Artist Alley

Now listen, Artist Alley is a place I didn't truly appreciate until this time around. I have been to a ton of conventions and honestly, I don't even always walk through Artist Alley! I know, my mistake! I bought so many pieces over the weekend that were so unique and so beautiful, I genuinely could have spent all day going through the aisles and talking to these passionate artists. One of my personal favorites was a shop run by an artist named Caleb King, who you can find here!

Expo Hall

The Expo Hall at any convention will always be my weakness, I should not be allowed in there with money in my account. This year the Expo Hall was stacked, from tattoo booths to so many Funko booths, to finding more pins than I could possibly do anything with. A few booths really stood out to me, from the Studio Ghibli booth, which was whimsical and had a giant Totoro (check out here), to the booth where I purchased a Matthew Lillard prayer candle (check out here) to an artist who turned every character under the sun into Stitch (check out here).

The Scream Reunion Panel

One of the biggest events of the weekend took place on Friday, which was the Scream reunion panel! I am a horror movie fiend and a Wes Craven fiend, so Scream is a holy grail movie for me, and I still can't comprehend that I was in the room as this reunion took place. Getting to see THE final girl was something that truly just made the entire weekend. The audience questions were (mostly) so thoughtful and unique, and the cast's answers were equally as thoughtful, you could tell how happy everyone in that room was to be there.

Small Luxuries

Listen, do not overlook the garden terrace! This was the first year (I've attended multiple years just as a fan prior) that I utilized this almost hidden oasis. Every time I went out there it was practically empty, there were beautiful views of the city, and all in all just a getaway from the craziness of a convention.

Aside from the luxury of the garden terrace, I have to mention the free bag check (a lifesaver) and all of the lounges that offered plug-ins and places to sit and rest, away from crowds.

Matthew Lillard

I could write an entire think piece on how Matthew Lillard is the ultimate convention get. Not only is he an icon who nails every single role, but he is someone who truly just wants to meet the people that love him. Every day of the convention he stayed late and didn't shorten his interactions with a single person in line. I saw how attentive he was as people cried, told him their life stories or simply just hugged him.

And yes, I did have the absolute privilege of meeting Matthew Lillard. I wept. He was unbelievably lovely and should be the blueprint of how to treat your fans.

Community

Community will forever by my favorite part of a convention. The respect and love you see shown between people really restores a faith that people at their core, are good. I saw so many incredible cosplays, with some of my favorites being a giant Chewbacca, and someone portraying Doug Dimmadome from The Fairly OddParents. I witnessed so many people helping one another, taking photos for them, and complimenting each other, and was able to watch bonds form in real-time. That kind of human connection will never get old.