{"id":4556,"date":"2021-04-14T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-04-14T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/?p=4556"},"modified":"2024-01-15T13:07:13","modified_gmt":"2024-01-15T18:07:13","slug":"missing-pen-shows","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/missing-pen-shows\/","title":{"rendered":"Missing Pen Shows"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

As I reviewed some old blog posts the other day, it hit me that: 1) I never wrote a post about the 2020 Baltimore Pen Show and 2) that it’s been over a year since my last pen show, and I really miss them!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’m well aware that I’m incredibly privileged to live near two pen shows, BWIPS<\/a> and DC<\/a>. While BWIPS will always be my favorite, both are tons of fun, dangerous for the budget, and an opportunity to see pen peeps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And that camaraderie, that sense of community, is part of what I miss so much. I can buy pens \u2014 for the most part \u2014 at any time, but I can’t see people. Video calls, while nice, are not the same. Especially in an analog hobby, so much gets lost in a digital “meeting.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Pen meetups have been digitized for up to a year now, for most of us. And I don’t know about you, but I’m “zoomed out.” I was “zoomed out” about 7-8 months ago. So whereas I had only missed one in-person meetup in over a year before COVID, I haven’t attended a digital meetup since… probably June, maybe July. I need to make sure I join one of those soon, I keep forgetting. And I miss my local pen peeps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But there’s hope. Vaccines are being administered, and regulations are evolving in response. I’m hopeful that we’ll have the DC pen show to attend in August. It’s officially scheduled; I hope it doesn’t need to get cancelled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Somehow, even with the light clearly visible at the end of the tunnel, I miss in-person events more than ever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keep your fingers crossed, wish upon stars, and make sacrifices to the pen gods that things are normal enough soon to resume pen shows and meetups.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A short post about how I’m missing in-person pen events, even now when we’re so close to getting them back.<\/p>\n

Keep ReadingMissing Pen Shows<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[417],"tags":[81],"class_list":["post-4556","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pen-shows","tag-pen-show","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8Z77k-1bu","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3065,"url":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/bwips-2019\/","url_meta":{"origin":4556,"position":0},"title":"2019 Baltimore Pen Show","author":"Rachel","date":"March 6, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"The Baltimore Pen Show was a blast! Check out my thoughts about the show, hotel, and workshops, and don't miss my scoring.","rel":"","context":"In "Pen Shows"","block_context":{"text":"Pen Shows","link":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/category\/stationery\/pen-shows\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":7040,"url":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/bwips-2022-1\/","url_meta":{"origin":4556,"position":1},"title":"BWIPS 2022 Show Experience – Part 1","author":"Rachel","date":"March 16, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"BWIPS 2022 was a blast! Check out my experiences at the show this year. 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If you didn't read part 1, I suggest you do so before continuing with this. - - - I walked into the large room through the second door. The table immediately to my right is, for some reason, completely lost\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Pen Shows"","block_context":{"text":"Pen Shows","link":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/category\/stationery\/pen-shows\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/IMG_3292-300x200.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":9892,"url":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/bwips-2023\/","url_meta":{"origin":4556,"position":4},"title":"BWIPS 2023","author":"Rachel","date":"March 15, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Enjoy my overview of my Baltimore-Washington International Pen Show 2023 experience, including haul photos and general thoughts.","rel":"","context":"In "Pen Shows"","block_context":{"text":"Pen Shows","link":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/category\/stationery\/pen-shows\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Jim's presents","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/20230314_171007.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/20230314_171007.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/20230314_171007.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/20230314_171007.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/20230314_171007.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":14822,"url":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/bwips-2025\/","url_meta":{"origin":4556,"position":5},"title":"BWIPS 2025 Recap","author":"Rachel","date":"March 14, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Another year at the Baltimore Pen Show, another blog post. 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