/mlpol/ - My Little Politics

ITT, we plan a pony con

Why?
Because conventions are fun, we don't have enough, and the ones we have not always in the best location or have pozzed requirements like a mask or vaccine

But We Have Marefair
So I did the math, and figured out that Marefair is only about 0.82% of the year. That's not nearly enough. I need my fix

So what then?
We make our own con. Or try to.

Why Marefair Worked
In its first year, Marefair had 500 attendees, zero instances of the police or fire department being called, and raised $50,000 for its charity, which was the second highest ever for a Pony con at the time, surpassed only by the $92,000 of the last BronyCon Admittedly it was blown away by Ciderfest one month later

Marefair did several things incredibly well, I think. First off, I believe that the location of Orlando, Florida, was absolute genius. Orlando, Florida, is one of the cheapest locations in the entire United States to fly to, both for domestic air travel and international travel. Also, there are no pony conventions in the area. The nearest Pony conventions are SeaquestriaFest (which is not close to major airports, highways, or the rail network), and Harmony Con, each about a thousand miles away. Marefair takes advantage of an otherwise under-served East coast and Southern brony fandom

Second, Marefair had no requirements for vaccinations, masks, or anything of that nature. This was not the case for around half of the American pony conventions. It also didn't make a leftist political organization the recipient of its "charity," but picked an actual charity. It's also the only con where I heard racial slurs in multiple panels, implying a greater than average freedom of speech.

Marefair was planned on a small budget, and is notable for being the only American Pony Con to not have any show guests, instead relying on community guests.

It also helped that the management wasn't retarded and didn't fight with each other, which is much more than can be said of several conventions.

First matter:
A survey of American PonyCons
There are 9 My Little Pony Conventions in North America. Soon to be 8, as BABsCon is ending next year. These are:

Vanhoover Pony Expo
Vancouver, British Columbia (technically it's Richmond). Middle of January. ~200 attendees, not especially woke. Mask in vending hall but otherwise no COVID restrictions

HarmonyCon
Dallas, Texas. Beginning of February. Con organizers are woke, but its attendees are not. Growing, up to 1080 attendees in 2024. Requires mask in vending hall, required vaccine or negative test in 2023

BABsCon
San Fransisco, California. Always on Easter, placing it in March or April. Bigger, but I don't have numbers. 2025 will be its last year. Definitely woke, historically requiring full Vax (not in 2024) and outright banning things like MAGA hats.

SeaquestriaFest
Ocean City, Maryland. May. Small. May be woke, being one of the only cons to require a vaccine/negative test in 2024 (after not requiring it in 2023).

WhinnyCity Pony Con
Chicago, Illinois (actually Schaumberg). June. Medium sized, ~500. Went all in on LGBT in 2023 but was the first con to officially end COVID requirements that year, save for requiring a mask in the vendor hall.

TrotCon
Dayton, Ohio. July. Supposedly larger. Strict on COVID requirements, requiring masks in 2024. The only American con to not have the venue in a hotel. Known for having financial problems.

Everfree Northwest
Seattle, Washington (actually Belleveu). August. The largest extant pony con at around ~1300. Not especially woke.

Marefair
Orlando, Florida. End of September. 500 attendees in 2023. Based.

Ponyville Ciderfest
Milwaukee, Wisconsin. End of October or November. Grown back to 1000 attendees in 2023. Not especially woke. Same organizers as Whinny City.

All of the above cons are three-day Friday-Sunday events, though I believe Seaquestriafest has been 2 days in the past.

So where is ripe for a new pony con?
I will make a map later, but pony conventions in the US are concentrated in a areas, with the West Coast having three (BABsCon, EFNW, and Vanhoover) and the Midwest having three (Ciderfest, WhinnyCity, and Trotcon) while the American South has only 2 now (HarmonyCon and Marefair) and the American Northeast and Canada east of the Rockies have exactly zero. There is only a single ponycon (unless you count Marefair) on the East Coast (Seaquestriafest).

So, this leads to suggested locations:
1. Nashville, Tennessee. This location is the current most favored one, as it is in the Upper South, a region with no Pony conventions, and is in almost the geographic center of the portion of the United States that actually has water/is most heavily populated. It's reasonable, if not necessarily convenient, driving distance from the East Coast, Midwest, and American South. It also one of the cheapest cities to fly to in the US.
2.Memphis, Tennessee. Memphis has many of the same advantages of Nashville, Tennessee, though it's a less pleasant city with a higher crime rate
3. San Antonio, Texas. Not ideal as it's too close to HarmonyCon, but the city is cheap to fly to, and close to many bronies. Also it's a nice, walkable city with many restaurants
4. Las Vegas, Nevada. The cheapest city in the US to fly to, even beating Orlando. I would have counted this out as there are enough cons on the West Coast, but with BABsCon closing, I think this location is more viable.

When?
Community Guests, as well as a large portion of Convention attendees, attend multiple conventions. It's therefore desirable to place any new convention in a time slot where it will not compete. In 2023, the only months with no American conventions were April, and December. April has better weather, and after BABsCon ends next year, both April and March will be clear. Thus I suggest April is the best month.