Tag: las vegas

Traveling to ClexaCon 2019: Delays, speed friending, and badge pick-up party

Traveling to ClexaCon 2019: Delays, speed friending, and badge pick-up party

All I did Wednesday, April 10, was traveling to ClexaCon 2019. The flights took a little longer than expected, but I did manage to arrive Wednesday evening, so that I had the full Thursday for exploring Las Vegas, picking up my badge at the pick-up party, going speed friending, and meeting friends. For those of you who were unable to attend ClexaCon or want to relive the weekend, here’s how the pre-ClexaCon activities went!

PS I recorded a vlog during my travels, which I recommend watching to experience the ClexaCon festivities better. You can find the video below this image.

‘Traveling to ClexaCon 2019: Delays, speed friending, and badge pick-up party’ All I did Wednesday, April 10, was traveling to ClexaCon 2019. On Thursday, I explored Las Vegas, picked up my badge at the pick-up party, went speed friending, and met friends. For those of you who were unable to attend ClexaCon or want to relive the weekend, here’s how the pre-ClexaCon activities went: http://bit.ly/CC19Traveling

Traveling to ClexaCon 2019 from The Hague, The Netherlands

As you may know, a crowdfunding campaign was created to get me to Las Vegas. As a result, I was traveling to ClexaCon 2019 in April. The trip to the con did not go that well, unfortunately.

It started in Amsterdam with a United Airlines software problem. I had to wait for 2.5 hours before I could finally check my bag, which they had to do manually. UA delayed the flight for two hours so that everybody could be on it. Consequently, I missed the connecting flight that would take me from Chicago to Las Vegas.

Traveling to ClexaCon 2019: Standby

When I arrived, they told me I was on a flight to Las Vegas the next morning, so I would have to stay in Chicago that night and only arrive in Las Vegas at 12:30 pm. That would be a total bummer, because I wanted to explore Vegas in the morning, take it easy on the jetlag, prepare mentally, and join the pre-con activities at 2 pm.

After asking, for an alternative, they put me on standby for a flight leaving that night. As it was somewhere around 4 am my time, I could not process things anymore. My mind just stopped working, so I simply stared at the screen showing the seats on the plane.

A white seat appeared after about an hour, so I ran to the desk asking if a seat was available. It was! All of a sudden, I had the golden ticket in my hand. Bye, bye Chicago; hello Las Vegas! At 10 pm, I was finally at Tropicana. That was four hours later than planned but still Wednesday evening!

Exploring downtown Las Vegas

Thursday morning, as planned, I went to downtown Las Vegas to explore the Fremont Street Experience and the hotels there. This was something I wanted to do for years, but somehow, I was never able to go there on my previous three visits. I had a blast walking around, and I especially enjoyed all the fun graffiti and signs.

 

 

Dit bericht bekijken op Instagram

 

Fremont Street Experience #fremontstreetexperience #wheninvegas #lasvegas

Een bericht gedeeld door Greetje den Holder | Meemoeder (@meemoeder) op

Speed friending

After a quick nap, I thought it would be a good idea to visit the speed friending. Traveling by yourself to such a big social event can make you feel lonely, you know? That’s why I always recommend going to speed friending when people ask me.

Last year, it was an immensely popular activity, and indeed, this year they moved it to the main panel room so that all participants could sit. We had to answer random questions about our favorite TV shows, our job, ClexaCon, and stuff like that.

They told me I first had to get my press pass, so I actually already visited the pool party a little bit before speed friending. Last year, there were huge lines to get your badges, but the logistics were much better this year. The line looked very long, but it only took me 10-15 minutes. Also, I got to stare at some unicorns in the pool while waiting, so it wasn’t that bad.

Pool party

After speed friending, it was time for the pool party. I was a little hesitant, though. I remember it being a little overwhelming last year, traveling by myself. The only reason I stayed so long the year before was that it was where I met my fellow Dutch press buddy Immy. This year, all the people I was supposed to meet were vendors and filmmakers, so they were busy preparing their booth or visiting the creative lab.

