I thought I'd post a follow-up to the
Be All event I posted about in the
Calendar of Events section. I went on Saturday to the seminars and banquette. I was dressed business casual; white slacks, lavender blouse, cute white sandals. I went as a novice TG girl and I was not quite sure what to expect, so keep that in mind when reading this...
The EventThe event itself was well organized and very well run. There was some initial confusion on my part of where to go to sign in, but that was due more to the lay out of the hotel then then anything the Be All staff did. The Be All staff could have probably been more accommodating to the newbies or those that may have been nervous, but overall, I'd say it's one of the better run conferences I've been to. The hotel was gorgeous and there were ample amenities. The seminars were just about right in length, as were the lunch and dinner speeches.
The shops were all tastefully done and super cute. Of course, they offered specials and sales and makeovers and just about anything else a CD/TG/TS could have asked for. There were clothing shops, wig shops, coffee shops, makeup shops, and corset shops; there were also Dr. shops for both SRS/GRS and FFS. The event was definitely catering towards MtF, although there were a few FtM there.
The hotel staff never once batted an eye. They were polite, courteous and helpful. Several of the boy staff even held the door for me at various points throughout the day.
The SeminarsTo me, personally, the seminars made the day. They were professional, offered real insight and were packed full of information. I was a little worried the seminars would be nothing short of an all-out sales pitch, but I found that to be far from what they actually were. I learned a *ton* at the seminars. I also went in with a lot questions that I wanted answers to. Having been to other (non-TG) conferences, I know that getting a minute with the presenter isn't always possible; at Be All, every single presenter took time after his or her presentation to talk with me personally and answer any questions I had. That was a really nice touch. I also talked with several presenters who's seminars I didn't even attend.
The BanquetteThe Saturday night banquette was a little over the top. Very, very far removed from 'real life'. It's really nice to have an opportunity to go all out and get dressed up, but there's always those few girls who see it as on opportunity to be a complete and total hoochie. Most, like 90%, of the girls there were elegant and classy, but there were a few... less then... 'appropriate' girls there, too. It was also a little pretentious, but that's sort of to be expected at such a gala. I don't mean to say anything negative about the banquette. It was spot on; great food, great company and a perfectly fine event. Over-all, it was great!
So those are my thoughts. Feel free to ask me any questions or anything!
