February 2019 ConTagion – Muggles Market Two – Artist Side of the Convention Hall
Picture by Erin Penn
Tomorrow would have been when ConCarolinas begins. I have the sadz. Three long days of work as an editor-writer-student-audience-fan-professional missed. I paid for the tickets as soon as they went on sale last June (as I do every year), getting them for less than the cost of attending Saturday as a last-minute walk-in. I pay early – even if I hope to qualify for a free pass .
Because conventions are expensive y’all.
And not just to me. I want ConCarolinas to keep happening, so I throw money at it. I’m not even asking for a refund. It is my local convention and fairly awesome. (If you live in the greater Charlotte area – it is COMPLETELY worth the price of door-admission.)
A couple-few years back, Kara Denison published an article of “CONVENTIONS: Where Does Your Money Go?“
I already had a fairly good feel, having run over a dozen events of varying sizes myself. But there is a level of difference between a church-sized venue and a hotel convention hall. Food restrictions, extra costs for tables, etc. I already knew that nearly all the “guests” are really attendees, having to pay for food and hotel space.
But sometimes when I see the hotel staff down on the convention level with a table selling hot dogs and soda, I get sticker shock by the food since – especially at ConCarolinas – most things are reasonably-priced. (Meaning I’m only paying $20 for something crazy instead of $40, like at a RenFair.)
Read the article. The art of event budgeting should be properly admired for everything from a small book-con put on by a local college group to Atlanta’s DragonCon (one of the largest volunteer-run functions in the country) to San Diego Comic Con (put on by professionals, and a lot of volunteers). And think about all those cancelled conventions and what the cost is going to be to the smaller (and larger) conventions. Some cons aren’t going to be returning next year. Those that do are likely to be smaller and need several years to recover.
http://karadennison.blogspot.com/2017/06/conventions-where-does-your-money-go.html?spref=fb&m=1