I have to admit, I’ve been stalling when it comes to writing about how my Frolicon went because after having an amazing first day the rest of the con was pretty uneventful for me. That sharp build up towards a complete anti-climax makes the weekend kind of awkward to talk about. I had a nice time, so I don’t want to give a negative impression, but it was such a let down from my inflated expectations that I feel like I’m damning the con with faint praise when I say it was just kind of alright. I’d honestly probably have a lot better feeling towards the whole thing if it hadn’t been so inordinately expensive for me to attend coming from New York, which isn’t fair to hold against the convention itself.

So, what was good about Frolicon 2018 for me?

For me, the best aspect of Frolicon 2018 was the initial rush of seeing and hugging all the people I haven’t seen since Frolicon 2017. Day One was this huge wave of catching up with people I adore in fifteen minute chunks that usually began and ended with hugs.

I couldn’t have picked much better roommates, sharing a hotel room with a former metamour I’m still good friends with and an awesome woman I met at Frolicon 2017. Our room ended up being kind of a nexus for a lot of our circle of friends to engage in or organize their debauchery, which was a double-edged sword. It meant that often I didn’t have to go anywhere to be around my friends and their shenanigans, but it also meant that I couldn’t always get a respite from them either.

I think the absolute best single moment of con was winning Frolicon Feud (yes, a knock off of Family Feud) with a team of some of my favorite people at con (including my aforementioned hotel roommates). What made it special was it was the only time I spent with anyone during the con where we were all in that moment together and not just catching a moment while in transition to other things. The fact that our team won party judge badges was just icing on that cake.

I enjoyed the multiple photography oriented panels, which were the only panels I made it to for some reason. I wish I had made it to some of the several polyamory related panels and the violet wand classes (since I splurged and bought a violet wand as an early birthday present to myself).

The room parties were a step up from last year, being much easier to find. I had a good time party hopping in the evenings and drinking copious amounts of the complementary booze. They still had a crowding problem, particularly in the small rooms where I got most of the physical contact I had over the weekend via squeezing through people to get from one end of a room to another, but it was at least worth the hassle this year. It would be nice to see more room parties in larger suites, but I’m not sure that the current con hotel has larger suites available or if they’re just prohibitively expensive.

Overall, I had a good time. I’m just not sure that I will go next year if I’m still living in New York when it comes around because of the massive expense involved. Between travel, accommodations, registrations, and lost time from work Frolicon set me back well over a grand, to say nothing of the 40 cumulative hours I spent on trains. I feel like I could have had a lot more fun using that time and money very differently.

I still highly recommend Frolicon for people who live in the American Southeast. Hell, odds aren’t even that low that I’ll drag myself back to Georgia for Frolicon 2019 next year. I definitely want to return, it’s just a matter of the large toll in time,  money, and effort that attending from New York takes.