This year’s WordCamp DFW will be the debut for cowboy Wapuu — the first official Wapuu to represent the state of Texas.
“This year our new organizer, Stefanie [Newton], who came in to handle design, saw that was a big problem that we had a Wapuu already, but we never used it,” said Marc Gratch, cowboy Wapuu designer and WordCamp DFW 2017 lead organizer. “So she took care of everything.”
Wapuu became the unofficial mascot of the WordPress project in February 2011. The cat-like mascot was unveiled at that year’s WordCamp Fukuoka in Japan after two years of work by Matt Mullenweg and the Japanese WordPress community.
Since its inception, others have taken Wapuu and made alterations to make it unique to their region or idea. For example, there’s a Wapuu dressed in French clothes and another that’s about to get into a Delorean. But there hasn’t been a Wapuu that represents Texas until now.
The idea for the cowboy Wapuu started in 2016. Gratch spoke at WordCamp DFW in previous years and received a Texas belt buckle as a speaker gift. He didn’t think much of it originally; however, as he travelled to other WordCamps around the country, others who received a belt buckle raved about how much they liked it.
Then the idea hit him.
“I don’t remember if I had started [working on] the Wappu or not, but at that point I realized where their imagination took them [when attendees thought of DFW],” Gratch said. “They really liked the uniqueness. When they got the belt buckles as speaker gifts, that was a very unique speaker gift. You knew you got that from a WordCamp in Texas. I loved that idea, so I ran with it.”
Gratch, with the help of Newton, came up with two designs for the cowboy Wapuu. The first featured Wapuu in a white shirt with a cowboy hat and a Texas belt buckle while riding a horse. The other one had Wapuu in the same clothes, but holding a red ball with the Texas flag.
“I tried to make it as obvious Texan as possible,” Gratch said. “It has the standard Wapuu shape but with the hat and sunglasses and things people think of when they think Texas.
Gratch finished the cowboy Wapuu designs in time for the 2016 WordCamp DFW, but a miscommunication kept the Wapuu from making its first appearance.
This year, however, cowboy Wapuu will feature prominently at WordCamp DFW. It’s already featured on the website and will be available as stickers. But Gratch said the team is looking at other ways to incorporate it.
“Other than that, it’s kind of up in the air where it will be used,” Gratch said. “I imagine any t-shirt or speaker gifts will feature it prominently. Other than that I really can’t say.”
And cowboy Wapuu won’t just be restrained to the DFW area. Gratch said he’s already reached out to WordCamp San Antonio about using it and is open to other WordCamps in the state using the new Wapuu.
“It’s definitely available for anyone to use,” Gratch said. “I would love for everyone to make use of it and add to the collection. Texas is a big place, so we can definitely have a few more Wapuus that represent us.”
Tickets are now on sale for this year’s WordCamp DFW held on Nov. 11-12. There are also plenty of opportunities to sponsor the event, speak at the event or help run it. We hope to see you there!