Someone said to me recently: “I want to go to LauraPalooza, but I would be by myself. Would it be weird if I just showed up alone?”
In other words, is traveling solo to LauraPalooza worth it?
I had been thinking about posting about my favorite part of LauraPalooza, and I hadn’t decided what to write about yet. But as I answered her, I knew. I know this will rhyme a bit with Sarah Sue’s answer, but there’s no other way to say it: the best part of LauraPalooza was the people. And the people started with the knowing.
The truth is, the emotional high started with the trip there. I don’t have much memory of my flight, but after landing in Minneapolis, I distinctly recall the organic co-op where I stopped for lunch (chicken curry sandwich!) and the salon where I partook of a mani-pedi all by myself (parents will get this). Then there are flashes of the ice cream social (moved indoors because it was in the high 90s, and humid), and then, next morning, that first-day-of-the-conference feel when you just see person after person’s expectant, smiling face, and you exchange knowing looks with each one of them because even if you’ve never seen them before in your life, you know. You’re all there for the same reason. You all know the significance of the phrase “brown poplin” and you all pronounce “Al-MAN-zo” the same way. You don’t say this, but you know it anyway.
It takes two to make a smile, and smiles by the pair were lighting up the ballroom. Fans were bonding over conversations in the lobby of the dorm, or after unexpected pairings at breakfast, in the hallway between sessions, or over the banquet tables for the sit-down meals.
Laura Ingalls Wilder herself joined six other LauraPalooza attendees at Pub 500 in Mankato, Minnesota
I knew less than 10 people in person before embarking on my trip. This photo, of seven of us attendees at Pub 500 in Mankato on Friday night, is the best indicator of how that changed when I arrived.
Before LauraPalooza, I had met exactly one person in this photo, and it wasn’t even in a Laura context. Whether I was singing Ben Folds songs or sharing beer recommendations or talking about our respective careers or sharing parenting commisseration or laughing over the previous night’s karaoke (and oh yes, there will be karaoke), by the end of the conference, I was able to call all of these people friends.
Attendees who showed up solo, tell us how it was. Were you lonely? Did you feel strange? Did you feel as if you did not belong?
Â
Comments6
Since I was not able to make it to the last conference, I cannot answer your questions, but you can let your friend know that if she goes, she won’t be the only solo act. I will be solo – I have never even met anyone who will be there. Not a single one. But surely I will find a friend there!
I did not go solo, my LIW soul mate from grade school met up with me in Minneapolis and we drove in together; however I think it’s safe to say even if you come solo, you will meet many new friends and will not feel lonely! This trip was very outside the box for me something I usually wouldn’t have done and I couldn’t have had more fun. I keep in contact with my friends that I made there thru facebook and they feel like family. I have gone to them and asked for thoughts and prayers when life has hit my family upside the head and I have felt comfort from them. Come to LauraPalooza 2012, I don’t think you will regret a minute of it. You maybe tired afterwards, but you won’t regret it.
I had met Rebecca in person prior to the Conference and was Facebook friends with Laura, but I considered myself going alone. It was so awesome to be with “my people”. I blogged at the time and tried to post as I could. The link to my blog is above. I believe the pertinant days are:
today
8/19/10
8/28/10
7/18/10 (three posts)
I went solo — although I did know Sandra (and I’m that one person in the picture above), who encouraged me to come to the conference. But I was so nervous. I’m a shy person in general and I really didn’t know what to expect. But I met someone on the shuttle from the MSP airport and we chatted the entire way. At the ice cream social, the conversation with other Laura fans came naturally. I discovered people who went to my alma mater (and are also in the above picture). Bottom line, the conference was the BEST time I ever had without my family. I met women who I’m sure will be life-time friends, and I can’t wait to see them all again.
I think the only time I felt lonely was when I got off the plane in Minneapolis and wasn’t sure what to expect. This time around, it isn’t just a conference I’m attending, but a reunion.
I went on my own, and like Sue, I’m pretty shy so all the way through the hairy wrong-side-of-the-road-in-a-HUGE-automatic-car drive from the airport to walking in very late to the tail end of the ice-cream social, I was like Laura walking from Brewsters on her first day of school. That feeling melted, much like the ice-cream, as soon as I got there – in fact Sue was one of the first people I met (yay!) and I’m also in that photo above. Coming ‘alone’ again this time – can’t wait to see everyone again, and meet new people. Anyone making a solo trip – please don’t worry, you won’t be alone when you get there 🙂
I’m another one of those in Sandra’s photo above :). I knew literally nobody else at the conference, though a colleague from Sioux Falls did drop in for my talk. I stayed in a hotel downtown, away from the dorm and the activities, which made it a little harder to meet and interact with my fellow Laurapalooza attendees. Even so, I had a an absolute blast! I had no idea what to expect of the conference attendees, but even so, I was surprised (and welcomed!) by the lovely people who were there… and relieved that a few of you were up for a beer or two at night! Going it alone is never easy at a conference, but in this case, it was beyond rewarding!
Comments are closed.