This past weekend, hundreds of people gathered at WordCamp London 2016 to learn about WordPress. One of the attendees who made its presence known the day of the event was a giant Wapuu. From left to right is WordPress co-creator Mike Little, Wapuu, and Jenny Wong. Notice how Wapuu has its own name badge!
Tim Nash, Platform Lead for 34SP, a managed WordPress hosting company and sponsor of the event, says that the company wanted to do something unique to bring smiles to attendee’s faces.
“It turns out that a Wapuu is not easy to find, but once we told it how awesome an event it was going to be and how much effort the WordCamp London organizing team was putting in, it agreed to make an appearance,” Nash said.
According to reports on Twitter from attendees, Wapuu is great at giving hugs, posing for selfies, and spreading cheer.
#Wapuu inside WordCamp London #wcldn #opensource #wordpress #cms pic.twitter.com/9iQLifP4JN
— ʎʞɔıᴚ ˙ɹW 🌈 #ꜰᴀᴄᴄɪᴀᴍᴏʀᴇᴛᴇ (@rickysev) April 9, 2016
Although it looks like a stuffed animal, it’s actually a suit with someone inside. When asked who the person was inside, Nash replied that it was a secret. So where is Wapuu headed next?
“Sadly with WordCamp London over, Wapuu has returned to roam the land near Manchester in the North of England until the next time it wants a holiday. Rumor has it, that it might be at WordCamp Brighton in July,” Nash said.
Considering the size of airline seats, don’t expect to see giant Wapuu at WordPress events in the US anytime soon.
I wouldn’t say ‘giant’ – how do we know what size a real Wappu is? They could be similar to the Giant Sloths of a few thousand years ago.