Bonnie heading to Bronycon

[lonewolf]

As you might know, this is the last year for the biggest brony convention, and so they're going all out for it. Their final guest announcement is Bonnie. The 4th time she's appeared at one of these cons. Lauren will be there too (the 2nd time they have been at the same con).

Bronycon goes to where it all began with Bonnie Zacherle

(BALTIMORE) - It’s a bittersweet day here at BronyCon HQ as we celebrate the eighth anniversary of our first event and are announcing our final special agent for our final mission this August. Knowing the weight this announcement carries we wanted to bring in someone important to My Little Pony fans from all over the world. In fact, without this special agent’s creativity and vision, none of the missions in our long history would have ever been possible. On this special day, BronyCon is honored to announce Bonnie Zacherle as our final Guest of Honor for 2019!

This will be Zacherle’s first ever visit to BronyCon. She is best known as the original creator of My Little Pony, and its precursor, My Pretty Pony, while working at Hasbro in the early 1980s. The properties were inspired by Zacherle’s childhood memories of horses and horse riding. Her career also includes working on a redesign of Mr. Potato Head, as well as working on the Nerfuls toy line for Parker Brothers. After that, she opened a studio with her Hasbro colleague Liz Knight in a converted barn in Massachusetts which focused on freelance work, design, and consultation services.

Zacherle was honored in 2013 at the first annual My Little Pony Fair by being the first inductee into the My Little Pony Hall of Fame. Currently, Zacherle lives in Virginia where she teaches art to children.

[Zapper]

These bronies better treat her with respect.

[Leave a Whisper]

These bronies better treat her with respect.

Let's hope.

[Shileah]

I'm out of the loop and curious, why is it the last one? Because G4 is coming to an end?

[lovesbabysquirmy]

These bronies better treat her with respect.

That was my very first thought....

[lonewolf]

She had a good reception at the 4 cons she's gone to, including the 2015 EquestriaLA where she met Lauren for the first time: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vule8K9c-kU

I'm out of the loop and curious, why is it the last one? Because G4 is coming to an end?

That's pretty much it. Due to the community starting to decline. Same story for some other cons too. I'm disappointed I never got a chance to go to it.

[gemini_pony]

I wish I could go. I am so sad I could never attend.

[Shileah]

Oh that's sad. But who knows, maybe G5 can breathe new life into it!

[Taffeta]

Oh that's sad. But who knows, maybe G5 can breathe new life into it!

It's interesting that Bonnie is going there, since there's been so much resistance from quarters of the brony community to anything not G4.

I don't really understand stopping a convention because the series is ending. If that happened in other pony areas there'd never have been a ponycon or a pony fair, as they all BEGAN after MLP ended. I guess it's a different kind of community, though.

I think it's progress to have a G1 person at a G4 thing as a star guest.

I really want to see things integrate more but in my view it has to begin with accepting that other generations exist besides G4. In a way, bronycon could probably continue to exist if it did that - but if it isn't interested in that kind of angle, it's unlikely G5 will make a difference.

I am rather expecting the hardcore bronies to react violently against G5. Even more so if it turns out it's not a new concept but a rehash of their G4 characters.

It might be badly worded and it might mean she was honoured at the (convention that is the original) first pony fair (in 2013), but it sounds like the pony fair began in 2013 from that, which it didn't. It's older even than UK ponycon, which has been going something like 14 or 15 years this year. (There was the palooza before that but I guess that doesn't count).

[brightberry]

I'm sure G4 will still be appreciated at Pony Fair.  It's hard for me to feel sad knowing that it really isn't going anywhere.  No more than Star Trek went anywhere.  We definitely aren't going to run out of mane six toys anytime soon.     We'll probably have 10 year, 25 year, and 50 year anniversaries for them too.  The community may be smaller, but thousands of people distilled to a few hundreds is still a lot of people.

[OleGrayMane]

I don't really understand stopping a convention because the series is ending. If that happened in other pony areas there'd never have been a ponycon or a pony fair, as they all BEGAN after MLP ended.

The reason is attendance numbers and venue. The Baltimore Convention Center is just huge, and attendance peaked at 10,011 in 2015, their third year in Baltimore (first year we went) and has been steadily declining since. Last year's attendance was down to 5,465, and on Saturday night by around 10㏘ I felt like I was rattling around in the place in comparison to previous years. Sunday morning was the same.

At one point, someone suggested to me that BronyCon would be dissolved to break any contracts they have with the Baltimore Convention Center, because they knew they couldn't make the numbers to cover the cost. This person suggested they might reform elsewhere under a different name.

Even if that is the case, many of the US cons have ended or are ending. The personal investment in organizing these must be taxing, and many of the staff are hitting midlife with lots of personal responsibilities, even if they are still whippersnappers compared to me! After eight to ten years, some of them are, I am sure, exhausted.

