BroNYCon Winter 2012 Review
Manehattan was the place to be on January 7th if you’re a brony. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic fans gathered from across the United States (and even some Canadian bronies were in attendance) at the Hotel Pennslyvania in NYC to celebrate all things pony.
The convention got off to a bit of a rough start, as it took me nearly two hours to go through the registration line and get my badge (I had arrived at 10, when the event was scheduled to begin). It was pretty crowded, as the convention area consisted of a long hallway, the con store/signing area, and the ballroom where panels occurred. 650 people had RSVP’d, and a limited number of registrations were being taken at-con – unfortunately due to the space issue, some fans had to be turned away.
There was a great variety of stuff to look at and purchase in the Artist’s Alley. Custom ponies, vintage ponies, stickers, and etched glasses were just some of the offerings. The con store had a variety of shirts, posters, and MLP:FIM toys. At the charity table, donations were accepted all convention long for their canned food and pony toy drives.
Though I had missed out on a few hours of the con, I was still able to catch a lot of good panels. The team behind Equestria Online, a fan-made MMORPG, showed fans a brief demo of the game. You will be able to create your own pony and go on an adventure across Equestria, interacting with other players along the way. Another fan-made game, My Little Pony: Fighting is Magic created by Mane6, was also demoed. In the 2D fighting game, players choose a character and duke it out using a variety of physical and magic attacks. As of now only the main six ponies are confirmed characters (Twilight Sparkle, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack), though 11 more characters will be released over time. The crowd really got into rooting for their favorite character during the demo matches, and I’m looking forward to when the game will be available to download.
“Family Appreciation Day,” the most recent episode of MLP:FIM, was screened – since it featured Granny Smith, this has become one of my favorite episodes. Three voice actresses from the show (Andrea Libman – voice of Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy, Ashleigh Ball – voice of Rainbow Dash and Applejack, and Nicole Oliver – voice of Princess Celestia and Cheerilee) answered fans’ questions during their panel, and did signings throughout the con. Daniel Ingram, the music composer for MLP:FIM, did a Q&A over Skype. Highlights included Ingram performing an acoustic version of the Pinkie Pie song “Giggle at the Ghostie,” and a group of fans singing “At The Gala” to Ingram.
Around 30 fans (including myself) participated in BroNYCon’s Costume Contest. An adorable little girl dressed as Apple Bloom took the top prize, a fursuit Derpy Hooves took second place, and my Granny Smith costume got third. Custom plushies, figures, and pieces of art were up for grabs during the Pony Auction, with all the money going towards helping pay for the next BroNYCon. Some items, such as a custom DJ-PON3 figure, went for hundreds of dollars.
Overall, BroNYCon January 2012 was an enjoyable event. For the next convention (June 30th-July 1st), the event is expanding to two days and the space will be ten times larger. The extra space will definitely be required, considering Lauren Faust (original Executive Producer of MLP:FIM) is the first confirmed Guest of Honor. Hope to see everypony there!
IMPORTANT EDITOR’S NOTE: These pictures belong to the Bronies-NYC group. If you want to find out more information about BroNYCon, including their next show this summer, please join their Meetup page here! (And special thanks to Alexander Ouillette.)
