The Overload Regional Championships events this season have been so amazing - kudos to the organizers and staff for working tirelessly to create such an amazing opportunity! 
I’ll always cherish the experiences I had, and the memories and friends I made. I was able to attend Toronto, Charlotte and Hartford and I’m so happy I did!
I’ve been to Toronto Regionals in the past, but it was never like this 
This time at Toronto Regionals, I met up with some local friends, and also made new friends - both local and from abroad! I arrived at 5am on a Friday in December to kick-start a great weekend. Thankfully it wasn’t too cold (from a local Canadian’s perspective haha) but I do remember it was windy when we went to Liberty Village for pizza on Saturday! I was fortunate to have Sunday panel to watch Mr. Arita’s demonstration with the war tortoise, and took lots of detailed notes, which you might have read before. It was my first (and only) panel experience! 
After putting aside vacation days for Worlds 2023 in Japan, I decided I could only attend one more Regionals this season - at first, more of our friends said they’d attend Hartford, so that’s what I planned for… And then, Ms. Himeno was announced for Charlotte :') So, my plans changed accordingly!
The event in Charlotte took place around the same time as the E4 signature exchange. I had so much fun doodling and signing 40 Marill/Azumarill cards for the exchange. So I decided to make 25 (ish) more to hand out in Charlotte to friends, new and old alike, if they hadn’t already signed up for the E4 exchange.
In Charlotte, I met up with an old Neopets friend for brunch, I saw people I hadn’t seen since Worlds 2022 in London - or even Worlds 2019 in D.C.! - and I met lots of new people too! I explored the historic 4th Ward with some E4 friends, I started to collect some E4 signatures, and I brought my Azumarill and Shaymin sitting cuties with me. I didn’t bring my sole collection binder with me to the venue (I left it in the hotel room) but had already started to reorganize my collection so I could share it at upcoming events. We watched Mykel make it to Top 8 in the TCG which was so cool! Oh, and let’s not forget the first night after deciding to step out of the general line, I had an unfortunate run-in with our “new friend” Alvin Harvey 
… Who was basically harmless in real life, but who then visited me in my dreams - I’m not one for nightmares that wake me up in a cold sweat, but there’s a first time for everything, isn’t there? D:
Through the kindness of others, I had two autographs signed for me (one each from Ms. Harada and Ms. Himeno)!
Getting to Hartford was a trip in and of itself, but thankfully we made it! It was another fun adventure. I met so many new people here, too, and basically hung out with a completely different group than Charlotte! There were some fun jokes at dinner, we stopped by the cutest little bee-themed cafe for lunch, we opened some packs, I shared my garden binder, and we explored the Dinosaur State Park (contrary to the best laid plans, we did not visit the Science Center 
). Also as a gift in exchange for an earlier favour, I received a Bellossom sitting cutie 
On Sunday morning I was in Group 12 of the lottery general queue and fortunately received two autographs!
I also decided to doodle/sign 25 (ish) cards of my favourite full-fledged mean girl bully popstar, and her child, so I could hand those out to friends, in honour of Mr. Ariga who designed Hisuian Sneasel/Sneasler. Will this become a common trend? Event-exclusive “Clara” signed cards? Who’s to say? (Me. It’s me. 
)
All this to say, these events felt like mini-Worlds as FourthStar mentioned above (and some others said this at the events, too!). This season was one-of-a-kind and hanging out with so many great, like-minded people will be one of the highlights of my year. The opportunities to meet the illustrators were really special - and it really is impressive and encouraging to see how the organizers and staff were constantly looking for ways to improve the system with regards to the overall experience of the illustrator and attendees. Thanks again to everyone who made this an amazing season!
I’m looking forward to seeing everyone again soon! 