I was sooooo happy when I finally got to meet Lanie and Avon from Beyond Clexa www.beyondclexa.com. We met online a few months after ClexaCon, and they were the first ones to donate to the crowdfunding campaign that Emma (writer/director The Date) created for me. It meant a lot to me to see them IRL finally.

Avon and Lanie invited me to their booth, where they were still unpacking, and we talked for a long time. I did go to the pool party for a few moments to look around and meet some people. Still, Beyond Clexa’s booth quickly became my safe haven for the weekend. I ended up staying there talking to multiple vendors until that room was closed off and all the vendors had to leave.

 

Dinner

I was supposed to have dinner with Emma and some of her friends somewhere on The Strip. However, my jetlag was giving me a hard time. Around 7 pm, I could barely function anymore. Socializing just wasn’t something I could do. I decided to go back to Tropicana (see, I did try!) and grab a bite on my way back to the hotel. Friday was going to be crazy so giving in to my jetlag was probably a good idea.

PS Have you seen the interview I had with Julia and Shantell from Girls Like Magic?

I Had My Mind Blown at ClexaCon 2018 Day 3 – Part 6

I Had My Mind Blown at ClexaCon 2018 – Part 6 (ClexaCon 2018 Day 3)

This is part six of my ClexaCon 2018 adventure. April 4-10, I went on a trip to Las Vegas for ClexaCon, all the way from The Netherlands. Let me tell you, it was so worth the jetlag! You can find part one, part two, part three, part four and part five here. In this blog, I will tell you all about ClexaCon 2018 Day 3. This Sunday, I visited three panels: YouTube 2.0, Doccubus and Valkubus, and Shethority. And now I know that something called post-con blues exists. The horror!

If you need more info about what ClexaCon is, you should first read my blog post ClexaCon 2018 in Las Vegas: The Media and Entertainment Convention for LGBTQ Women and Allies.

‘I Had My Mind Blown at ClexaCon 2018 – Part 6 (ClexaCon 2018 Day 3)’ This is part six of my ClexaCon 2018 adventure. April 4-10, I went on a trip to Las Vegas for ClexaCon, all the way from The Netherlands. In this blog, I will tell you all about ClexaCon 2018 Day 3. This Sunday, I visited three panels: YouTube 2.0, Doccubus and Valkubus, and Shethority. And now I know that something called post-con blues exists. The horror! http://bit.ly/ClexaCon20186

ClexaCon 2018 Day 3: breakfast

I missed the first panel today. Yup, that was a direct result of the Ascension Party. My body and head just worked at a slower pace this morning. So, I decided to go for an extensive breakfast. Given the time, one might as well call it brunch 😉  After that, I was ready for the final ClexaCon day!

ClexaCon 2018 Day 3 – first panel: How to Use YouTube as a Platform 2.0

You know, I have never watched reaction videos. It just did not occur to me to watch other people watch my favorite shows. I would much rather spend that time watching the shows myself. When I saw this panel mentioned on the website prior to my visit, I was intrigued. I guess I never knew it was such a big thing.

It helped that I saw a Dutch name in the list of panelists. Elke van der Iest was going to be present. My Dutch pride took over: if ClexaCon has a panelist all the way from the Netherlands, I should be there to watch it, right?

The popularity of reaction videos does make sense to me now. Yes, you watch other people watching your favorite show while you could be watching the show yourself (or do you watch simultaneously?). Still, these YouTubers comment. In addition, people in YouTube’s comment section comment. And that is where this whole discussion about current LGBTQ issues takes place.

How interesting is that? If you are looking for like-minded people, these YouTube channels and their subscribers are a great hub. This realization might sound very idiotic to some of you but hey, I seriously had no idea!

Elke van der Iest

After the panel, I wanted to ask Elke if she had a moment to talk to me. Therefore, I walked up to her and asked her this in Dutch. Woopsy, I scared her because she was only expecting English. Sorry about that, Elke! Luckily, she agreed to talk to me for a bit.

During the panel, I learned that she was a film student. How cool is it to have a substantial YouTube channel (over 20,000 subscribers) about films and TV shows while majoring in film? I asked her how she ended up at ClexaCon and what she thought of the event. You can find it in the vlog!