I really want to see things integrate more but in my view it has to begin with accepting that other generations exist besides G4. In a way, bronycon could probably continue to exist if it did that - but if it isn't interested in that kind of angle, it's unlikely G5 will make a difference.

Things are somewhat integrated (I'm here, my son is a G2 enthusiast, my wife is a compulsive pony thrifter) and will continue to integrate, especially for those who are interested in products and the history of the franchise.

I am rather expecting the hardcore bronies to react violently against G5. Even more so if it turns out it's not a new concept but a rehash of their G4 characters.

I hate to tell you, but many that I would have considered "hardcore" are long gone, having lost interest in the show around 2016 or 2017, and few that I knew of collected mass produced items; they tended towards fan made items. Some who "react violently" and are still around aren't going to change regardless if G4 was in season 17 or G6 was on the horizon. TBH, I don't know why they hang around when anything and everything makes them unhappy.

But I'm WAY off topic now...

I'll tell you what will make me happy: heading to the vendor hall and searching vendors with G1 through 3 items. That and after HOURS of standing in line, having Ms. Zacherle sign our "Art of Equestria" where we collect our autographs.

[tailrustedtealeaf]

Totally just veering this off topic even further, but I'm pretty sure I heard someone else starting a pony convention in Baltimore or at least nearby for future years.
Anyway, I didn't get to have Bonnie sign anything when I went to Pony Fair, so this will be a great chance for me to get something! I don't remember there being very many G1/G3 vendors last year at BC, maybe one or two stalls (including that one stall that tries to sell G1 AJ for $30 *rolls eyes*), so I'm hoping this might draw some more older gen sellers.

[gemini_pony]

I'm sure G4 will still be appreciated at Pony Fair.  It's hard for me to feel sad knowing that it really isn't going anywhere.  No more than Star Trek went anywhere.  We definitely aren't going to run out of mane six toys anytime soon.     We'll probably have 10 year, 25 year, and 50 year anniversaries for them too.  The community may be smaller, but thousands of people distilled to a few hundreds is still a lot of people.

Too bad I won't ever be able to go to that because of location. I wish they would do the fair in SoCal

[Pinkie21]

These bronies better treat her with respect.

Agreed.  I’m not holding out much hope though.

[Taffeta]

I don't really understand stopping a convention because the series is ending. If that happened in other pony areas there'd never have been a ponycon or a pony fair, as they all BEGAN after MLP ended.

The reason is attendance numbers and venue. The Baltimore Convention Center is just huge, and attendance peaked at 10,011 in 2015, their third year in Baltimore (first year we went) and has been steadily declining since. Last year's attendance was down to 5,465, and on Saturday night by around 10㏘ I felt like I was rattling around in the place in comparison to previous years. Sunday morning was the same.

At one point, someone suggested to me that BronyCon would be dissolved to break any contracts they have with the Baltimore Convention Center, because they knew they couldn't make the numbers to cover the cost. This person suggested they might reform elsewhere under a different name.

That argument kind of makes sense, especially if there's an association with a particular location. I mean, ponyfair has had to rebrand and stuff to start up something separate from Hasbro because of the long association that kind of bombed with Hascon over in the US.

On the other hand, size doesn't make a community or a convention. I mean, G4 has been at different levels re numbers from from the older community, so you'd expect big numbers at a con - but it can still happen without tens of thousands of people going. I guess organising a big deal thing like that is stressful = the con teams for ponycon change most years, and I don't know with the fair now but I know there's been drama and changes and stuff over the years there as well. My point is that it's not a reason for the thing to end. If it becomes smaller and is rebranded as something else then that's totally different. But I don't really understand cancelling something because the series is no longer going to air.

That said, it's not uncommon in the current day and age for fandoms to be like that. It happens with anime series, it happens with other shows and things. It's more of a 'now' generation than a 'past stuff' generation and I suppose if fans move on to a new medium there's not really a place for that.

I really hope you are right about the hardcore people, but I remain healthily sceptical. I still think there'll be a violent backlash against G5 most strongly from fans of G5. This isn't me being judgemental about G4 fans as it happens - and I may be wrong, because MLP has had so many reboots now it's kind of a normal thing. But when G2 happened, it was strongly rejected by a proportion of G1 fans. We were all around that age demographic the bulk of bronies are now, and it got nasty at times. We figured it out, but it was that sense for some people that what they loved about MLP had been entirely ripped away and replaced with something they hated.

Because collectors of G1-3 (and I know there are already G4 fans here, but we're a long long way from integrated) are now more used to reboot and reinvents, I think it'll get less hostility. People may dislike it but it's when it's your generation - the one you attach to - that ends and is reinvented into something else - that it may have the biggest impact.