u/glendora_the_explora

I volunteered for CatCon last year and have a few tips to share:

1. Want to attend again next year without paying? Sign up to volunteer early on, like months in advance.

2. Get there early to wait less in line and get more goodies - don't arrive too much later than 1pm (the earlier the better). Note that they cut off freebie lines after a certain point (about an hour before the day ends), or some parts of the con may run out of freebies entirely later on Sunday. A large part of attending this con is collecting samples from vendor booths, and the earlier you get there, the shorter the lines you'll have to wait in to get those.

3. If you have the VIP ticket (weekend pass), remind your bracelet handler volunteers when you check in so they don't give you a Saturday-only pass out of rote memory (saw this happen last year)

4. Hit up big-name vendor booths first for samples/freebies because those lines tend to be the longest later in the afternoon, but don't line up too long for anything because it's not worth your time.

5. Take note of shows and panels to attend and what time they are, e.g. if you're a fan of Bob Baker Marionette Theater, grab a seat early before their mini-show or be prepared to stand.

6. Know market price for things you'd like to buy--products at CatCon from vendor booths aren't necessarily cheaper, better, or exclusive compared to just buying them online or elsewhere (this goes for any convention)

7. Consider checking out other excellent cat-tractions within walking and bussing distance like Old Town (downtown area), several boba shops, bakeries, and bookstores close to the convention center (including The Battery and The Open Book), and the USC Asia Pacific Museum of Art (10/11 Sunday is free!).

8. If you want to actually see, play with, or potentially adopt cats (the adoption village at the convention center just has a bunch of caged cats you'll wait in a long line to try to adopt), Tail Town (Pasadena's cat cafe) is a much better play/trial/adoption experience.

9. As a volunteer, people who dress up or wear cat-themed gear really made my day brighter (though the vast majority of attendees don't/it's not an expectation).

For those of you who don't play the game - this is irrelevant.
For those of you who play hardcore - you already know all this.

This post is for the sliver of casual players who play the game but don't usually raid. Due to the 10th anniversary of the game, Mega Mewtwos are spawning pretty much all day this weekend, as well as legendaries and certain other hard-to-get pokemon that are usually regional exclusives. Caltech has an active contingent of ~100 people who will show/have shown up during the day this weekend to complete raids, 10am-7pm. Free parking on weekends in unreserved spots, including garages.

Tomorrow, Sunday 7/12, is for Mega Mewtwo Y. Show up at Caltech and use the Campfire app to find the Pasadena PoGo group and check in, then see where all the people are (or just wander around mid-campus until you see a crowd, it's not hard to find).

One main tip: bring a mega-evolved pokemon! Search "megaevolve" to see if you have any that you can. Boost their combat power first if not already done. Then once you mega-evolve it, it'll last for a few hours. Put it in the back of your group and heal it up between raids.
10 people need to break a Mega shield in a Mewtwo raid (you will be prompted to use the special move if it's in your party) or else the raid's dead. Primal Groudon/Kyogre do NOT break shields. If you don't have a mega-evolved pokemon, only join raids that already have 13-14+ people in it out of 20. Raids rotate plentifully and are easy to find and join all day (though it may be slightly less active the first and last 2 hours). Clear up space in your pokemon storage before you go. You don't need to have particularly strong pokemon to participate.
Conversely, if there aren't enough people to start a raid (at least 10-11 mega-evolved pokemon) and you want to leave before it starts to save your raid pass, do so when there's 30 seconds or more left on the clock.
Overall, it's a fun free event that'll score you some of the best pokemon you can get from a single day, and the Caltech campus is gorgeous despite the hot weather. Chill crowd too.

Finally, there's a Pasadena PoGo discord here: https://discord.com/invite/gU89uUSKtM

Happy PoGoing!

https://classic.support.neopets.com/hc/en-us/articles/45011731517453-How-does-the-prize-shop-work

JellyNeo made a post about this, but it's been almost 2 weeks since the plot ended as of now, so now is the time to get certain battledome items if you want them.

EDIT: Tickets are gone to a family of 4!

Hi, got 4 free tickets to the Huntington Library & Gardens but family can't attend anymore.

To enter, post (don't chat/DM) how many tickets you'd use and if you think your entire group'd be able to go for sure tomorrow (I know this is last minute). Don't promise anyone anything because I don't know how many people will post.

I would prefer someone who could use all 4 or at least 2-3 out of the 4 tickets since I don't know if the tickets can be easily split (if they can, someone let me know--what I'm seeing is that they're non-splittable, because there's a single QR code for all 4 tickets).

Winners announced today at 5pm PT (in 7 hours). I will reach out via reddit chat to forward the ticket email.

Additionally, the tickets are for a 2pm entry tomorrow. This means your entry window is 2-3pm, and the Huntington closes at 5pm--you'd only get 2 or 3 hours there. Parking is free.

Gonna be driving up to Visalia near Memorial Day from SoCal and wondering if there are any good roadside farm stands in the area in-season right now. Looking at Google Maps, seems like they're all closer to Fresno (and I'll take recs on those too), but there are a few listed near town without a website--I just don't know if those are open yearly or known by locals. Particularly looking for strawberries and stone fruit, but whatever you've checked out lately!