Isabella's Blog

My Lost Tribe – The Final Xena Con 2015

This past weekend I had the pleasure of attending the last, Fin, Xena con. I was excited to join people from all over the world, who had the same interest as mine, the tribe of Xena. Unfortunately, it was my first and last con. Hence, Fin. I’ve been a fan of the show ever since it began. I do have to make one caveat here – I’ve never watched the final episode, Fin! Many will ask why and I’ll explain that later.

If you’ve never been to a Xena con you’ve missed out on one of the best experiences of your life. That is, if you like the tribal experience. I suspect that Xena con is like a Star Trek convention, or a Walking Dead con, in that they are centered around a shared experience. I had a similar experience when I attended my first Dinah. I was surrounded by my tribe, or what I like to think is my tribe there, too.

The people who attended Xena were warm, welcoming, and giving. I sat at a table one night until 3 in the morning, and talked about all of my favorite episode, fanfic, writers who got their start in Xena fanfic, and how Xena might have just saved the Lesbian genre through fanfic. That’s too is a post for another day. (Remind me and I’ll share my thoughts on this topic.) I met wonderful authors like – Mary B, (she’s a tiny thing and I tried not to go all fan girl, really I did,) Nancy Ann Healy (who made us all laugh at her stories,) Phair, Wendy Arthur, and others who liked the same things I do, writing, publishing and watch episodes of Xena. I had dinner with Bedazzled, a wonderful publisher who enlightened me on the other world of publishing. I met my facebook friends, Kim, Jay Jalee, Lucy, Joyce, Brian, Yara, and a ton of others who were nice enough to stop by our table and talk books, Xena and more.

I met fans of the show who like to dress up as their favorite characters, and loved to pose with those of us fans who can’t quite play dress-up like that. They were wearing awesome costumes that no doubt took hours, probably days, to create. Check out my facebook page for a photo of the smallest Xena warrior I met, she was the cutest Xena there. I met actors of the show who gave freely of their time. I think they understood that this might be the last time they were called upon, by the tribe, to talk about the show that catapulted them into the stratosphere. I was there when one actress, Jacqueline Kim, body surfed the crowd while signing Karaoke. Another mugged it up with us at the Sapphire table and another stood just a few feet away running her lines. BTW, Lucy Lawless looks great up close. Another BTW, did you know Ephiny now plays on Wentworth? Yep, and I missed getting her autograph for my wife. Ugh!

Finally, others from my own little tribe were there too. Linda Kay and Stephanie were awesome as they talked to readers, took pictures and hawked books. These women rock and if you haven’t check out their books, you really should.

I regret not coming sooner, but when I look back at what I was doing those past twenty years, I realize I was raising three boys by myself, working three jobs, (my life is a series of threes, more later on that,) and going to school full time – the first ten years. The last ten years, I was building my career and living vicariously through the photos and stories of others who attended the con and still not enough money to spend on a con and keep a roof over my three son’s heads. So, I will relish in the fact that I got to go to the last one. I will bask in the warmth my fellow attendees who shared so freely with me, and took the time to make my wife and I feel welcome.

I have found my lost tribe and wonder if we will meet in the flesh again. Surely, a show that gave us two strong female characters, with great sub-text, can’t walk off into the sunset. They didn’t lose their heads, so I can only hope that someday, someone will pick up the mantle and rise from the ashes to bring us more of the LOST TRIBE.

Thanks for letting me share my wonderful experience with my fellow xenites, my lost tribe!

~Isabella~

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