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Answers to questions about starting a convention in Iowa
9 years ago
It has come to my attention there are a number of people who are concerned about me starting a convention. Yes, this is a big undertaking. Yes, there will be lots of stress along the way. Yes, I will probably have a lot more patience by the end Before anyone starts to think I am coming off as flippant let me say I can see there is a lot of hard work ahead and no its not going to be a picnic by any means. I’m sure I’ll get agitated at times, histrionic, overbearing, etc.
I’ll slide right into the meat and potatoes of the matter at hand. So what makes me different from every other fur with the aspirations to take on the world and fasten down a convention in the great corn state of Iowa? Let’s run through a list, shall we?
Q: “First and foremost, where are you getting the funding for this venture?”
A: The funding for this until I get can get 501c7 status approved is coming from my own extra income. After that I hope to host bowling events some picnics. I of course will leave June for Nbowa to host StormCon. The budget I am shooting for by the time the weekend I want for the con rolls around (both money spent by that time and any money leftover) is around $8000. This number was suggested to me by Path Hyena, chair of Texas Furry Feista. Over the course of two years it is reasonable to accrue this amount of money.
Q: “Alright, well then where do you hope to host this? Surely you must have a few places in mind?”
A: Right now it is between two locations that both offer perks the other one does not directly have. First on the list is the hotel where Anime Iowa is hosted over in Coralville, Iowa. That hotel already can host a large number of people for a convention so there is that. Also, people seem to gravitate towards the eastern side of the state. The second hotel is the Doubletree by the Des Moines airport. While have some of the most delicious cookies on earth, it is close to an airport if the con were ever to get to the point where people wanted to fly to the hotel. I may research others if those two don’t work.
Q: “Ok, those both sound like reasonable hotels to use and I am sure you have other options at your disposal. Do you have people who can commit to being staff down the road?”
A: I have asked several good friends who also have experience in the respective areas I asked about. I know people who have management experience, graphic design (for publications) experience, etc. I have staffed for one con so far and hope to volunteer for others. I will continually check in with them and make sure they are still on board. New people may come into the fray as time goes.
Q: “Very good. Do you have a weekend in mind for this shindig?”
A: There is a gap in con midwest weekends from Mid-September (Furry Migration) to the beginning of December (Midwest Furfest). There is one con in Ohio, but for the sake of this conversation I am calling Ohio part of the northeast. I figured I would take advantage of the gap and plant the con on the third weekend of October.
Q: “Alright, you’ve satisfied my thirst for information thus far. Let’s throw a bonus question your way and see how you respond. What do you think could distinguish your con from other midwest cons?”
A: Well, I’m glad you asked that, Sonny Jim. I have a few ideas up my sleeve. The first is possibly to have a staple of the con be a cooking panel similar to that of Iron Chef. Hotels don’t usually permit opening flames, but there are any number of non-flame heating elements that can circumvent that rule. Also each team would have a staff member helping them for guidance. Also, if there were to be any kind of tournaments video game or otherwise, I would see if perhaps I could get some staff to commentate it like tournaments are done at PAX (gaming) conventions. I have other ideas bubbling around in my head, but now what fun would it be if I gave out all my ideas before I even started to get this underway?
So there you have it. All the obvious questions answered. If you still have a grave amount of doubt about my ambitions and ideas, well I don’t know what to do except answer more of your questions and try to put your minds at ease. I have the basics nailed down and all that is left to do is to make the journey to two years down the road and see where it takes me. Highs and lows, good times and bad, they all must be experienced to get to the goal.
I’ll slide right into the meat and potatoes of the matter at hand. So what makes me different from every other fur with the aspirations to take on the world and fasten down a convention in the great corn state of Iowa? Let’s run through a list, shall we?
Q: “First and foremost, where are you getting the funding for this venture?”
A: The funding for this until I get can get 501c7 status approved is coming from my own extra income. After that I hope to host bowling events some picnics. I of course will leave June for Nbowa to host StormCon. The budget I am shooting for by the time the weekend I want for the con rolls around (both money spent by that time and any money leftover) is around $8000. This number was suggested to me by Path Hyena, chair of Texas Furry Feista. Over the course of two years it is reasonable to accrue this amount of money.
Q: “Alright, well then where do you hope to host this? Surely you must have a few places in mind?”
A: Right now it is between two locations that both offer perks the other one does not directly have. First on the list is the hotel where Anime Iowa is hosted over in Coralville, Iowa. That hotel already can host a large number of people for a convention so there is that. Also, people seem to gravitate towards the eastern side of the state. The second hotel is the Doubletree by the Des Moines airport. While have some of the most delicious cookies on earth, it is close to an airport if the con were ever to get to the point where people wanted to fly to the hotel. I may research others if those two don’t work.
Q: “Ok, those both sound like reasonable hotels to use and I am sure you have other options at your disposal. Do you have people who can commit to being staff down the road?”
A: I have asked several good friends who also have experience in the respective areas I asked about. I know people who have management experience, graphic design (for publications) experience, etc. I have staffed for one con so far and hope to volunteer for others. I will continually check in with them and make sure they are still on board. New people may come into the fray as time goes.
Q: “Very good. Do you have a weekend in mind for this shindig?”
A: There is a gap in con midwest weekends from Mid-September (Furry Migration) to the beginning of December (Midwest Furfest). There is one con in Ohio, but for the sake of this conversation I am calling Ohio part of the northeast. I figured I would take advantage of the gap and plant the con on the third weekend of October.
Q: “Alright, you’ve satisfied my thirst for information thus far. Let’s throw a bonus question your way and see how you respond. What do you think could distinguish your con from other midwest cons?”
A: Well, I’m glad you asked that, Sonny Jim. I have a few ideas up my sleeve. The first is possibly to have a staple of the con be a cooking panel similar to that of Iron Chef. Hotels don’t usually permit opening flames, but there are any number of non-flame heating elements that can circumvent that rule. Also each team would have a staff member helping them for guidance. Also, if there were to be any kind of tournaments video game or otherwise, I would see if perhaps I could get some staff to commentate it like tournaments are done at PAX (gaming) conventions. I have other ideas bubbling around in my head, but now what fun would it be if I gave out all my ideas before I even started to get this underway?
So there you have it. All the obvious questions answered. If you still have a grave amount of doubt about my ambitions and ideas, well I don’t know what to do except answer more of your questions and try to put your minds at ease. I have the basics nailed down and all that is left to do is to make the journey to two years down the road and see where it takes me. Highs and lows, good times and bad, they all must be experienced to get to the goal.
omegafolf
~omegafolf
It's good you wanna try to start a con in Iowa but I think the biggest hurdle you'll have to climb is getting people to come to Iowa itself.
Keefur
~keefur
I'll note you.
