ROBINSONFEST – AUTUMN OF DESTRUCTION – Post Event Wrap-up

 

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Going into RobinsonFest 2016, I had two fears. The first was that, given my recent personal challenges, I wouldn’t feel up to being social; that people would feel they’d wasted their money to hang out with a mopey, boring dude. The second was that the magic that was the first RobinsonFest wouldn’t be repeatable, and again, people wouldn’t have a good time.

It’s now been two days since RobinsonFest ended, and I can pretty confidently say that both of my fears were unfounded. While I’m still afraid I didn’t get to really connect with everyone who attended, I think everyone had a great time, and the magic that was the inaugural RobinsonFest returned in full force, despite the screwballs thrown our way by the weather.

RobinsonFest isn’t a sterile event where the author is held at a distance, exchanging platitudes and small talk. In addition to the ridiculous child-like fun, we also openly talked about our lives, the good and the bad, and how we’re coping. As a result, I now have a large number of new friends, and deeper relationships with those who attended last year. Given my mental state for the last few months, I was extremely grateful for this.

Okay, enough with the blathering! Here’s a breakdown of the event, and gobs of photos (in a randomly ordered gallery below).

We started at Moxy, my favorite restaurant in Portsmouth, NH, enjoying good food and our very first taste of the Project Nemesis inspired beer, Nemesis Kaiju Stomp, a dark stout with a coffee flavor, created for us by the good people at Throwback Brewery.

The next morning we hit Hilltop Fun Center and basically became kids again, kicking things off with several rounds of laser tag and following that up with go-kart races, rock climbing, the driving range, the batting cage, mini-golf and a lot of video game playing. Many tickets were won and the group pooled their winnings to buy my kids prizes.

We then hit Revolution Taproom and Grill in Rochester, NH, where we had a great lunch and played pool and darts, whilst others hit Collec-tiques, the vintage toy store across the street. While the schedule didn’t leave us enough time to hit the apple orchard (sorry!), we then had a fantastic signing at Jetpack Comics, with an amazing turn out. Following the signing, during some downtime, we (the hosts) were treated to gifts, snacks and the kindness of the people attending. My fans are kind, gentle people with good hearts, and they helped chase off my lingering fears. Supper was held at Agavé, an amazing Mexican restaurant in Portsmouth, where we saw the bottled Nemesis beer for the very first time.

Saturday brought challenge. Rain, and eight foot swells, forced the whale watching boat trip to be cancelled. We scrambled together a plan, returning to last year’s walking tour of Beverly, MA, where attendees got to see the FC-P headquarters building and my childhood home, and we ate at the legendary Nick’s Famous Roast Beef, which many attendees declared to be better than a whale watch. From there, we hit Lynch Park, the site of several Nemesis battles and we enjoyed the misty view of the ocean while recreating the infamous ‘orange toss’ from last year, throwing not just one, but two oranges back and forth until they broke and were hurled into the sea.

The event ended with an early Sunday breakfast, several sad goodbyes and even a few tears, as friends, new and old, parted ways for another year. After returning home (where I played Left 4 Dead 2 with Matt Frank for two days) I realized that the end of RobinsonFest felt a lot like leaving camp as a kid, and that in itself, for adults, is a special kind of thing. The difference is that we can stay connected online, and since we’ll never be too old for RobinsonFest, we’ll always look forward to next year’s event, which we hope will be in Northern NH, in Chess Team, Refuge, and Nemesis territory.

For all who attended, thank you. I think the event’s success has more to do with all of you than any plans conjured by Kane or me. For those who couldn’t attend, we’re already talking about next year’s event, and I think most people from 2016 will be back for 2017. I hope to see you all there!

— Jeremy

PHOTO GALLERY

 

6 Comments

  1. Mike P

    It was an absolutely wonderful time spent having tons of fun, laughing until my face hurt, further forging the relationships created last year and spending some time with fantastic people I can now call friends! We are already talking about next year and can’t wait!! Thank you Jeremy & Kane for putting it all together!

  2. Dee Haddrill

    I’m actually still a bit sad at leaving, but thanks to the awesomeness that is Jeremy, I held it together. I seriously had the best time, and I would encourage anyone on the fence about coming in 2017 to just do it!!! Like J said, I have made some wonderful new friends, and now feel much closer to the 2015 people. I am starting to save right away for next year’s event!!!

    Oh… and Jeremy failed to mention that I beat Stan (aka Rook) at Air Hockey!! Yes, he beat me at everything else, but I’m hanging on to my victory

  3. Susan S

    My husband and I are a little shy but this wonderful group of people made us feel part of the RobinsonFest family and we’ve already started saving up for next year.

  4. Sally

    I too was a little leary about meeting new folks, but was put at ease immediately by the friendship and comraderie so easily given by all attendies. What a wonderful time I had. Leaving Portsmouth was a depressing drive, and I felt like I had just woken from a three day dream. After an hour or so of this morosity, I realized the heater was on and quickly turned on the AC and cranked up the volume on my music player. Reality was much more tolerable. I’m already thinking of what to do/bring next year.

  5. Dan Delgado

    Well, it’s been a month since Robinsonfest and I still find myself wishing I was back in Portsmouth with everyone. Katie and I had such a terrific time, and we truly enjoyed meeting so many new people and making friendships. I have reread the first chapter of Project Legion several times because of the nostalgic feeling I get when I see Moxy and Nick’s, not to mention the parking garage. I can’t wait until the next ‘fest so we can all meet up again and share more laughs. A huge thank you to Jeremy and Kane for setting everything up, and to Matt and Kent for joining us!

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    i like this site so much

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