Pony community awareness groups?

[Mana Minori]

I know that the older communities of pony fans are collectors, and some of you go to cons or meetup groups, with friends, but after watching a show called "Kawaii International" for many years, and seeing the efforts done by their chosen community leaders  to spread kawaii, as embassadors, it got me thinking- could the collectors and fans of MLP do the same, outside of cons and meetups, which are mostly contained to their own kind? When have we last heard about a group of pony fans engaging the entire community (wherever it may be) in a mlp themed barbeque, community sporting event, fashion show, picnic, community scavenger hunt or what have you? I know it takes a lot to organize fhings like this as well as make it feel inclusive for community members who are non mlp fans or collectors, but I like fun things, and just thought this could be a fun, semi-spontaneous idea to throw out there.

[KottonKandy]

I feel like if it’s an event that’s pony themed, you’re going to attract pony enthusiasts, not the general public. This is a niche community and not many folk are horse toy enthusiasts. If you’d like to create community events, then by all means! But not everything has to be mlp themed, and I don’t think many average joes are gonna attend if you specifically make the event based around a hasbro toy line.
I could just be entirely misinterpreting your post tho!

[Mana Minori]

I feel like if it’s an event that’s pony themed, you’re going to attract pony enthusiasts, not the general public. This is a niche community and not many folk are horse toy enthusiasts. If you’d like to create community events, then by all means! But not everything has to be mlp themed, and I don’t think many average joes are gonna attend if you specifically make the event based around a hasbro toy line.
I could just be entirely misinterpreting your post tho!

not entirely pony themed, no. Like the organizers being seen wearing pony shirts or flyers with a small pony in the corner, but still cutesy, or a few pny plates or napkins, but not the entire events bursting with pony. Just enough to let outsiders know the purpose of pony awareness, but also ordinary enough to draw in outsiders and still be "hey, I'm not hitting you over the head with pony" excessive.

[PoserBeachball]

Would another way be to have a Pony Team at a community/charity event like carnival, raft races, fetes etc. A pony activity/ stall set up at a larger event could be lots of fun too...... Barnacle's treasure hunt game at a seaside village fete for example?



ETA:  Any sort of public display or event takes an enormous amount of planning and work - and things happen to props, information flyers and merchandise so be aware.
Sometimes local charities would love to have a new theme and help for an event - worth suggesting joining forces?

[Taffeta]

You are assuming that everyone lives in an area with a high number of ponypeople who have an excessive amount of free time to give to whatever project.

I have no issue with people doing stuff for the community, but I don't really see the relevance of it having to be ponypeople organised.

UK ponycon used to fundraise for a riding for the disabled charity (I don't know if it still does) which I think is probably the direction community pony stuff tends to go.

[lovesbabysquirmy]

#1 problem with Cool Adults Being Fans of MLP when out in public...  the parents have heard all about the distasteful behavior of "bronies" and they don't want their kids anywhere near those kinds of Adults.   I don't want to be associated with untangling myself from THOSE allegations! 

I agree, match yourself up with a charity to do good, without necessarily pushing PONYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY because if those people like MLP, they will find us anyway! 

[Taffeta]

I'm sorry, coming back to this having reread the original and follow up post and realising that I am not certain exactly if what I answered is what you're asking about.

I mean, I am sure a lot of ponypeople do support charitable events whether in their locale or through other systems, but the whole costume/cutesy thing and the mention of Kawaii made me wonder if you also wanted it to be about people being aware of MLP in conjunction with events and fairs? I dunno, I feel like two themes are confused into this and I am not quite sure where to take it from there.

I don't know anything about the kawaii ambassador, not least because that word is one of my least favourite in Japanese because of it's distortion in the culture (and the really distorted way in which it is used in the west, when it has such a broad meaning in Japan proper) but I think LBS has a real point about the negative image of bronies challenging any attempt to make pony collecting or the pony fandom more out there.

Personally I think PoserBeachball's point about the amount of effort going into arranging stuff is also why we have meets and conventions sometimes involved with charity projects but don't go all out to walk the streets on a weekly basis. And yeah, we don't all live in an area with lots of ponypeople.

