Convention Gold, or Wrath of Con?
by Todd VanHooser
by Todd VanHooser
Our next event is ri
ght around the corner--a fantasy convention called...wait for it...Leprecon. I'm certain there is some history regarding the title of this event, but I don't know the story behind it, and no, I can't tell you why this isn't taking place closer to St. Patrick's Day.According to the official webpage, it is Arizona's second oldest fantasy/sci-fi conve
ntion, and with that in mind, I am eager to be a part of it. I like tradition, and hope to eventually become a cornerstone at local events such as this.No vendor booth this year--instead we'll only be found in the gaming hall. By only, I mean we hope to put out some truly impressive RPGs over the course of next weekend and blow some minds when they sit down at the table with us.
This part of the convention appears to be run very well and effectively. The coordinator has been on top of his game (no pun intended), and put together a good variety of games with schedules that should accommodate everyone from the die-hard enthusiast, to the casual attendee looking to kill a couple of hours between author book signings and Lost discussion panels. No complaints here.
The Laughing Moon team will be hosting games starting at 3pm on Friday, May 14th and going all weekend long.
The convention itself is boasting appearances by fantasy author George R.R. Martin, and artist Charles Vess.
For an industry that has seen massive attendance fallout over the last decade, lets hope to see some excitement. I hope to see an event I can encourage more people to attend--let's get that fresh blood lining up at the door.
This is my first year attending Leprecon. Maybe this will be one of the best shows the Laughing Moon Team has done. I'm certainly excited with what the Laughing Moon Team is bringing to the table, but time will tell with the rest.
For more information about the convention check out: http://leprecon.org/lep36/
We'll follow up with reviews after the con. Til then, hold onto your lucky charms.
-T
www.toddvanhooser.com
Todd,
ReplyDeleteThe reason it is called LepreCon is because it originally started over St Patrick's Day Weekend. That, of course, is in mid-March. In the mid-70s when we started Spring Training baseball (all Marcg long) wasn't the phenomenon it is now. Hotels don't need our business in March or even April. So if we're going to get sf/f fans a reasonable hotel rate the industry forces us into May or June. The year we were in June we had a low attendance and getting speakers to visit from out of town was more difficult. So, May it is and near Mother's Day works best right now.
As to the price of attending it is economy of scale. Phoenix Comic Con is new on the scene, but gets thousands of people, at $30 per. LepreCon is celebrating its 36th anniversary this year, but only gets hundreds. PCC's budget is huge while ours is modest. They have the funds to pay to bring big name media & other pros, we don't. Our Guests-of-Honor only get transportation, accommodations, per diem for food. Many of theirs get honorariums / speaking fees in addition. We can't compete on that level.
As to your concerns regarding Programming I must direct you to our Chair who runs the convention. You already know the email address :-)
Mike Willmoth
Chairman of the Board
Leprecon Inc
An Arizona Non-Profit Corporation
Thanks for the feedback, Mike. Its much appreciated. I'm hoping for a great show on all fronts.
ReplyDeleteAs for the programming concerns, I'm not sure what to say. We made several attempts (both by phone and email)at contact and were lost between the cracks, it seems.
As for the cost of the event, I certainly understand the rationale behind it. My concerns stemmed from the numerous students would like to have attended, but simply could not due to the price concern. With connections into the education world, I have no doubt I would be able to draw a fairly large number of students to events like this if there was perhaps a "student rate" that might encourage their attendance. Catching early interest like this with a young crowd might help bolster numbers for years to come.
As I said, I'm looking forward to a good show, and maybe next year our group will have the opportunity to have a larger presence.