Wednesday, May 17, 2017

Where to Find Me at MISTI-Con 2017

So the time is finally here! After two years of waiting for MISTI-Con 2017, I get to venture out to the Margate Resort in Laconia, NH tomorrow morning! Not only is the Margate allowing Harry Potter con goers to return home for a 20 year celebration of Harry Potter, but they are also allowing us to have full reign of the hotel and grounds sans Muggles! That's right, Muggle free zone! MISTI-Con is a 5-day Harry Potter immersive experience where Potterheads reunite with old friends like a family reunion. However, MISTI-Con is also a very welcoming and accepting convention where new friendships are being made every minute.

The Margate is located next to Lake Winnipesaukee, aka The Great Lake by MISTI-Con goers, is the perfect backdrop. Hagrid's hut, aka the Gazebo Beach Bar, is a wonderful place to grab some food and drinks. I will be staying in the main lodging building, The Lakefront Building, where the Common Room is easily accessible. The lake is right in the back of the building and the building also connects to the central hub where all the panel rooms are located through an underground tunnel.

The Main Tent will be the prime location for events like the Opening Feast, Bewitching Bazaar & Author's Alley and the Yule Ball. The Pavilion provides a the perfect area for dueling, the Merlies fashion show and the Wrock Festival (Wizard Rock)! For lodging, many of the guests end up staying at the Inn which is known as the SlytherINN. There you can find many parties such as the Snarry Suite and there will be many meetups. Images can be found on the MISTI-Con website.

My schedule is chock full of amazing events and hopefully you will find me pretty much everywhere.

THURSDAY, MAY 18, 2017

On Thursday I plan to leave my place around 9:30 and get to Laconia around 11:30-12:00. My friends and I want to get lunch nearby Laconia before heading to the Margate. Hopefully we luck out and we can check into our room early. If not we can just get our MISTI-Con badges and leave our bags in the car. Programming starts around 2ish so I plan to see a couple panels during the day. I know I have to make a market run in the afternoon to stock the fridge with some food for lunches and snacks. One thing about a con is that you shouldn't skimp out on meals. Fortunately, the market is right across the street from the Margate.

The Opening Feast is at 7:00 so we have plenty of time to get ready for the first big event of the very long weekend. Introductions to the convention will be made, there is an amazing feast that will kick off the weekend and The Harp Twins and Alchemy in Motion will be performing. I cannot wait to reunite with my Harry Potter friends and to meet new people. I hope to go to bed earlier than usual on Thursday since Friday-Sunday is going to be crazy busy.

FRIDAY, MAY 19, 2017

On Friday I plan to attend the Harry Potter Boston breakfast meetup before going to the wet felting mini hat making workshop. Madam Malkins is next on the list for consigned costume wears and Harry Potter memorabilia. I am torn between the HP ornament crafting workshop and belly dancing workshop so I guess it depends which one doesn't fill up fast. Also there is a Rhythm and Ribbons with Beau Batons workshop and a Fantastic Beasts themed panel at the same time.

Ahh..decisions to be made! The 3rd Merlies is a must and then there is a speakeasy event that sounds absolutely fabulous which is sold out. The Unspeakable event around 11:30 pm is a maybe. It really depends how tired I am. Food will be eaten during the course of the day. MISTI-Con always blocks off around two hours around lunch and also around dinner time for meals, napping, showering, etc. It definitely comes in handy to have time to unwind a bit. I plan to do sandwiches for lunch and probably eat out for dinners. Some of the dinner might be able to double as lunches.


SATURDAY, MAY 20, 2017

On Saturday the afternoon is going to be pretty crazy. I want to start off my day with Five Scenes We Didn’t See which is a panel by David Martin. Martin is actually one of my favorite panelists at Harry Potter cons due to his insightfulness and well thought out panels. He has some of the best panels. He has another one on Friday that I hope to make to as well. There is another Fantastic Beasts related panel during the day which starts the same time the Bewitching Bazaar & Author's Alley are open and when the Wrock Festival starts. I plan to scout out the Bewitching Bazaar which is the craft faire. There are many crafters and artists to support! I plan to volunteer at the Bewitching Bazaar & Author's Alley and the Wrock Festival for a couple of hours as well. It doesn't hurt to help out with the convention since it's run by fans for fans!

There is a Battle of Hogwarts mannequin photo shoot that I want to attend around 5:30 pm which runs for an hour and a half. I might want to pop by to take some photos. Leanna Renee Hieber is doing a panel around 7:00 pm and I have a lot of down time for the night which is a good time to wander around to see what everyone is doing. Popping into the Common Room is also an option. If I can stay up late, I will swing by to check out The Restricted Section with Quigley von Lugenschmidt at 11:30 pm.

SUNDAY, MAY 21, 2017

Sunday is the last big day of programming and events. I am starting my day early for a Snape related panel after breakfast. Mugglenet will be doing a podcast recording for their SpeakBeasty podcast. Casey Robin will be talking about how a fan artist grows into a full-time artist. There is also a panel about the relationship between Dumbledore and Snape which sounds interesting. I want to go to the tea with the Malfoys but it's sold out. I will be volunteering for Yule Ball prep for a couple hours of the afternoon. I have a lot of down time before the Yule Ball which is nice since the Yule Ball will be fantastically high energy and there are after parties at night. I might swing by the 1920's - 40's Dance Party at 11:00 pm if I have enough energy.

MONDAY, MAY 22, 2017

Monday is the last day of MISTI-Con and the Closing Ceremonies is in the morning. It's time to say farewell for now and to embrace for the next MISTI-Con which I hope will be happening in 2019!


I will definitely be recapping MISTI-Con in several blog posts so make sure you check out the blog sometime next week. I have a one week break back at home before I venture out for BookExpo in NYC! To follow me on my MISTI-Con adventures, make sure to check out my hashtag, #NicoleAtMISTICon.

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