Cristina Fowler Blog | Alt Summit 2019 | Conference Recap Part 2

After a long but wonderful first day at Alt Summit 2019, I was ready for my first task as a volunteer on Day 2.

I was very thankful that I went to bed early after the first day because I had to report to the Parker Palm Springs at 8:00 am.

Monday, March 25

Before anything else, I have to say this: the Parker is one of the most beautiful hotels I have ever been to. I would describe the lobby as an eclectic bohemian dream. And the maze of hedges outside the lobby reminded me of Alice and Wonderland. So dreamy!

I made my way back to “The Brig” and met my boss for the day, Rachel. After chatting for a bit, I discovered she is actually the sister of Design Mom herself, the founder of Alt Summit, Gabrielle Blair! It really was a family affair, but more on that later.

My first job of the day was manning the Alt Shuttle stop, just outside the hotel’s parking lot. I decided to jump on that job first before it got too hot in the desert sun.

Remember how I said the Parker was a nice hotel? Well, it was so nice in fact, that they wanted no outside signage OR people wearing their even lanyards. They didn’t want their hotel to be “just some convention hotel.” Ouch, but also fair. So, a big part of my job was letting folks know to remove their lanyards and trying to point them in the right direction.

It was actually great! I’m definitely an introvert, but this job gave me the perfect reason to talk to people just a few at a time. Win!

Around the time my shift at the shuttle stop ended, an older gentleman came up looking for Rachel. I offered to walk him back to her. Along the way, I realized it was none other than Gabrielle and Rachel’s dad, Roger! We had a lovely chat about his life in Utah on the way back, and he (and his wife) actually helped us collect lunch tickets.

And speaking of lunch, it was SO good – possibly the best conference meal I had all week. I snuck away from ticket-taking duties to make myself a plate, and I’m so glad I did. Those fajitas were amazing!

Alas, then it was back to work. I spent the better part of the afternoon playing doorman to the ballroom where most of the sessions were taking place. I was able to catch bits and pieces of things, but it was mostly trying to open and close the doors as quietly as possible. Meh. At one point I did have to cut off a line of people waiting to have their sketches drawn by the very talented Adri Reynoso. That was about as exciting as it got.

When my shift at the Parker was over (sadness), I hopped on a shuttle to the Riviera for a sponsored dinner with Children’s Miracle Network.

One of the hotel staff was able to point me toward a private bathroom where I could take my time getting ready. I changed into my LBD and leopard flats, and reapplied my makeup.

Before letting us into the main ballroom for the dinner, Children’s Miracle Network hosted a cocktail hour. For this introvert, it was pretty nerve-racking. There were a lot of people I didn’t know in a small space, all seemingly thriving at their small talk.

Picture me being socially awkward. Now picture me being socially awkward AND seeing some of my favorite Instagrammers. The awkwardest.

Luckily, I had good friends with pep talks on speed dial. Even more luckily, Jenny and Christina were even more lovely in person than on their feeds. Don’t you love when that happens?!

I was so grateful to Children’s Miracle Network for the invite, and I truly enjoyed the sneak peak of Real Moms, a reality show that follows several moms and their special needs children. The show premiers on the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals YouTube page on Friday, May 10, and I highly recommend it. It’s always interesting to me that no matter how different families are, kids are always just kids.

You can watch a sneak peak here: