Everfree Northwest Post-Con Wrap-Up

It’s strange to think that Everfree Northwest only ended three weeks ago, a weekend that was filled with great fun, friendship, music, events, and so much more. This year’s convention may be over, but, there is still so much left to say. This year’ scan saw us breaking last year’s records for both attendance and amount raised for charity, the introduction of the Royal Court, the results of several contests, and info on the Ponystock concerts.

Attendance

This year’s Everfree Northwest convention was bigger than ever! While still only our second year, EFNW 2013 still saw a marked expansion in our number of convention attendees with over 2200 guests attending the con, including over 225 foals (children age 12 and under), an increase of about 50% when compared to our attendance record of 1500 set by last year’s event.

Charity

We are happy to report that the Everfree Northwest Charity Auction raised a total of $21,070 for the benefit of Seattle Children’s Hospital, with $15,010.77 coming from the vocal auction, $5,998.76 from our silent auction, and an additional $60.56 made up by cash donation. The auction boasted over 200 items for sale, including such items as Princess Twilightby Chaotic Brony, a necklace that auctioned for $2,100, and Sunrise in Equestria by Cosmic Unicorn, an oil painting which auctioned for $2,750. And in a heartwarming story, the plushie of Front Page was purchased by one of our own EFNW staffers to be given to Heather, another staffer who stored the plushie for months before it went up for auction, and who had become attached to it while it was in her keeping.

In addition, dozens of toys were also donated in our toy donation drive. To those who gave, providing either money or toys, we wish to extend a heartfelt THANK YOU! We couldn’t have done it without your generosity.

Royal Court



Premiering this year was the Everfree Northwest Royal Court, a trio of foals selected at random to take part in several events as well as help out with skits put on by the convention staff. The storyline began with Celestia warning Twilight Sparkle that all of the friendship and happiness that would be generated at Everfree Northwest could attract some unwanted attention. Thus the Princess instructed Twilight to use the Elements of Harmony to cast a Friendship Ritual on three foals attending the convention. After rounding up the Mane Six, Twilight sent them to find the three foals and, when gathered, proceeded to cast the spell, transferring some of her power and part of her magic of friendship into them. When she was finished, Everfree Northwest had three new Alicorn royalty to watch over the convention while also learning about friendship. Still, the Royal Court and the Mane Six had no clue what was in store for them.

The Alicorn foals of the Royal Court spent the next three days observing and spreading friendship throughout the convention. Everywhere they went they were treated with the respect due to their station, with staff members bowing, other attendees waving and getting pictures, and even the featured guests calling them “prince” or “princess”. Everywhere they went, smiles and friendship followed, and by the third day, while exhausted, they were positively glowing.

At Closing Ceremonies, Princess Twilight and her friends were prepared to head back to Equestria. As Twilight made to transfer the power from the foals back into the Elements however, Queen Chrysalis and her Changelings arrived and began to attack the Mane Six.

Drained of their power, the ponies succumbed to the might of the changelings. Things looked hopeless for our friends; that is until the Royal Court led all the attendees in a rendition of “The Smile Song”. The magic of friendship that they gained over the weekend flowed through and empowered all the ponies in attendance allowing them to overwhelm Chrysalis and banish her and her minions. As so, through the actions of three courageous foals and the friendship generated by the attendees of the convention shared over the weekend, Everfree Northwest was saved.

Contests

There was no shortage of contests at this year’s convention, and they covered the gamut this year. Our three main contests this year was the Costume Contest, the Iron Author competition, and the PMV contest. Many amazing and talented individuals entered all three contests, and the winners of their respective contests are as follows, along with links to other entries:

Iron Author

Cosplay

Foal Division

Commissioned Division

Handmade Division

PMV

Music PMV

Non-music PMV

Ponystock

At this year’s Ponystock we rocked, and we rocked hard! With a total of 20 performers, all showing off some amazing talent, both concert nights were packed for almost the entire event. It was so intense at times, the party wasn’t just measured in decibels but on the Richter scale; the pounding feet of attendees was measured to be comparable to a 1.0 earthquake. So many people were jumping up and down and getting into the music that some claim the floor was warping noticeably; an architect had to be consulted to make sure the floor could withstand the beating it was taking. In short, a very awesome party, with a good time shared by all.

Conbook

The 2013 conbook has been made available for all to view online, so if you were unable to attend this year and missed out you can still see the entirety of the conbook, which includes user submitted content such as stories and art, event descriptions, guest bios, and more! You can find the PDF link here.

And so another Everfree Northwest has come and gone. But don’t worry my friends, we’re already getting ready for next year’s convention, which will take place again at the SeaTac Airport Hilton Hotel and Conference Center from July 4th-6th, 2014, so be sure to mark the date! Be sure to check up on our website, Twitter, Facebook, and tumblr when you can, as we’ll be posting news and updates as they become available.



We look forward to seeing you next year!

For those who were unable to attend Everfree Northwest this year, be sure to catch Everfree Network’s coverage of the convention. Everfree Network EFNW Coverage