MISTI-Con 2017: Day 4 and Day 5 Recap

MISTI-Con 2017 was absolutely fantastic! It was my third time attending MISTI-Con and it certainly won't be my last. As mentioned in previous posts, MISTI-Con is located in Laconia, NH at the Margate Resort. This year, the convention provided a way for Potterheads to return home for a 20 year celebration of Harry Potter. At the Margate, we are allowed to have full reign of the hotel and grounds sans Muggles! The Margate lets MISTI-Con use their whole entire facility for programming, events, meet ups, etc. Pretty much the hotel was transformed into Hogwarts for 5 days. Don't forget to check out my other recaps for MISTI-Con 2017 here: Day 1, Day 2 and Day 3.

DAY 4: SUNDAY, MAY 21, 2017

Sunday is the last full day of MISTI-Con. I got dressed into my Hogwarts uniform sans the robe and went downstairs for the volunteer meet up before proceeding to get breakfast with Krissy. We ended up chatting with David for a bit and then with Ni and her mother. I ended up attending the "Open the Newt Case with SpeakBeasty!" panel hosted by MuggleNet where Mugglenet recorded a live SpeakBeasty podcast. I love everything Fantastic Beasts related so hearing more theories about the 1920's wizarding community in the United States is fascinating. I won't spoil anything for you but you can always check out the recorded podcast when it's up on the website. Mugglenet also had a scavenger hunt throughout the weekend and they were giving out prizes for those who completed the scavenger hunt.

Afterwards, I met up with Krissy and we attended the "From Fan Artist to Full-Time Artist" panel hosted by Casey Robin. I have been a Casey Robin fan since 2012 when I first met her at the Ascendio convention located in Orlando, Florida. Casey was definitely insightful of her history as an artist. She currently works with Disney with their line of the Disney princesses and she is currently working on a middle grade trilogy with illustrations woven in the books. I wished her luck with her book series because I know it will be marvelous!

I went back to my room to get some lunch and to rest before helping out with room monitoring as a volunteer. I ended up monitoring the "Editor Tell-All" panel. I wouldn't have attended this panel on my own but the panel provided a good platform to understand about publishing through editors' eyes. My next panel was "Severus... Please...: The Dumbledore/Snape Relationship." This one was quite complex. I might have to re-read the Harry Potter series again and focus on the relationships between Dumbledore and Snape to understand the underlying messages J. K. Rowling left for her readers about these two characters.

I met up with Krissy and the kitchen to help staff prep for the Yule Ball. We ended up chopping up fruit and arranging cookies, marshmallows and the fruit on platters for the chocolate fondue fountain. After volunteering, Krissy and I went back to her room and we chatted for a bit. I met up with Alberto and Jess to head toward Kellerhaus, which is an ice cream buffet and gift shop in Laconia. Let's say we had dessert first before heading back to the Margate. I had some leftovers for a mini dinner. I definitely wanted to have some real food in my system before getting an alcoholic drink at the Yule Ball.


It didn't take me long to get ready for the Yule Ball and I believe Alberto, Jess and I left got there around 7:15-7:30 when it was still light outside. This was prime time for photos of everyone outside. There were some fantastic cosplays. Aragog was dancing with Ursula. I saw a Belle and of course a bunch of Harry Potter characters. Fred and George was dancing it up on the stage, Aragog finally found Hagrid to dance with and even multiple Harrys showed up.

I met up with a lot of people at the Yule Ball. Seamus, Dariti, David, Kira, Kelly, Krissy and a bunch of other people were there. Actually, most people attend the Yule Ball so it's not very hard to find people since everyone was in the Main Tent. Krissy was already drinking a Butterbeer so Jess and I went to get drinks. I ended up settling for a Butterbeer because you can't go wrong with Butterbeers! At the Yule Ball, I got a couple professional photos taken. I was a bit camera shy to get professional photos of my cosplays for the previous days. I did group photos this time around.

Food wasn't being served for awhile but the cake that was made this year was perfect! The Hogwarts Express is the perfect cake for the Coming Home theme for MISTI-Con. There were three flavors for the cake. I believe they had chocolate, Butterbeer and pumpkin. I got a Butterbeer one to go with my Butterbeer drink.

There was an auction at the end of the Yule Ball with all proceeds going to MISTI-Con to fund the next MISTI-Con. I ended up bidding on two lots and won both. I am now the proud owner of art print by Casey Robin and also an owner of two stockings by Thread in the Head. One stocking has a red Harry Potter print and the other is a teal Fantastic Beasts print one. Krissy ended up winning a Percy Weasley door tag signed by Chris Rankin (aka the actor who portrayed Percy Weasley on the big screen).

After the Yule Ball, I went to shower and threw on PJs. I arrived sort of late to the pizza party so they ran out of pizza. At least they had other snacks to munch on. They had a bunch of after party rooms so I popped into all three for short periods of time. There was a 1920's - 1940's dance party, a karaoke room and also a Disney/Hamilton singalong room. I didn't stay up too late. I probably went to bed around 1:30-2:00.

DAY 5: MONDAY, MAY 22, 2017

We got to sleep in later since there is only one thing happening today which is the Closing Ceremonies at 10:00. I believe we slept until 8:30 and packed the car before heading to breakfast. We had most of our bags packed the night before so that was good since we got more quality sleeping in time. I found this awesome bumper sticker that you can see in the photo to the right. Alberto, Jess and I went to breakfast after we packed the cars and headed toward the Main Tent for the Closing Ceremonies.

There a couple of performances by Lawrence and Persephone. Students who got sorted during the first day received certificates and there was a period where attendees shared what Harry Potter means to them. Alberto, Jess and I left a little early so we didn't hear all the Harry Potter stories. I bid farewell for now to a lot of my friends. Lots of hugging and teary eyes were seen. I know that in 2019, MISTI-Con will not take place in Laconia at the Margate Resort but I know that MISTI-Con 2019 will be still on the East Coast. I will keep everyone updated about MISTI-Con 2019 for those who are interested in attending.

MISTI-Con overall is more than a convention; It's a family reunion every two years. The friendships you make at MISTI-Con will be long-lasting and you will already be planning to reunite with everyone. I am already starting to plan out things for 2019. I hope more people will be doing trading cards next time. Also, I hope I have a chance to participate in the Owl Exchange in 2019. I didn't have time this year but I would love to make little gifts to give to con attendees. This year over 50 people participated. The goal of the Owl Exchange is to make or to craft something to give to everyone participating in the Owl Exchange. The item can be simple like a pin or patch to something more extravagant like a hand sewn plushie. You make the same item for each attendee unless you want to take consideration of their Hogwarts House.

I hope you enjoyed my MISTI-Con 2017 recaps. You can also search the hashtag #NicoleAtMISTICon on Instagram for some photos. Perhaps I will see you at MISTI-Con 2019!