I have no idea what I’ll be doing with my Februarys from here on in. And it that way, PCON was often left wanting. However, they are responsible for standards and they are responsible for programming content and they are responsible to set the culture of their event. The organizers are not responsible for the actions of every single person at their event. Why were the organizers and owners so very tone deaf on certain issues – like safety? While PCON did address many issues, it was always after the fact, after the hurt was inflicted.Why weren’t presenters paid (payment could mean something as simple as a thank you card, chocolate on your pillow, or hard cash)?.Why are some presenters featured three times on the schedule every year while others are passed over every year?.Why were some folks always guaranteed rooms when others were not?.Why did PCON pay out the expenses for some presenters and not others?.As a business owner, I have no problem with that. PCON is/was a for profit venture and as such, we don’t get to see the books because we’re not financially responsible or liable for the expenses. Things I thought PCON just missed the boat on year after year. I’m not talking about personal challenges here, but structural challenges. When Loki and Thor went to Pantheacon What Challenged Me About PantheaCon That is heartwarming and should be noted. I’ve witnessed countless acts of kindness. I’ve seen rooms shared, pay it forward cups of coffee delivered, folks comforted after a particularly moving ritual. Someone giving up a seat or letting a person get on the elevator before them. While there are always clueless, self-absorbed douche nozzles at every event, I’ve always loved seeing the small instances of kindness. I bet for every 10 people I could name as volunteers there were 100 I never saw doing the hard work of making PCON happen. If you’ve attended PCON, I bet you can picture or name at least 20 people you see every year doing registration or checking in presenters. Bringing diverse people together, to have much needed conversations, about vital issues facing the pagan community was so, so, so very necessary. Whether the panels were talking inter-tradition challenges or national politics or climate change or racism or transphobia or cultural appropriation or…You get the point. Panel discussions were nearly always part of the programming.Pick a flavour of Paganism and they were likely there presenting. PCON reminded me that there are many, many, many ways to be Pagan.You get to try a little of everything if you want to. PCON is a lot like a sampler plate at a restaurant.There’s a lot PantheaCon got right for many years. I’ve always found PCON to be extremely valuable. Hanging with friends at PantheaCon What I Value About PantheaCon Standing in line for breakfast and seeing anywhere between 15 Pagan folks gathering together for a weekend of fun, learning, exploration, ritual, magick, and fellowship.Meeting people who are now my dearest friends, co-conspirators, magickal collaborators, and covenmates.Getting to be “Loki” for a re-enactment of the Lokasenna and still having people stop me in the halls to comment on that ritual many years later.Presenting at PCON in a packed room, with people excited to hear what I had to say that day.Watching my beloved partner present at PCON and having folks come up and ask her to sign their copies of her book.Endless conversations in the bar or restaurant or hallways that have changed my life for the better.Endearing rituals that were not so well planned but turned out to lovely anyway, despite themselves.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |