Con of Thrones: Nashville, TN

This year was the debut of the very first fan convention, dedicated to Game of Thrones/"A Song of Ice and Fire"... Con of Thrones.  Held at the Gaylord Opryland Resort Convention Center on June 30-July 2, 2017. 

I have not been able to confirm the exact amount of attendees, but I heard that it was around 4,000 people. The convention was organized by Mischief Management who are also the people behind Leaky Con and Broadway Con.  The first convention that I ever attended by them was Leaky Con in Burbank, 2016, where I was very taken with the intimacy and kindness of the fan community.  They seemed to be a very welcoming crowd.  If you didn't arrive with friends, you certainly left with some.  As a mother of a kid who LOVES all things Harry Potter, it was a delight to introduce her to a community of "nerds" like herself.  Kind people who enjoyed discussing topics that were dear to their hearts and looked at one another respectfully.  This was during the very contentious election of '16 and there was a lot of tension and it felt like everyone was at one another's throats.  Not at Leaky Con.  Harry's magic was definitely working on that crowd.  I wasn't sure if this was just a HP thing or if it would carry on to Con of Thrones.  Thankfully, it did. 

My friend, Rennie.  We are BIG GoT fans.

Two of my Mommy friends traveled with me from LA to Nashville.  We were excited to have an adventure without the kids.  Although I must say that I felt guilty for not bringing my children because the Gaylord Opryland Resort is like a mini Disneyland.  We arrived around 4 pm on Friday and the convention was well underway.  I hustled to my first panel called, "GoT: The Endgame" where panelists made predictions about the upcoming Season 7.  I was in my element.

The gals and I had booked tickets to the Grand Ole Opry that night ("when in Rome... or Nashville" however that saying goes).  We had just enough time to check out the marketplace before the show.  I was delighted by all of the merchandise.  Lots of dragon eggs, t-shirts, cosplay weapons/accessories, and fan art.  My favorite purchase was two fidget spinners that were made of metal and shaped like dragon wings. 

Want to be a mother of dragons?  Have no fear, the Con of Thrones marketplace had it covered.

Sorry, Cersei... there are other contenders for the throne.

Me, embracing my fandom.  Anyone who crafts a throne of swords in their spare time is a hero in my book. 

We had a wonderful time at the Opry.  I have never been a big fan of Country music but I am so glad we went.  Crystal Gayle and the Oakridge Boys were headliners.  HIGHLY recommend if you are ever in the Nashville area. 

Saturday was jam-packed with panel after panel.  I consider myself a hybrid fan of the books and Television series.  I have only read the first two books but am waiting for the TV show to end before diving in further.  So there were moments in the panels where I was winging it a bit.  But there was a great cross section of TV watchers/book readers.  Overall, the panels were informative and thought provoking.  Everything from deep dive feminist discussions to mourning the characters that we have lost. 

Saturday was the day that the Cosplayers came out en force.  Everywhere I turned, there was a Khalessi or a shirtless Dothraki.  And then there were these two...

Even the Night King and the Children of the Forest need a moment to grab a bite and check their Facebook.  God love them.

This was the moment that made our entire trip worth it. 

This amazing Cosplayer never seemed to catch a break.

We were floored by this Kit Harrington look-alike that calls himself Con Snow.  Take a moment to check out his Instagram page, because it is sensational.  Something tells me he collected lots of numbers from wannabe Ygrittes.  He was the star of the entire convention. 

We decided to head out into Nashville that night.  We wanted to get our hands on some local food and check out the Broadway district that is famed for all of its Honky-tonks and nightclubs. 

Kool-aid pickles, Pimento Cheese and Saltines from Peg Leg Porker

Truth be told, I could probably do an entire blog post on our dinner at Peg Leg Porker.  A local told us that this was the best BBQ in Nashville and that it was a must stop.  I would not be exaggerating if I said that pimento cheese is my new favorite thing.  Because it is.  The Kool-aid pickles were interesting and I am sure that I would have loved them if I was a fan of sweet pickles.  They also had something called Tennessee Sushi which was basically BBQ sausage, sliced, with cheddar cheese and saltines.  Good stuff. 

After that we hopped into a Lyft and headed for Broadway. 

Downtown Nashville. 

And we lasted 10 whole minutes.  Because that is the amount of time it took us to find another Lyft.  We weren't prepared for what Broadway had to offer.  I had a major flashback to my college days and we chose, instead to spend the evening sipping cocktails back at the hotel. 

Me and my girls.  Love them more than I could ever express. 

Rennie told me that there was a GoT marathon happening on HBO.  They were replaying the entire series.  She also told me that the hotel's room service was really good and they had my favorite, Eggs Benedict.  So, the next morning I took advantage of the fact that I was on vacation.

Breakfast in bed, aka Heaven.

After I was properly fueled, I headed straight for the convention center.  Overall, I am pleased with the weekend and am looking forward to next year.  I hope they pick a new city for us to explore, like they do for Leaky Con each year.  Because if this is living, I am IN!

Lanyard ribbons!!!

By the way, I had 3 lanyard ribbons made to hand out at Con of Thrones.  This was a HUGE thing at Leaky Con and I thought that people would also be into it in Nashville.  As it turned out, not so much.  My friends and I did give some to Cosplayers who really rocked it.  And after returning home, several people have reached out to me, via the Con of Thrones App to ask for some.  I have been mailing some around the USA but have lots left.  If you are interested, let me know and I will happily send you some, too.  Otherwise, I will hang onto them until next year. 

In the meantime, I will saturate myself with all the GoT I can.  Season 7 will end on Sunday and I will have to distract myself with all of the other things that I love. 

UPDATE: Con of Thrones 2018 will be happening in Dallas, TX, May 25-27.  Tickets will go on sale September 25, 2017.  For more information and to sign up for convention updates, check out the official Con of Thrones website.