I'm sitting in my "office", post shower, reflecting on this past weekend at Imaginarium 2024. There is so much to talk about yet not a lot to say, so as I'd writing this I don't know if this will be short or long.
Bear with me.
So, in case you're new here - Imaginarium is a convention that takes place in Louisville, Ky where Creatives gather, learn, network, and fellowship. To be clear, a "Creative" is a person who does something creative like an author, artist, musician, etc.
The event is from Friday to Sunday, but I get there on Wednesday. Why? Wednesday is a "travel day" - a day I hold for no purpose but travel. Now, with the event taking place in my hometown I don't have to worry about flights or getting stuck behind a house on the highway or anything like that, but I could always run into hotel issues so... that counts.
I scooped up my friend Scott (aka S.A. Bradley) and we got to the hotel. Not many people were there yet, but we hung out and chilled. Eventually, "The Cool Kids" would show up (listening, I like group names. I'm working on getting this one over) and we'd all gather in the big corner couch thing the hotel has set up in the lobby.
What's that? Who are the Cool Kids? Oh, right! So there's me (I'd like to think I count as one of the cool kids) S.A. Bradley, James Sabata, Don Guillory - we should be able to include Morgan Hazelwood and my co-host to the "Sako and the Moon Podcast", Sako Tumi.
Some of us hung with the convention directors Stephen Zimmer and Holly Phillippe and eventually, it was bedtime, like at 2 or 3 (maybe 4) am.
Thursday, "Cool Kid" Laurel Hightower joined myself, Don, James, and Scott and walked through Bernheim Forest. Then we went to RecBar 812 and then Caulfield's. Back at the hotel we just chill and prepped for the con starting the next day.
A cyber glitch wrecked a bunch of flights and some of the core Imaginarium people couldn't make it. This really shifted the vibe of the weekend and I wasn't the only one to feel the lost. The lack of people created visibly empty spaces and that really changed the energy. Personally, I missed Sandy Lender. I'll really noticed her absence.
There are so much going on from this point. Barbara V. Evers created a contest surrounding last year's epic chair throwing (which made it's return this year, you know, for the gimmick), I saw my dear friend Carma and received a wonderful and meaningful gift from her. Met some people who I'd only previously interacted with online. Got a few shoulder rubs. Had ice cream (thank you, Tommy B. Smith for joining us), turned acquaints into friends, and naturally, made brand new friends.
The biggest change this year was role at the convention. I wasn't just an attendee or a nominee, I was a panelist. I was apart of a game - Horror Against Humanities, I was on a panel I pitched (I think both Sabata and myself had the idea but either way) called Wrestling and Writing where we made connections between Pro-Wrestling and writing and other creative arts to put a little more respect on the name of Pro-Wrestling, and I was on a panel discussing AI in the Arts and whether was "Evil or Good" (the word order bugged me so much lol). This was a new experience for me and I enjoyed it a lot. It's nice to feel like I'm contributing to the convention with more than my admissions ticket.
The most rewarding part of the convention was being able to fellowship with a few people. I loaned my World Heavyweight Championship replica the director's granddaughter Addison (who is on TikTok as Addi-slams) and she ran around the convention on Saturday and had a ball with it. That was rewarding. I also got to talk to a guy who I've around every year. We spoke and were polite but never actually sat and talked and it was a fantastic conversation.
Then there was a young man in crisis and I, along with a few others, sat with him and talked with him through his struggles. I'm happy that I was able to be there and help someone. One of the special qualities of Imaginarium is that you don't JUST attend, you become a part of. The people here really strive to make you feel like family and we try to adopt as many people as we can and show love and compassion to everyone.
This is the part of the con I felt the best about. Those moments will last longer than it takes me to eat ice cream (technically sorbet). This is the part that impacts the hardest and will help the most. This group of people are special. The energy is special. You really have to feel it to understand.
Keep your eyes on entertheimaginarium.com for next year's event. Come through if you can!
-The Moon
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