So, after much waiting, this past weekend was Catalyst Con. If this is the first that you’ve heard of this, shame on you! The Swingset crew has been advertising this conference for weeks now! Months even! However, I’m going to assume you were aware of it. Heck, you might have been one of the people attending. The convention was amazing, and I’m so happy that I was talked into going.
A few months ago, I heard about two wonderful conventions going on this past weekend: Atlanta Poly Weekend and Catalyst Con. I heard about Atlanta Poly Weekend first, and was gearing up to go there and see the wonderful Shira B. Katz. However, a few weeks later, I heard the Swingset crew was going to Catalyst Con, and I was hopelessly torn. Now I had to decide between Shira B. and the rest of the gang. Well, lucky me, I found out Shira was going to go to Catalyst Con, and that’s what cinched where I was going. And I definitely made the right choice.
Catalyst Con had a bunch of amazing panels, from how sex education is taught in Sweden, to the impact of the “50 Shades” series of books has affected the sex toy and sex education industries. The presenters were top notch, and there was so much wonderful information, it definitely took me a few days to process it all. There was so much information to learn. If you can, I suggest going to Catalyst Con's website, and catching up on any of the topics that interest you. Their live tweets page (http://catalystcon.com/press/live-tweets/) is probably the best place to go for that. And of course, one of the most amazing panels I saw was the Progressive Swinging panel, put on by the awesome guys here on Life on the Swingset. They released the podcast, and if you haven't heard it yet, you definitely need to give it a listen.
In addition to all of the wonderful panels, I got to meet a ton of awesome people. There were tons of awesome people there. Nothing could have prepared me for just how down to earth all of these wonderful people are, big and small names alike. And I'm still in awe of the amazing closing keynote duo, Carol Queen and Robert Lawrence (scrotum!).
Overall, I left feeling amazing, and rejuvenated to go out in the world and educate. To join in and continue the conversation. To break down the walls that divide us, both in the sex positive community, and the world community at large. I won’t lie, I had a couple of hiccups regarding the convention, mostly regarding travel, but I made it home safe and sound, and rejuvenated and ready to face the world!
Out here in the cornfields, you don’t really see awesome things like this happening. They tend to happen on the coasts, not in the nation’s heartland. But that’s okay, because the trip is well worth the experience. I learned a few things, both about educating in regards to sex, and in regards to planning a trip like this. Still, I simply cannot wait until my next time to see all of these super wonderful people. And I look forward to sharing all of the wisdom that was passed on to me, out here in the cornfields.