I'll also add in the fact that some of us simply wouldn't want to draw attention to ourselves or our collections in that way. I've never yet worn a pony shirt even to ponycon, although I will wear them to other places. I kind of feel ponies don't define me, although they are important to me. They're not a fashion statement or a lifestyle to me - they're a hobby in which I take a lot of pleasure and a nostalgia kick. I guess for me personally there's no natural association between what I collect and the wider community. I am interested in MLP because I grew up with it and because I'm a historian and there's a lot of interesting stuff in the history of MLP, identifying the toys etc. Not many people in the wider community would care about that. But that's my version of My Little Pony. I don't say it's the right or the only one, but getting a collective idea of what "pony" is might be difficult. We've always had and encouraged a plurality in the fandom in that sense.

I don't see MLP as cutesy, but then I also don't see the word kawaii as meaning cutesy either. There are multiple ways to understand the word kawaii in and out of context, and multiple ways to see MLP. I know you're all into that aspect of Japanese culture, and that is fine. I am not knocking it. But I just want to emphasise that the biggest obstacle to this kind of thing is finding a commonality in how ponypeople see ponies.

[Mana Minori]

You are assuming that everyone lives in an area with a high number of ponypeople who have an excessive amount of free time to give to whatever project.

I have no issue with people doing stuff for the community, but I don't really see the relevance of it having to be ponypeople organised.

UK ponycon used to fundraise for a riding for the disabled charity (I don't know if it still does) which I think is probably the direction community pony stuff tends to go.

I donn't believe that I was. I believe that I was directing the topic as anyone (not everyone) who does have such a luxury.

[Mana Minori]

Would another way be to have a Pony Team at a community/charity event like carnival, raft races, fetes etc. A pony activity/ stall set up at a larger event could be lots of fun too...... Barnacle's treasure hunt game at a seaside village fete for example?



ETA:  Any sort of public display or event takes an enormous amount of planning and work - and things happen to props, information flyers and merchandise so be aware.
Sometimes local charities would love to have a new theme and help for an event - worth suggesting joining forces?

hey, that'd be awesome, too, if such ones are willing to take on additional planners and helpers that have their own theme! I mean, that'd be slightly less work for the pony team, so why not? It can work both ways!

[Mana Minori]

#1 problem with Cool Adults Being Fans of MLP when out in public...  the parents have heard all about the distasteful behavior of "bronies" and they don't want their kids anywhere near those kinds of Adults.   I don't want to be associated with untangling myself from THOSE allegations! 

I agree, match yourself up with a charity to do good, without necessarily pushing PONYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY because if those people like MLP, they will find us anyway! 

my point was, not just doing good to do good, like donating to a charity, but getting out, doing FUN things with community members who aren't aware of mlp or pony collectors, enthusiasts. Being active in sports, neighborhood games, etc. Getting the sense of community back, etc. (especially in a time where community is lost, and everyone is hypersensitive and no one really feels safe just being out, anymore). Just doing fun and active things with other people. Could be a group, could be just one person to another and spreading it by word of mouth. A pony themed lemonade stand, exercise groups, heck, even just throwing on a pony t-shirt, claiming yourself the Equestrian ambassador of good will, and standing in store parking lots to help old folks with their groceries all day!

[LadyMoondancer]

I think a hurdle is that most people who aren't already into MLP are not really going to be interested in a MLP-themed event.  (And this goes for most fandoms, whether it's Steven Universe or Transformers or whatnot.)  I'm also pretty cool towards the idea of anything . . . evangelical in nature.  Like, I love MLP . . . and I welcome new people who are interested in MLP . . . but I don't really see any difference in them liking MLP versus liking some other show, so why should I try to "recruit" them, you know?  That kind of thing makes me feel pushy.

That said, I get wanting to share an interest with others and feeling gratified when others realize how fun MLP collecting can be.    Personally I would feel weird about real life "pony promoting" events, though.  IMO the internet is more effective at that kind of thing.  Like, you could run a contest with a combo of Sailor Moon and MLP prizes to appeal to Sailor Moon fans or something.  Or run a generally "cute" Tumblr page that has a combo of lots of cute pictures, including MLP ones.  That is how I found out about (or remembered) a lot of 80s / 90s toys, by seeing Tea Bunnies and other toylines on my dashboard. 

