MISTI-Con 2019 and Where to Find Me

It's that time every two years where I talk about MISTI-Con! This year, MISTI-Con will be located in Tarrytown, NY instead of Laconia, NH. The convention runs from Thursday, July 18, 2019 to Sunday, July 21, 2019. And this year's theme is Wizarding Through the Ages! 

I cannot wait to see how creative the cosplays will be this year and if they will be themed focused. MISTI-Con has always been my favorite convention to attend. Not only is MISTI-Con a convention run by fans for fans but there is a sense of community built at MISTI-Con. There is a chance to reunite with old friends and the opportunity to meet new friends. It's like reuniting with your second family.

For those who don't know about MISTI-Con, the convention is capped at 500 attendees for a small and more intimate setting compared to some of the bigger Harry Potter conventions such as LeakyCon. Also, MISTI-Con schedules meal breaks for lunch and dinner. You hardly come by scheduled meal breaks at a con.



If you are interested in some of the past MISTI-Cons I've attended, check out my recaps for MISTI-Con 2015 and MISTI-Con 2017. Unfortunately, I did not blog about my adventures during MISTI-Con 2013 but it was equally as memorable as the other two.

MISTI-CON 2015

Day 1: The Beginning
Day 2 Recap
Day 3 Recap
Day 4 and Day 5 Recap

MISTI-CON 2017

Day 1 Recap
Day 2 Recap
Day 3 Recap
Day 4 and Day 5 Recap

WHY THE MOVE?

The DoubleTree by Hilton at Tarrytown has more rooms and the venue can accommodate more people. Attendees will be sharing the hotel with Muggles, so some things will be a little bit different than previous years. All programming will be held indoors with the AC during the hot month of July. I believe we are looking at temps in the 90's next week.

Because of the location move, there is new territory to explore. Tarrytown is right next to Sleepy Hollow. It's actually only a 10 minute car ride. I am super excited to check out Old Dutch Church, Sleepy Hollow cemetery, Headless Horseman’s bridge, and Philipsburg Manor. I am a huge fan of the Sleepy Hollow story so it's a must to visit the area. Jess and I want to visit Sleepy Hollow on Saturday later afternoon/early evening.

The DoubleTree by Hilton is about a ten minute walk from a CVS, a bagel emporium, a grocery store, and a pizza/pasta eatery. I have to say I will miss wandering the grounds near Lake Winnipesaukee in Laconia. It always reminded me of walking to Hagrid's hut or just around the perimeter of Hogwarts. But I am open to making new memories at a new venue.

WHERE TO FIND ME

The programming schedule looks fantastic! So much is happening at MISTI-Con this year and it will be quite hard to decide what to attend since there are a lot of fantastic panels, workshops, and events taking place.

THURSDAY, JULY 18, 2019

Jess and I are meeting at South Station to take an Amtrak. It will be our mini Hogwarts Express ride! We will be taking an Uber to the hotel once we arrive at New Rochelle. We probably will drop off our bags and do a quick market run before checking into the hotel. Some time during that afternoon, we will check in to pick up our badges. The Opening Feast & Welcome Ceremony won't be until around 7:00 so we have some time to explore hotel and do a grocery store run. I believe there is a Harry Potter Jumble event I want to attend later that night as well.

FRIDAY, JULY 19, 2019

There is a History of Wands panel right at 9:00 in the morning which I am hoping to attend. I've been to the Harry Potter Themed Garden panel before but it's always fun to sit in that one. I'll see how I am feeling that day. The panels I definitely want to attend in the afternoon include The Foreshadowing of Borgin & Burkes and "And my soul, Dumbledore?" The Snape-Dumbledore Relationship panel. The night time activities are going to be intense since they are back to back such as Albus & Scorpius's Excellent Adventure: A Musical Parody, Lip Sync Battle II, The Merlies, and Rave-N-Claw 90's Dance Party.

SATURDAY, JULY 20, 2019

This is the chill day for me since I have a huge window of time that I don't have anything planned at the con. In the morning, I want to pop in that Snape: Unplugged event and I will definitely be swinging by Madam Malkin's to see if I can pick up consignment goodies. The Craft Faire is always something I look forward to. There are so many talented artists vending this year. I am hoping to make it to Wizarding World Crafts 101 craft meetup if time allows during the late morning.

Jess and I have a 3-4 hour block during the afternoon where we are going to explore Sleepy Hollow before we get ready for the Founder's Ball. The ball isn't until 8:00 at night so we have plenty of time to get ready. This will be the first year that the ball will go until 12 midnight!

SUNDAY, JULY 21 2019

Last day of MISTI-Con! I am hoping I can get up early enough to see the Puffs: The Play - Watch Party which is at 8:30 in the morning. Jess and I are thinking about going in our PJs for this one and we will eat our breakfast there. Later in the morning, Puffs: The Original Cast Trio Reunion Panel is taking place. Let's say it's a very Hufflepuff morning. Some of the meet-ups I plan to attend include SLUG Club Meet-Up (Special Lego Users Group) and the Button Pin Swap.There is a Closing Ceremony which includes dinner around 7:00. And later that night, the after parties will occur until who knows what time. This is a little bit different from previous years since this year the con ends with the Closing Ceremonies on Sunday instead of Monday morning. The ball is usually on Sunday night with the after parties, but this year it will occur on Saturday night. 

I am looking forward to all the wonderful wizarding adventures I will be having next week. I will definitely be recapping MISTI-Con in several blog posts sometime after the convention so make sure you check out the blog later this month. To follow me on my MISTI-Con adventures, make sure to check out my hashtag, #NicoleAtMISTICon.