In the Town of Atlanta [YELL]

221B Con has been going on for over a decade now, but this past weekend was the first time I actually went.  I've heard all kinds of stories about the event, ranging from it being transcendent to it being not for a traditional Sherlockian.  Let me tell you, that no opinion I've heard over the years could adequately describe the event; it really is something that needs to be experienced.  (And of course, here I am trying to describe it to others, knowing full well that my words won't be enough to convey the atmosphere to anyone who hasn't been there.) 

(But before I get into it, I want to preface by saying that for lack of better terms, I will use "fandom" and "traditional Sherlockians" throughout.  I don't want to write a whole treatise about the different gradients in Sherlockiana so please forgive me for delineating all of us into such basic terms.)

221B Con always seemed like something that a lot of people enjoyed but it wasn't going to be my cup of tea.  A thousand people at the first event?  Cosplay and burlesque?  Fanart and shipping?  While this sounds like I was being snobby about it all, quite frankly I was anxious about going.  I worried that I would be too boring and old school for the new group of Sherlockians.  But Crystal Noll and Heather Holloway head the con, with Rusty Mason, Chris Zordan, and a team of other folks involved.  I love these four and finally decided that if they can be so involved with such an event, it was time for me to check it out.  

So off to Atlanta I went.  I even signed up to be on a panel, Education and Fan Creation, on Friday night.  When I got to the hotel, I only saw a few folks that I knew.  Many were still in transit, in their hotel rooms, or at Waffle House.  So I hung out with the few people I knew and time ticked by as I watched Sherlockians in their 20s and younger reconnecting with friends.  I had a pizza that wasn't great and we all waited for registration to open and the panels to start.

My panel was at 6 that evening, and it was... not wildly popular.  We were in the largest room and less than 10 people were in attendance.  But the other panelist, Sara, was a pro at cons and the two of us had a delightful conversation with the few people there about Sherlock Holmes and how we engaged our fifth- and seventh-grade students in literature from centuries past.  Sitting through the panel with Sara did a lot to soothe my anxieties about the con.

After my panel ended, I was free to enjoy everything else.  The thing about a convention, I learned, is that there are a bunch of things to choose from.  Sometimes you can't get to everything you want.  And sometimes there isn't anything that interests you.  In the first instance you do your best to see what you can, and in the second you hang out with folks in the lobby or sneak off to your room for a nap.

Brad Keefauver always has write-ups about the con, and you can get a feel for the frantic pace of the weekend by reading his post from this year.  I will say, my outside-looking-in view of the con has always been that it was a bunch panels of other fandoms, with a little Sherlock Holmes in there for us traditionalists.  I had that backwards.  Sherlockian programming is the backbone of this convention, and other things like Our Flag Means Death, anime, and other topics do have a place in the weekend, but are not the focus of 221B Con.

221B Con goers do love their media adaptations, though.  I don't know if I went to a single panel this weekend where the influence of movies, tv, radio, and podcasts weren't present.  And in retrospect, that makes sense.  The typical Sherlockian nowadays, no matter what age, is going to have been influenced by media interpretations.  Some of us may say, "I haven't enjoyed an adaptation since the Rathbone movies or the Brett series."  Guess what, there's a Brett vs Rathbone panel!  Of course, 221B Con came about because of the BBC's Sherlock series, but everyone there acknowledges that that series was a decade ago.  In fact, I don't think there was even a panel about BBC Sherlock this year.

Speaking of panels, some of my highlights from the ones I attended were:

Marilyn McKay telling us that 10% of the population had syphilis during the time of the Canon.  She then told us to think about who from the stories would've been suffering from that during the stories.

The Researching the World of Sherlock Holmes going deep into the nerdiness of rabbit holes during the research process.

The detailed slideshow that took us through the Mycrofts Through the Ages panel.

The cheer that when up when Toby was mentioned at The Great Mouse Detective panel.

Participants at the Sherlock & Co. panel patiently walking an older Sherlockian through what Discord is.

Scarfing down a delicious brisket sandwich from the food truck while Atlanta Radio Theatre Company put on a Jeeves and Wooster play.

The Why Do We Always Return to Sherlock Holmes panel ending in a group hug because everyone agreed that the stories brought us in the door but Sherlockians were why we kept coming back.

At the end of the ASH, BSI, and Other Sherlockian Orgs panel about scion societies, there was a line of people to sign up to be on mailing lists for scions that met via Zoom.

But there's more to 221B Con than just the panels.  The vendor's room was huge and as much a place to hang out as to purchase things.  While I'm on a self-imposed book buying hiatus, I couldn't pass up finally getting Major Holmes and Captain Watson.  I got to see the writer, Jeff Rider, on a few panels and really enjoyed the energy and knowledge he brought to everything.

And there's the planned socialization.  Friday night's big event was karaoke.  I chose to sit that one out and hung out in the bar with some folks.  But Saturday night was a dance party.  I got caught up in the spirit and somehow ended up dressed like Cameron Frye from Ferris Bueller's Day Off.  We hung out in the dance party for a little bit, but eventually ended up in the next room, relaxing on inflatables and drinking with just a handful of other folks.

And here's where the multi-fandom of this event really hit home for me.  At a Sherlockian event, I ended up having an in-depth discussion about The Muppets with someone I'd never met before, and we went DEEP with conversation.  See?  Just like at a traditional Sherlockian event, you start with Sherlock Holmes and build your connections from there.  Plus, they had a full-size TARDIS in that room!

Of course, just like any event, there are great times spent with friends and fellow Sherlockians.  Between dinner at the hotel that got better than that first pizza I tried (friend green tomatoes and a whiskey drink go pretty well together), and numerous trips to Waffle House, you are sure to spend time with people you like hanging out with.

221B Con: Not just a place for young Sherlockians

Were there things I didn't understand or didn't care for?  Sure.  But you know what, that's true for traditional Sherlockian events as well.  

Some of the fandom has strong opinions on Johnlock or other romantic pairings.  Some traditional Sherlockians have an Irene Adler adulation.  Whether people want to admit it or not, a romantic connection with Irene Adler and singing "We Never Mention Aunt Clara" is the same thing as shipping and fan fiction.  

Cosplay may seem strange to older Sherlockians.  It's the same thing as wearing a deerstalker or dressing in Victorian garb at other events.

But what about fanfic and all of the terms that outsiders don't understand?  It's fandom's version of terms that have become second nature to traditional Sherlockians like pastiche, Canon, and literary agent.

It was announced that next year will be the final year of 221B Con.  My only regret from this event is that I didn't get down to Atlanta sooner.  Because this event is full of energetic and intelligent Sherlockians.  And I can only hope fandom and traditional Sherlockians find more places to interact.  Because both sides of this hobby can benefit from the other.