ClexaCon 2018 Day 3 – second panel: Happy Wife, Happy Life

As you can read in my previous blog, I promised the Tello team of Happy Wife, Happy Life on the red carpet to come watch the taping of their show on Sunday. It was the same time as the Doccubus and Valkubus panel, so I had to make it a short visit. It was actually pretty cool because I could watch the entire preparation before the taping. As you may have heard in my vlogs, I love watching all the things a production requires backstage. I decided to film that and stop when the actual taping started. You can find the preparations in the vlog!

ClexaCon 2018 Day 3 – third panel: Doccubus and Valkubus

I was right on time for the Doccubus and Valkubus panel. I was curious to see what they would talk about since they had already been on stage with Emily Andras and the others on Friday. WayHaught had also been on a larger panel earlier but that relationship is still on a current show, so it seemed much easier to talk about.

Unfortunately, the moderator asked the same type of questions as the ones that the actresses had been asked in the previous panel. I had expected them to zoom in on those two relationships but it was more the general stuff about shooting Lost Girl and the characters’ sexual orientation.

Do not get me wrong, I can watch Anna Silk, Zoie Palmer, and Rachel Skarsten any day but this separate panel did not add anything. Okay, it added laughter to the day. They sure have humor!

Want to watch Lost Girl? Try Amazon! Want to own the DVD/Blu-Ray? Try Amazon, eBay, Zoom, Zavvi, or Bol.com.

 ClexaCon 2018 Day 3 – fourth panel: Shethority

Afterward, I went to the panel on Shethority not knowing what Shethority is. Shethority is a website founded by Chyler Leigh, Caity Lotz, and Maisie Richardson-Sellers to empower women through shared stories, support, and inspirational guidance. The website is not live yet but they were actively inviting everybody in the audience to share their stories there once it is live and create a sense of community.

End of ClexaCon

That was the final panel of ClexaCon for me. I walked around the vendor hall one more time to soak in the last ClexaCon vibes. I was feeling sad that it was over. My new-found friends Immy and Denise (more info in previous blogs) and I recorded some more videos. We recorded two together and in the ClexaCon recording booth, Immy used my mic to get her video done. She helped me get some photos on The Throne and I took her bag of fan pics up to my room for safekeeping. See, we really were a team 😊

Las Vegas sightseeing

We decided to walk the Strip together to do some sightseeing and get some food. It turned out we walked way more than we had initially intended. Even though we are not the biggest fans of Las Vegas (if you have been there once, you pretty much get the gist of it), we just kept going. I knew a nice spot that was a bit un-Vegassy (it is a word now), so I wanted to show them. They did not really trust me as we were all getting hangry and tired but man, once we were there, they loved it. Where? The botanical gardens in the Bellagio. You can see it in my vlog!

I finally said out loud that I was feeling very sad. I just had to share it. Immy said something about post-con blues and it was like a light switched on in my head. That makes sense! That is exactly what it was! Post-con blues. Wow. I never knew something like that existed but yes, it is real!

Finally, we ended up at a taco restaurant where we had a great meal. As Immy and Denise had tickets for the Blue Man Group, we had to rush back. They barely made it but still. I left Immy’s photos at the front desk and went to bed.

Final Last Vegas moments

On Monday, I walked around the Strip once more. Seeing actual daylight and feeling the sun on my skin was a new sensation as I had hardly been outside all weekend. My eyes caught a big sign saying that a patio was meant for brunch, which seemed too funny after the ClexaCon brunch joke. My Instagram followers agreed.

At 5 pm, my flight left and I had to switch planes in Salt Lake City. I tried to see that big temple but unfortunately, it was nowhere to be seen. Maybe on the other side of the plane? My flight home was good and arriving home felt great. I unpacked all my stuff immediately and went to the daycare center to pick up my son. He was really happy to see me but he was also a little mad that I had been gone for six days. I persuaded him with a gift though, so all was forgotten soon.

When we came back home, my wife was there. Home Sweet Home! Nope, I hardly suffered from a jetlag that week. Apparently, my body never adjusted to Las Vegas time, ghehe.

© 2023 Meemoeder.com

webdesign door www.lindavanzomeren.nl