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MiDFur 2012 review (at last)
13 years ago
General
I'll try to keep this as succinct as I can. =^_^=
MiDFur 2012 ran from Tuesday 4th to Saturday 8th of December, making it five full days of convention. However, as part of the staff, it started a lot sooner for me. As director of Exhibitions, I was in charge of the Dealers Den, the Art Show, and the Charity Auction. Thankfully, for the latter two, I had lieutenants this year - Durin for the art show, and Kashim for the charity auction. I sure needed them, because this year's con has grown so much more than last years. Anyone who has had a hand in running a con knows that a lot of preparation goes into it long before the event, so I was pretty much prepared on the Monday when I loaded up my car with all the equipment that I needed. I arrived at the venue around ten and met up with a number of others who had already arrived. Much time was spent unloading the equipment and helping with other preparations before I rendezvoused with the other heads of department and special guests to go check out the new venue for the next convention - the Melbourne Exhibition & Convention Centre. After that, it was a trip to Jenner's place for a barbecue dinner specially prepared by Nonna Bunny. Very enjoyable!
The real work began the next day after breakfast at the Arrow's cafeteria. The art show panels had to be assembled and we had to set up to accept the art to hang. This turned out to be more work than anticipated because we got far more than estimated. We were running out of space and the show wasn't even open yet! I had to attend a panel on the History of the Fandom, with Jenner and Steve Gallacci as my fellow panelists. It was the only panel that I attended due to the work we were doing, but after dinner we got to attend the spectacular opening ceremonies.
Wednesday was the first day for the Dealers Den, and that did not get off to a good start. When I arrived at the room where it was being held, not only weren't the tables set up, but also the previous day's stuff had not been put away. Instead of getting organised, I had to help the sole staff member clear up and set up the tables before the dealers started arriving. A couple of other people came along to help out and sped things up, but I was still putting tablecloths on the tables when the first dealers started arriving. Naturally I had not had the time to unpack any of my stuff as yet, so I had to try to do it at the same time. Temporarily lost track of the "Exhibitor" tags in the chaos, but eventually things started coming together, and we opened to the public only a few minutes behind schedule. Meanwhile, Durin was already starting to worry about how to make more room on the display boards to fit the incoming art. I had some pretty good sales of my books that day before I had to got to a Furry Hall of Fame panel. That was followed by a lavish feast at the Super Sponsor Dinner, and the evening's entertainment consisted of the recording of Anthrax's comedy DVD, and viewing of the the videos - Bitter Lake and Kaze: Ghost Warrior.
Thursday morning I met Uncle Kage in the hotel lobby, and we went off in search of an alternative place to have breakfast. I was very surprised to discover that Melbourne Central's food court does not cater to the breakfast crowd, aside from a couple of coffee shops and McDonalds. We walked further and found a cafeteria further down Swanston Street. The Dingo Discovery event was being held that morning, which of course I could not attend, but I did get to meet one before I had to go to the Dealers Den. I even got a face-lick from him! Not much to say about this day, but I did get the opportunity to get my sketch books out to get a few drawings done.
Friday saw a lot of people making their last moment purchases. The numbers in the den ebbed and flowed with the events being held elsewhere. The big success though was the art show. For the first time, we had made provision for a voice auction, and there was actually a number of people hanging around at the close to defend their bids. Five pieces eventually went to voice auction which was held later that evening in the Dealers Den after it was packed down.
Saturday was spent packing down the art show. This was complicated by people collecting their art at random times, and artists picking up their unsold works and the money they had earned on the sold items. Meanwhile I was preparing for the Charity Auction. Kashim had done a Powerpoint of all the items, and I made sure that everything was in order before the event. Then it was a matter of taking it all out to the stage in the main hall and ensuring that everything ran smoothly. We ended up with a record amount and, together with the other fund-raising efforts, raised over 13 thousand dollars for the Dingo Discovery Centre. The closing ceremony was held after dinner, and featured a fantastic performance by Laserman. To facilitate this, we had fogging machines, but to use them, we had to arrange to have the smoke detectors shut off. Unfortunately the venue failed to turn them all off, and when the fog made it into adjacent rooms, it set off the fire alarm, and we had to be evacuated from the the hotel. Our closing events were very much disrupted, but at least we had footpathcon to remember! The last of the pack-down was completed and equipment transferred to my car once again. I was ready to collapse, but instead I had a shower and change of clothes, and went back to have a drink with staff and special guests. It was a good way to end the con and the day.
I had a brief sleep-in on Sunday morning. Hung about a while to see if I could help others pack up before Neelix (my hotel roomie) and I went to Minotaur Books to look for books and comics. Then I drove him home before I headed back to my place. I unpacked the car while I still had the energy, and then basically relaxed for the rest of the day. I had a bit of homework to do get the art show report done, but I did that the next day. All up, this convention was a great success for both organisers and attendees, and I am already looking forward to the next! Check out Egyptian Nights.
