A few of my friends have attended in the past and advised that it was a worthwhile event but they hadn't been in a few years.

Swancon 50 Logo

The event was hosted by the Pagoda, so I booked the whole weekend stay with Hubby, my Oldest and his Mrs. I booked a 2 bedroom apartment and it was well contained. The hotel restaurant was lovely, but we want to have the opportunity to cook for ourselves as much as we wanted to. There was an ensuite in both of the rooms with a spa in each, a washing machine and a dishwasher. I would stay there again. Filling up a spa to relax in and not worrying about the water bill is such an indulgence.

After we arrived on the Thursday we went to see a musical called Spamalot. (I will do a different post about that) and the next morning it was all go. I had some work to do and we had to do some clothes shopping. I wanted to print out some flyers for the event and I pretty much broke the Officeworks printer in the city. Then in the evening it was the first event, the dinner with special guests. I met a few people, there were no speeches or anything formal. It was a nice meal where we could talk to everyone and many people reminisced from previous events.

Saturday morning I had gone through the schedule and booked in all the panels that I was interested in attending. Hubby and the Oldest where happy to check out the gaming area and I snapped a few shots of them enjoying the opportunity. The rest of the time they were happy to chill in the room while listened to other creatives share their wisdom in the panels. They supported me when I had my podcasting panel. I spoke with fellow podcasters Alyssa Curtain and Teena Raffa Mulligan. It was a really good conversation because we all have a different approach to podcasting.

The first evening was the Masquerade Party that had an additional cabaret entertainment section. The effort that people went through for their costumes was fabulous. Some went above and beyond to represent the theme. I wasn't sure how serious the dress ups were for the evening and I wore a green dress with sneakers and said I was a female Dr. Hubby wore a dapper suit and said that he was James Bond. We fit right in.

The second day of the con was just as fantastic with the panels and my schedule was fully booked. There was the AGM for the WASFF that I really wanted to get to and I made sure it was marked. I was also at the front desk for a bit, welcoming people to the con. After I had finished all the days events I went to the room for a moment and played some Mario party with the fam and then Hubby and ordered take out Chinese.

After the short break I went to the Tin Duck and Ditmar awards. I was so pleased that some of the people that I voted for were lucky enough to win, but I cheered everyone on none the less. After the awards were over they announces who was stepping up for the next SwanCon and what the theme was.

On the third day I have to admit that I was flagging. I had my final panel which was the publishing Panel and after that we ended up packing up to return home. This Panel I shared with Per Henningsgaard from Elephant Press, Dylan Ingram from New Dawn and Ian Hooper from Leschenault press. All four of us are at different stages of our publishing journey and it was a lively conversation with several questions from the audience. I learnt a lot from my co publishers and was really glad to do the panel.

A trip to the city with late nights in a row and we were ready for the comforts of home. I am normally in bed by 8pm at the latest and wake early. All three nights I wasn't in bed before 10 so when my head hit the pillow I was out like a light. I may have also napped on the drive too... But I wouldn't admit that to Hubby.

I would highly recommend attending if you enjoy a fan run event and admit to being a bit of a geek. For me it felt like coming home for the holidays. People were welcoming and didn't question what you were doing there. Everyone was really nice to walk up and talk to. People said hi as they walked past and if you wanted to stop and chat they would have. I have already purchased my membership to attend next year.