[Taffeta]

#1 problem with Cool Adults Being Fans of MLP when out in public...  the parents have heard all about the distasteful behavior of "bronies" and they don't want their kids anywhere near those kinds of Adults.   I don't want to be associated with untangling myself from THOSE allegations! 

I agree, match yourself up with a charity to do good, without necessarily pushing PONYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY because if those people like MLP, they will find us anyway! 

my point was, not just doing good to do good, like donating to a charity, but getting out, doing FUN things with community members who aren't aware of mlp or pony collectors, enthusiasts. Being active in sports, neighborhood games, etc. Getting the sense of community back, etc. (especially in a time where community is lost, and everyone is hypersensitive and no one really feels safe just being out, anymore). Just doing fun and active things with other people. Could be a group, could be just one person to another and spreading it by word of mouth. A pony themed lemonade stand, exercise groups, heck, even just throwing on a pony t-shirt, claiming yourself the Equestrian ambassador of good will, and standing in store parking lots to help old folks with their groceries all day!

You can do all of those things without getting MLP involved.

[Safflower]

I'm probably not understanding your posts correctly (sorry) because it's a Sunday morning, but:

I think you are trying to say that we should host events with pony things in them to spread awareness about pony collecting and the people who collect them. Firstly, why do we need to spread awareness about collecting pastel plastic ponies? Plastic ponies and the people who collect them aren't controversial (except bronies I guess), they aren't an issue, they don't need help, and they aren't changing people's lives drastically for better or worse. Why would you need to spread awareness about plastic horses? Secondly, helping people and the community and hosting events shouldn't be because of and made about ponies. Ponies have a place, but it isn't in the community, it isn't in helping people, and it isn't in hosting an event for non pony people. Ponies belong in collections and in places meant for them like this forum. Lastly, if you are making an event or gathering, what is the point of making it pony themed? If you aren't pushing it, it's just going to be random and out of place. And if you are really pushing ponies, and is going to be viewed as rude, weird, and annoying and people will probably leave or not even come. People have their separate interests, we don't need to recruit anyone. It doesn't really make sense...

Pony meets are fun though because it's about a community that has a common interest Maybe you could try finding a common interest for your community and hosting an event?

[Taffeta]

I'm probably not understanding your posts correctly (sorry) because it's a Sunday morning, but:

I think you are trying to say that we should host events with pony things in them to spread awareness about pony collecting and the people who collect them. Firstly, why do we need to spread awareness about collecting pastel plastic ponies? Plastic ponies and the people who collect them aren't controversial (except bronies I guess), they aren't an issue, they don't need help, and they aren't changing people's lives drastically for better or worse. Why would you need to spread awareness about plastic horses? Secondly, helping people and the community and hosting events shouldn't be because of and made about ponies. Ponies have a place, but it isn't in the community, it isn't in helping people, and it isn't in hosting an event for non pony people. Ponies belong in collections and in places meant for them like this forum. Lastly, if you are making an event or gathering, what is the point of making it pony themed? If you aren't pushing it, it's just going to be random and out of place. And if you are really pushing ponies, and is going to be viewed as rude, weird, and annoying and people will probably leave or not even come. People have their separate interests, we don't need to recruit anyone. It doesn't really make sense...

Pony meets are fun though because it's about a community that has a common interest Maybe you could try finding a common interest for your community and hosting an event?

Thank you Safflower. I think you said what I was trying to say only a lot better than I could.

I totally think community organised events are a great idea. But the push-pony aspect is kinda...not for me.

I also feel there's more going on with this suggestion. We don't need to coopt communities into pony-themed events to legitimise being a fan of MLP. I feel like the OP's been made to feel perhaps outside of this forum that it's not valid to collect or like pastel plastic ponies. But if you start trying to make people outside accept ponies by force, you're acting the same as the people who want to deride the pony fandom and it's not really a solution.

Totally help your community. Totally take pride in your pony fandom. Don't force the two together. People have a right not to like MLP and they have a right to go about their lives without having ponies pushed in their face.

[Mana Minori]

sorry if this offended, upset, triggered, or ruffled anyone. It was just what I thought was a fun and spontaneous idea. Rest assured, I'll prevent from sharing any further ideas from now on