MiDFur 2012 ran from Tuesday 4th to Saturday 8th of December, making it five full days of convention. However, as part of the staff, it started a lot sooner for me. As director of Exhibitions, I was in charge of the Dealers Den, the Art Show, and the Charity Auction. Thankfully, for the latter two, I had lieutenants this year - Durin for the art show, and Kashim for the charity auction. I sure needed them, because this year's con has grown so much more than last years. Anyone who has had a hand in running a con knows that a lot of preparation goes into it long before the event, so I was pretty much prepared on the Monday when I loaded up my car with all the equipment that I needed. I arrived at the venue around ten and met up with a number of others who had already arrived. Much time was spent unloading the equipment and helping with other preparations before I rendezvoused with the other heads of department and special guests to go check out the new venue for the next convention - the Melbourne Exhibition & Convention Centre. After that, it was a trip to Jenner's place for a barbecue dinner specially prepared by Nonna Bunny. Very enjoyable!
The real work began the next day after breakfast at the Arrow's cafeteria. The art show panels had to be assembled and we had to set up to accept the art to hang. This turned out to be more work than anticipated because we got far more than estimated. We were running out of space and the show wasn't even open yet! I had to attend a panel on the History of the Fandom, with Jenner and Steve Gallacci as my fellow panelists. It was the only panel that I attended due to the work we were doing, but after dinner we got to attend the spectacular opening ceremonies.
Wednesday was the first day for the Dealers Den, and that did not get off to a good start. When I arrived at the room where it was being held, not only weren't the tables set up, but also the previous day's stuff had not been put away. Instead of getting organised, I had to help the sole staff member clear up and set up the tables before the dealers started arriving. A couple of other people came along to help out and sped things up, but I was still putting tablecloths on the tables when the first dealers started arriving. Naturally I had not had the time to unpack any of my stuff as yet, so I had to try to do it at the same time. Temporarily lost track of the "Exhibitor" tags in the chaos, but eventually things started coming together, and we opened to the public only a few minutes behind schedule. Meanwhile, Durin was already starting to worry about how to make more room on the display boards to fit the incoming art. I had some pretty good sales of my books that day before I had to got to a Furry Hall of Fame panel. That was followed by a lavish feast at the Super Sponsor Dinner, and the evening's entertainment consisted of the recording of Anthrax's comedy DVD, and viewing of the the videos - Bitter Lake and Kaze: Ghost Warrior.
Thursday morning I met Uncle Kage in the hotel lobby, and we went off in search of an alternative place to have breakfast. I was very surprised to discover that Melbourne Central's food court does not cater to the breakfast crowd, aside from a couple of coffee shops and McDonalds. We walked further and found a cafeteria further down Swanston Street. The Dingo Discovery event was being held that morning, which of course I could not attend, but I did get to meet one before I had to go to the Dealers Den. I even got a face-lick from him! Not much to say about this day, but I did get the opportunity to get my sketch books out to get a few drawings done.
Friday saw a lot of people making their last moment purchases. The numbers in the den ebbed and flowed with the events being held elsewhere. The big success though was the art show. For the first time, we had made provision for a voice auction, and there was actually a number of people hanging around at the close to defend their bids. Five pieces eventually went to voice auction which was held later that evening in the Dealers Den after it was packed down.
Saturday was spent packing down the art show. This was complicated by people collecting their art at random times, and artists picking up their unsold works and the money they had earned on the sold items. Meanwhile I was preparing for the Charity Auction. Kashim had done a Powerpoint of all the items, and I made sure that everything was in order before the event. Then it was a matter of taking it all out to the stage in the main hall and ensuring that everything ran smoothly. We ended up with a record amount and, together with the other fund-raising efforts, raised over 13 thousand dollars for the Dingo Discovery Centre. The closing ceremony was held after dinner, and featured a fantastic performance by Laserman. To facilitate this, we had fogging machines, but to use them, we had to arrange to have the smoke detectors shut off. Unfortunately the venue failed to turn them all off, and when the fog made it into adjacent rooms, it set off the fire alarm, and we had to be evacuated from the the hotel. Our closing events were very much disrupted, but at least we had footpathcon to remember! The last of the pack-down was completed and equipment transferred to my car once again. I was ready to collapse, but instead I had a shower and change of clothes, and went back to have a drink with staff and special guests. It was a good way to end the con and the day.
I had a brief sleep-in on Sunday morning. Hung about a while to see if I could help others pack up before Neelix (my hotel roomie) and I went to Minotaur Books to look for books and comics. Then I drove him home before I headed back to my place. I unpacked the car while I still had the energy, and then basically relaxed for the rest of the day. I had a bit of homework to do get the art show report done, but I did that the next day. All up, this convention was a great success for both organisers and attendees, and I am already looking forward to the next! Check out Egyptian Nights.
It was nice meeting you there.