| PonyCon has been running annually since 2004, and has gone from strength to strength during those seven years! Unsure what to expect, or just want to take a gander at the conventions of days gone by? Here's a little page dedicated to the history of PonyCon! Enjoy your trip in the PonyCon TARDIS!
2004
PonyCon 2004 was held in Morecambe, Lancashire at The Platform. Hasbro attended and brought along ponies customised by celebrities to auction, and a custom headdress worn in The Vicar of Dibley! A local dance troupe entertained everyone by performing to songs from the My Little Pony cartoons, and Debra Birge attended to promote her book. The giant pony on display this year was Sunny Daze. The 2004 convention raised about £100 for HAPPA, the Horse and Pony Protection Association. Big thanks to sillysunshine for her hard work making the first convention happen!
2005
PonyCon 2005 was held in Manchester, at Sacha’s Hotel. This year the convention had a theme: ‘Butterfly Island’. The convention was graced with TWO giant ponies this year! Both were pop-art themed. Hasbro attended the convention and showcased ponies from the upcoming Crystal Princess range - including Breezies! PonyCon 2004 was held over three days (the 10th, 11th and 12th of November), having two members days on the Thursday and Friday with the main event on the Saturday. Other highlights of PonyCon 2004 included a custom pony scene themed around Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory made by Escarchita using real sweets! Spanish pony lover Snow impressed people with her display of Spanish ponies. This year £250 was raised for the Starlight Childrens Foundation. This donation was used to fund a Christmas party for the children at Withington Hospital!
2006
PonyCon 2006 was held at the Britannia Hotel, Birmingham. The theme this year was ‘Crystal Princess’ and the convention had it’s first mascot, Sprinkles the wingless breezie, designed by Archer! This year we saw the introduction of the gameshow-style Pony Weakest Link. The pop-art pony attended the convention for a second year. Other memorable sights were Gypsywildflower’s Megan costume and Bagginslover’s Steamer costume. Sillysunshine had an amazing stall which was made to look like Dream Castle! Some fantastic contest entries this year too, including a pony carousel and a Chinese Dragon pony! The convention raised over £1000 for Redwings Horse Sanctuary who had a lovely stall and donated some fabulous artwork to the auction. The auction was a big part of the day and there were some amazing lots, including a Mint in Pack Bay Breeze!
2007
PonyCon 2007 was held at the Redwood Hotel and Country Club in Bristol. The theme for 2007 was ‘Silver Anniversary’ in celebration of 25 years of My Little Pony! 2007 was the first year that the convention offered an exclusive pony to attendees: Celebration Pinkie Pie. Sales of this pony really helped to raise a lot of money for The Rainbow Centre, a Bristol based children’s charity. This year there were two amazing prize draws, for a full set of Mountain Boy Ponies and also a full set of Twinkle Eye Ponies! One of the giant pop-art ponies made another appearance this year. Some fabulous costumes were seen at this convention; Jemofirongate’s Lily Lighty dress, Dusky’s Celebration Pinkie Pie costume and several Super-Pony costumes!
2008
PonyCon 2008 was held in Brunel University, Uxbridge. The theme this year was ‘Birthday Party’ which lead to the very first instance of the member’s day event ‘Cakey Bakey’! Member’s day this year was held in a seperate building to the main convention, a sweet barn conversion aptly named ‘The Barn’! Some more new features of Member’s day 2008 included ‘Pinch a Parcel’ and goodie bags for every attendee. PonyCon 2008 supported another children’s charity this year, Wellchild. An exclusive pony was available this year - the only true European exclusive pony so far - named Bumblebee. Special prize draws were held with the main prizes being a full set of So Soft Ponies and a set of collector’s pose Nirvana Ponies. A new giant pony made her debut this year; Magic Marigold! The 2008 auction included a G3 Core 7 Collector’s Set and the ‘Fingerprints of PonyCon’ styling pony which attendees had made their marks on!
2009
PonyCon 2009 was held in Sheffield, in the Megacentre. The theme was ‘Ponies Around the World’ and this year there were a record number of international attendees! The exclusive pony was ‘Fancy Feathers’ and sales of this pony helped us raise a great amount for the new charity, the Riding for the Disabled Association. The 2009 grand auction was the most successful yet, raising over £700! Special items included Edgar the Elephant (who raised £60 all on his own!), a very detailed styling custom of the 2008 exclusive pony, Bumblebee, and some fantastic Nirvana ponies. This year the giant pony was a very special feature - she was Baby Cuddles, a Blackpool Illumination restored by the talented Gypsywildflower. Prize draws included a full set of Princess Ponies and Twice as Fancy Ponies. Other memorable features include the first game of Pony Mastermind and the introduction of prize vouchers for contest winners!
2010
PonyCon 2010 was held at The Public in West Bromwich - a fabulously colourful venue which was very MLP! The theme this year was ‘My Little Pony and Me’, a celebration of our own personal memories and love of ponies. This year we invited the Riding for the Disabled Association back for a second time and the convention managed to raise £1300 for them. Part of this was due to the sale of gorgeous green exclusive pony, Meadow. The special prize draws this year included a full set of G1 Mail Order Birthflower Ponies and a ful set of Flutter Ponies. The giant pony this year was again the amazing Blackpool Illumination, but repainted as Baby Cotton Candy! Lots of new events made their debuts in 2010, including PonyCon gameshows; Mr and Mrs and Who Dares Wins, more panels and demos than ever before and the infamous member’s day scooter race! Special items in the auction this year included a set of MLP Collector’s Inventories kindly donated by the author, some great artwork by Cubeydoom and many Nirvana ponies and Mint on Card ponies!
2011
We really hope that 2011 can build on the successes of past conventions, PonyCon has come so far in 8 years, bring it on!
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