I would also like to say a big thank you to the legend of organization that is Anna, and also her wonderful pillar of support that is Tigger. It’s fantastic to only have to worry about flights and shuttles and pick up times and bag allowances and then get to Auckland and have the privilege of being able to hang out and play with your friends all weekend, rather than, you know, organizing an entire convention closing on 200 people and being drowned in paperwork. Anna and Tigger - I salute you both and am incredibly grateful for all the work you’ve put in and continue to put in every year to make this event what it is, and to even make it happen in the first place.
Alongside Anna and Tigger, I know there are so many people to thank for Chimera for so many reasons on so many levels. Forgive me if I repeat thanks I’ve already given in person, or miss out anyone who should be applauded. To all those who’ve helped with Chimera in any capacity: my deepest and most sincere thanks for a job very very well done. Thank you to the organizers, all of them. Thank you to everyone from the event planners to the flagship writers, the GMs and general game writers, the red hat wearers, the IT helpers and website contributors, the envelope organizers and name-tag people, the chef and cooks and servers-up, the dish washers, the band aid barers, the printing people, the desk dwellers and sellers of V and coffee and the topper-uppers of toilet paper, all of whom sacrificed their time for dedicated service to the team and to us all. Thank you to all those who volunteered for tasks for whatever they may be. Thank you to those who completed the invisible and thankless jobs that made everything run so smoothly, not because there was nothing to it but because much work made it so. Thank you to everyone for helping clean, for helping re-pin, pack, and generally being kind, considerate and incredibly supportive of everyone on site which lead to an incredible atmosphere of fun as well as friendship all weekend.
Thank you to all the Aucklanders and long-serving role players for being so supportive of newcomers. As this is my second Chimera now I feel almost like a seasoned practitioner, but you all make it so from your acceptance, kind words, and welcoming attitudes.
Thanks to everyone who put in such incredible efforts with set dressing and costuming to transform fluro-lit halls into enchanted lands, woods, quasi-French boarding houses, and Western saloons just with your well-attired presence and well placed wagon wheels. Thank you to all those who brought and lent extra props and costume pieces and shared the love around to those who had less. Your generosity is inspiring and I love you all.
Thank you to everyone I got to play alongside for giving such amazing performances to play with and react from. Thank you for providing such incredible situations to enjoy, be it in a fun or fearful capacity. Thank you to all those who created creative characters to have fun with in the first place and thank you to all those who allowed me to play in your games.
Thank you to my wonderful Wellington roommates and to our growing Wellington contingent whom I love dearly. Thank you to the brilliant Bryn for helping push out the costume envelope and giving us all something to aim for. Thank you to my amazing Anthony for getting me to Chimera in the first place, for getting everything into my bag in the first place, and everything back in from a position of generally all over the room. Thank you for inviting me to share Chimera with you, for introducing me to your incredible role playing society of amazing friends and awe-inspiring people. I know I’ve said it before, but LARPers, you are an amazing group of people. Thank you for accepting me into your group with open arms and warm smiles. Last year was my first Chimera and like last year, from what I’ve heard from all the first timers this year, new friends were made swiftly and all you had to do was speak to someone to be met with a friendly smile and a welcoming greeting from a very accepting group. You truly are a warm and welcoming group of people and I thank you all for that, for your energy and efforts, and for being your wonderful selves, for taking me into your group, and all the newcomers who’ve come after me. LARPers, I salute you.
As always, there are so many names to name and thank. I know I would leave someone off accidentally so please forgive me for speaking generally. At the same time, please accept my biggest thanks to everyone who helped make Chimera 2012 happen and make it the wonder that it was. I thank you all and I hope you take the opportunity to reward yourself, put your feet up, and rest in the knowledge that you done a sensational job. Please also accept my deepest thanks to everyone in NZ’s role playing community for your generous and welcoming attitudes.
Thanks, buckets of thanks, increasingly large buckets of thanks…and then some.
Hannah - I love you all -McKie