Meet the WordCamp Philly 2020 Wapuus!

Looking for Philly flavor?
It’s all there in our Wapuus!

WordPress has its own mascot called Wapuu. The idea first started back in 2009 when Matt Mullenweg, the founder of WordPress, was having a chat with members of the Japanese community about mascots. They noticed how Firefox had their signature fox, but WordPress really didn’t have anything…and someone should fix that. What started as an off-handed conversation, soon took off with a life of its own. Cue several iterations and prototypes and Wapuu was born.

Philly Wapuu History

All WordPress communities put their own spin on Wapuu, and Philly is no exception. We’ve had our first batch in 2015 designed by Tracy Levesque: Rocky Wapuu, Pretzel Wapuu, Cheesesteak Wapuu and Krimpuu.

In 2017, and for a few years after, WordCamp Philly was close to Halloween. Of course Wapuu, this time designed by Lula Jones, got a Halloween makeover with FrankenPuu, MummyPuu,VamPuu, and PiratePuu.

In 2018 we featured some local Philly institutions like Betsy Ross and the Philly Zoo. Last year, in 2019, we were at PAFA, so of course art figured in, thanks to designers Alyssa Hogan, Amy Letson, and Teresa Hopkins. But, a new local mascot had swept our city. Gritty fever was everywhere, and of course Gritty had to meet Wapuu, and thus GrittyPuu was born.

2020 WordCamp Philly Wapuu

This year we want you to experience even more of our own local Philly flavor. Designer Alyssa Hogan created JawnPuu, StoopPuu, and MosaicPuu, and designer Jason McClintock did WooderIcePuu and SinkholePuu.

The first 500 folks to register for WordCamp Philly who reside in the USA will be mailed a sticker sheet featuring these new Wapuus.

JawnPuu

Part of our local Philly flavor is having a term we call “jawn”. What does that mean you may ask, It’s loosely “that semi-ambiguous person, place, or thing I’m referencing” and your powers of Philly perception know exactly what we are talking about. While you are at it, check out our how to attend WordCamp Philly.

StoopPuu

The most iconic dwellings in Philly are our rowhouses. And nothing is more iconically filled with Philly flavor than having a great chat outside on the stoop with your neighbors on a summer night.

MosaicPuu

Philly is a mosaic of neighbors, traditions, and cultures. We are stronger because of the these diverse communities. Their art, food, community spirit, and more enrich our local Philly flavor. On any day you can see folks from many backgrounds enjoying the outdoors from Fairmount Park, to Wissahickon Park, to Pennypack Park, Love Park, and anywhere in-between. You can even visit Philly Magic Gardens where mosaic takes on a whole new meaning.

WooderIcePuu

So, while you’re on that stoop having a great chat, you’re going to want cool off in the summer. Time for some more Philly flavor, and that would be a “wooder ice” from a local shop. For out-of-towners without our accents it’s “water ice”. Think Italian ice meets shaved ice, but it’s really a uniquely Philly creation available in just about any flavor you can think of.

SinkholePuu

You say Wack-a-mole course, we like to think of as just another…who are we kidding…part of our Philly flavor is that we have potholes that are large enough to have their own zip codes. It’s part of why we are resilient. We have to keep on our toes to avoid the literal pitfalls, and that includes making sure folks see the traffic cones that mark the holes and picking them up if they fall over…or in.