This is a brief summary of the events over the four days.

Our plane touched down in Canberra early in the morning on Friday, so we spent our time until we could check into our hotel sightseeing - Parliament House, National Gallery, Embassies, etc. There are some photos in the photo gallery of this.

Friday night was the first event we attended for the Convention, being the Cocktail Party. This was a very low key affair, and gave guests and attendees alike a good opportunity to meet.

The actual Convention presentations were held from 8.30-5pm both Saturday and Sunday. Each guest spoke for 45 minutes to 1 hour about their role in the making of the movies, their other projects and so forth. It was fascninating to see not only the different occupations and talents of the guests, but it also really made one realise what a huge team effort was involved in making the movies (or any movie, for that matter), and the diverse people involved in the entire process.

It wasn't a large Convention attendance wise, but this kept it relaxed and more intimate. There were a few other people who came in costume, which was great to see, and I have photos of most of these in the photo section.

As far as my own costumes went, I wore my on the Saturday, and Eowyn Shieldmaiden on Sunday. The latter only lasted half the day, at which time we both switched into our outfits of the previous day so the official photographer could take photos of those outfits as well. This turned out to be a good thing, as I was seriously struggling to breathe in the corset of my Eowyn costume... I was really happy with how my Elf turned out, although whilst walking, there were only three things going through my mind: head up, back straight, don't trip over skirts. head up, back straight, don't trip over skirts... this single-mindedness resulted in me looking like a snobby Elf, ignorning all around me - or so I was told by certain guests. Oops, sorry guys ;)

The Banquet and Wrap Party were held on Saturday and Sunday nights, respectively. Both of these events offered a great opportunity to mingle with the guests and other attendees, and in a more relaxed environment. Even though the presentations throughout the days were the most interesting part of the Convention - and the reason for going in the first place - I actually ended up enjoying these other things more.

In trying to identify the hightlights of the weekend for me, I have to single out three main factors (not in order) - 1) meeting some great people (both guests and attendees) and making some new friends, 2) meeting some of the creative forces behind the movies, and 3) receiving fresh inspiration for some new challenges and skills I'd like to start working on.

In amongst all of the good things there were some definite lowlights (ie nasty volunteers), unfortunately, which at one point necessitated the need to leave the Convention early on Saturday and go for a refreshing, calming walk into the city for a few hours. Regrettably this meant missing most of Thomas' presentation as well as the auction, but was the better alternative to getting on the first plane home and never attending another Convention.

On the whole, I had a blast and am glad I decided to go. At this point, I should probably make a quick mention to Alison, and thank her for finally managing to convince me to attend the Convention, because I admit I hadn't wanted to at first.

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