Basically, it all started back in 2015, when Kevin Baugh of Molossia put out the word that he was hosting a get-together of micronations at the Anaheim Central Library in Anaheim, California. Slabovia made the decision to attend, to try to put faces to some of the names we were dealing with in the micronational groups on Facebook. There's a great write-up on the conference (and lots of photos) here, but in short it was a day of talks, of meeting with other micronational leaders, and of generally having fun. It even included a "live steel" medieval combat demonstration by the Lamia Knights of Shiloh (who unfortunately disbanded the following year). We were privileged to be able to speak at the conference, and presented a retrospective of what We'd learned in 25 years of Slabovia - which We hope the attendees found both informative and amusing.
That evening, a MicroCon Cotillion was held, to include a dinner (in this case, tacos), award presentations (which We irreverently refer to as the "gong show" due to the many medals being presented), and a dance. This essentially "set the tone" for future MicroCon events - a day of talks, followed by a formal dinner and awards.
In 2017, a second MicroCon was held, this time hosted by Ruritania in Atlanta, Georgia. Again, a wonderful write-up and pictures can be found here. This time, Slabovia sent a larger contingent, including not just the Monarch and the chancellor, but their respective families as well. And, again, Slabovia was able to provide a talk for the itinerary - in this case, "How to host a MicroCon", which was our way of announcing not only that MicroCons would be held on a regular basis going forward, but also that Slabovia would be hosting the next one, in 2019. We're sneaky that way. :-)
True to form (and following what had been established two years before), that evening a formal dinner and awards ceremony was again held, this time at a local restaurant. Unfortunately, due to space and time limitations, there was no opportunity to finish the evening with a dance.
And that brings us to 2019, and our own version of MicroCon. We would estimate there were 100 people in the room this time, a considerable growth from the 30 or so who attended the first MicroCon only four years previously.
This time, we had a variety of talks on topics such as micronational conflicts, citizen engagement, the history of micronationalism, and even an overview of Asian micronations (provided by Minsung Kwon of the Jusin Republic). Despite a minor glitch with the air conditioning (which is less than ideal on a hot and humid South-western Ontario summer day), the conference was a rousing success overall, carrying on the MicroCon tradition in fine form. We were privileged to address the conference three times that day - to deliver the opening remarks, to provide an update on MEDALS, and to introduce the hosts of MicroCon 2021 - which will be held in Las Vegas (dates TBD) and c0-hosted by Westarctica and Shiloh. We cannot stress enough Our gratitude towards our citizens who helped with both the organizing and running of the conference; much of the "smooth sailing' that occurred that day is doubtless attributable to their tireless efforts.
And, of course, that evening was the formal dinner and awards ceremony. We were happy to bestow awards on a number of Our micronational colleagues, and We were Ourselves honoured to be recognized by many of the same with numerous awards and honours, a few of which are shown below.
Overall, being the host nation for MicroCon was a wonderful experience, and one that We are not willing to repeat any time soon due to the stress, aggravation, and other issues that accompany such a task. We do wish both Arch Duke Travis (Westarctica) and King Timothy (Shiloh) all the best in their efforts, and look forward to attending it in 2021!
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