- #COMIC COLLECTOR CONVENTION FEB 7 ATLANTA ADMISSION FULL#
- #COMIC COLLECTOR CONVENTION FEB 7 ATLANTA ADMISSION PLUS#
- #COMIC COLLECTOR CONVENTION FEB 7 ATLANTA ADMISSION FREE#
#COMIC COLLECTOR CONVENTION FEB 7 ATLANTA ADMISSION PLUS#
Sure, you could hedge your bets on the “if you build it, they will come mentality,” but without a rabid community to plug into right out of the gate, your convention is likely dead in the water.īeing plugged into a community allows you to know the needs of that community in terms of what may be desired in starting a convention, plus it means you already have a bevy of people you can call on to help as volunteers, track directors, and attendees. That said, even without the physical support, SFGE wouldn’t have been able to get off the ground without tapping into an existing community of fans. We rely on regional collectors to lug over 200 giant arcade and pinball machines out of their basement each year. My convention is more unique than most in that it absolutely could not happen without community support. Build on an existing community & be a nice person Other practicalities of research have to do not only with checking comparative pricing, guests, and possible dates, but about the cost of different venues, any municipal restrictions, and business requirements. The poor guest would then just say something to the effect of “Uhh…so I guess you can just ask me some questions.” For my convention, I’ve made sure that every panel has a vetted moderator with clear instructions on how the panel should flow and a sheet of backup questions to ask in case the well has run dry. One small thing I witnessed several times at Dragon Con was a featured guest arriving for his/her panel with no moderator and no clue about what was supposed to transpire. While it is a giant convention of 80K+ fans and very different from the convention I run, I was still able to take note of a few key things I did and didn’t want at my own convention. Living in Atlanta, I have the benefit of attending Dragon Con for the past 15 consecutive years. And, of course, to make sure there isn’t an event similar to the one you want to hold already in existence. You’ll also want to start an event calendar so you can see when there may be a gap between events so you’re not competing with another regional con that can steal away your audience. Also, take a look at other conventions in your geographic area to get a flavor for the local flair of what works and what doesn’t. Be sure to look specifically at events that may be similar to yours in different parts of the country. See what they do well and note where they fail. If you’re on the path to starting a convention, the best advice I can give you is to visit other conventions – lots of them. There’s plenty more details to learn, but these basics should help answer at least some of your questions: 1. If you’re thinking of starting a convention, then you may already know some of this stuff, but there wasn’t a handy guide in place when I began, so I’m sharing what I know. Not too shabby for a true fan convention. We’ve been featured in numerous publications including Killscreen, Paste, Southwest: The Magazine, Creative Loafing, and even name-dropped in the Wall Street Journal. In the four years we’ve been holding events we’ve outgrown our allotted space each year and are now larger than some of the other local geek cons who seemed big when we first started. A few weeks ago, we hosted over 3,000 attendees and occupied over 60,000 square feet of exhibit space over the course of our 3-day expo. It’s not a spectacularly large event like a Heroes Convention or a Mega Con, but we’re not your local comic con in the back of a Holiday Inn Express either. I, along with two of my friends, organize an annual gaming convention called the Southern-Fried Gameroom Expo in Atlanta, GA.
#COMIC COLLECTOR CONVENTION FEB 7 ATLANTA ADMISSION FREE#
I may not be the best source of information, but I am A source of information, so feel free to take what I have to say with a grain of salt. That said, I have four years under my belt running a successful, growing convention in a major metropolitan area. I don’t plan events for a living, and before I organized my first con, I was just a fan. Now, you may be wondering who I am to offer expertise about convention organizing.
The biggest roadblock to success is always inaction, which is why I’m sharing what I know to hopefully help you get off the ground. Regardless of your desire, the fact that you’re even thinking of starting a convention is inspiring.
#COMIC COLLECTOR CONVENTION FEB 7 ATLANTA ADMISSION FULL#
Photo copyright: Juan Jusinoīefore I was a convention organizer, I was probably just like you – a fan who lamented there wasn’t an opportunity to attend an event to celebrate my specific flavor of fandom, or perhaps as someone who looked around at another poorly-run con and thought to themselves, “I can do better than this.” Heck, maybe you even read that convention organizers are getting rich taking home trash bags full of money (spoiler alert: most aren’t).
Costuming convention fun at the Southern-Fried Gameroom Expo.
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