MLP convention ''Canterlot Gardens'' in Strongsville, Oh. Anyone else going?

[moondancer]

Is anyone going to ''Canterlot Gardens'' in Strongsville, Ohio this September?
It's a my Little Pony: FiM convention going on September 28th-30th.
It sounds awesome! I've never been to a MLP convention. I am going to leave completely broke!

Guests include:
Andrew W.K.

Tara Strong (voice of Twilight Sparkle)

Nicole Oliver (voice of Cheerilee and Princess Celestia)

Andrea Libman (voice of Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy)

Michelle Creder (voice of Apple Bloom)

Cathy Weseluck (voice of Mayor Mare and Spike)

Britt McKillip (voice of Princess Cadance)

Meghan McCarthy (MLP: FiM show writer and lyricist)

John DiMaggio (voice of Bender on Futurama)

Grey DeLisle (many cartoon voices, including Mandy in ''The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy'', Princess Azula in ''Avatar'', Vicky in The ''Fairly OddParents'', Daphne Blake in ''Scooby Doo'', etc.

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&sqi=2&ved=0CB4QFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.canterlotgardens.com%2F&ei=wxBAUIWDB6Ly0gG81oCIDA&usg=AFQjCNEQecCkrflSUs1pXBTJ_4enLJNHlA

[CapnChan]

Hahah I'll be the first to say it, we all may be a little ....butthurt over this. It's yet another MLP: FiM con that apparently has more pull than our original 9 year long running convention. Personally, I am a bit disappointed that John DiMaggio will be there as he is one of my heroes and I don't see the relevancy for him being there at all but have to admit the guest list seems pretty awesome.  You'd think this would be advertised more but then again I am probably more out of the loop than I realize.

I'd be very interested in pictures if you go! Please let us know how it was and have a great time!

[HollowZero]

Hahah I'll be the first to say it, we all may be a little ....butthurt over this. It's yet another MLP: FiM con that apparently has more pull than our original 9 year long running convention.

I'm glad "our" convention has less pull. I'd hate to see it overrun by "bronies". I just know if it comes to NY or NJ any time ever, I'll be attending.

[partypony566]

This is an early warning to keep this thread on topic and NOT a 'them vs us' argument.

[SweetTune]

I just want to pop in here because I recently attended Everfree Northwest (as part of a promotion trade) and it was quite a different atmosphere from our traditional collector focused MLP Fair event. Not that it didn't have it's own merits, because it did, especially if you consider yourself a Brony and want to pay for voice actor autographs. However, if you are a collector of the toys and that is your primary draw to attend you will most likely be dissapointed. At Everfree there were about 30 sales booths and almost all were selling fan-made nonlicensed goods. There were no Hasbro produced toys on sale except a handful of items that were currently being sold in stores.

Also, as far as the "pull" that was mentioned, these Brony events pay the guests appearance fees to attend their events through contractual agreements with their agents. Hasbro has requested that the MY LITTLE PONY Fair NOT have voice actors in attendance. While the MY LITTLE PONY Fair welcomes all MY LITTLE PONY fans to attend, it is not aimed at specifically Bronies, it is geared toward pony collectors, their families and children.

I recently wrote a short "review" of sorts on my experience at Everfree from a collector perspective on my blog: http://www.mylittleponycollector.blogspot.com/2012/08/navigating-brony-convention.html

If you are close by, I would recommend you attend Canterlot Gardens just for the experience of seeing the Bronies in their element.

[Dewprincess]

I saw the page and thought about going, but it looks like there is going to be little to no selling of actual Hasbro product.  The main G4 stuff I'd want right now would be the international releases!

[Eskara1862]

I attended TrotCon in July and will be attending MidWestria in a couple weeks.  Because of the way they have the seller booths set up, I chose not to attend Canterlot Gardens.  Every convention I've ever attended has a flat fee for the vendor booths; Canterlot Gardens wants 10% of the sales PLUS the booth fee.  Nuh-uh; I'm there to make money, not give them my profit. There's also a lot of controversy over how it was started and I'd rather not be involved with that.

Bronies are awesome =) The people at Trotcon would come up to my booth and go gaga over my customs and custom merch.  They were all super friendly and in a really good mood.  When I needed help carrying stuff in, a group of guys just came over and snagged some things from me so I wouldn't drop them.  One vendor who was having better than expected sales walked around and handed out Wave 3 (blue) blind bags to everyone until they were all gone.

Hubby described the Brony conventions vs Collector conventions really well: It's fanboy mentality vs collector mentality.  Fanboys love absolutely anything to do with their fandom, be it handmade, official, or from mars.  Collectors, while they share the love of the same thing, are there to expand and fill in the gaps in their collection. Collectors like to show off their best pieces and share something really rare that other people might not have a chance of seeing.  Fanboys just want to hang out and watch movies and sing without the encumbrance of hauling a large collection around.

I, for one, love the brony conventions and can't wait for MidWestria! If you get a chance to attend Canterlot Gardens, you totally should, just to experience the difference between the conventions if nothing else.

[banditpony]

Everfree seemed like a very well put together convention... I don't get the impression of this for Canterlot Gardens. Maybe because when I go to conventions I could care less about voice actors, and that seems like that and an artist alley is all this has. It's not worth it for me.
There is also no reason for a dealer room because there isn't much product out there (besides WLF), and you can get everything at target or walmart. *shrug*

[aellos]

I'm a little confused at why a few of those voice actors are going? I didn't think they were in MLP

[Eskara1862]

I'm a little confused at why a few of those voice actors are going? I didn't think they were in MLP

They're not; they're anime voice actors.  That's part of the politics behind Canterlot Gardens and is one of the reasons I'm not attending. One of the Canterlot Gardens founders has ties to Hollywood and contacts to bring in people other than just pony VA's.

However, I will say that Canterlot Gardens knows their audience and has created something that many bronies are very excited about.