Which stargate convention to attend?

[vorlon]

Hi there,

I'm in New Zealand & I'm considering going to a Stargate convention inspired by the video piece that was gateworld's main page a while back.

However I need to know if going to Gatecon in Canada will be the best value for my money? Or perhaps I would be better off attending another convention with in the US.

I would like your opinions about this & if you can offer some of your personal experinces about which Con's you've been to, that would be great!

[Skydiver]

personally? I will only go to fan run cons. I don't care for the 'let's wring every last dollar out of the gullible fans' attitude that many professional cons have.

I also like the idea that, in the case of gatecon, all the profits to go to Make a Wish instead of some corporate bottom line

Gatecon isn't perfect, it is fan run, and so won't have the gloss and perks that a professional one may have, but fan run is my personal preference.

If gatecon is out of your reach, maybe a fan run con in the UK or Best of Both Worlds in Oz might be easier for you to reach.

[AmberLM]

I went to Gatecon this year and I'm from the UK and there were a few things that I'd say about it:

1) It was a great experience to go once and meet the actors (however briefly!)

2) It was a looooooooong wait for the three main stars (8 1/2 hours for me) and I didn't manage to get an autograph from Amanda, Chris, Michael or Teryl, however, I *did* get to speak to Teryl, Colin, JR and Don and get my photo taken with the whole cast sitting next to Amanda!!!!!!!!!! (I'd have waited in the queue for a week just to meet Amanda, just ask my dad who was there with me!)

3) Everyone was really nice to me but I spoke to a few people who were disappointed or unhappy with the weekend for one reason or another (usually *very* long queues (see 2)/no autographs/nowhere to sit and wait if you weren't staying at the hotel/issues with less-than-polite security staff, stuff like that).

I'm not saying that it was the organisers/volunteers/stars fault and there was at least one major setback, broken air con in the photo room which was a killer and I'd just like to say a HUGE thankyou to the stars who were so patient and giving of their time not to mention how nice they all were even at the end, however, I think that the organisation could be improved (perhaps by having individual photos with all of the stars instead of custom-chosen group shots. That way more people get photos with all of the stars that they want without having to mess around organising, say, Chris/Amanda/Michael whilst someone is waiting for Michael and Chris to finish so they can have Michael/Chris/Colin which would hold up the queue when someone further down the queue just wanted a photo with Colin - kinda like the autograph session was done)

So, bottom line:

Yes, go once for the experience, you'll never forget it.

Yes, go to meet up with fellow Gaters

Yes, go to support the charity (which this year was the Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Foundation [a very worthwhile charity in honour of Madison, JR Bourne's young niece] as well as having some of the 'Make-A-Wish' kids there)

Yes, go if you don't live too far away


No, don't go if you want to actually spend any reasonable amount of time talking to Amanda, Chris or Michael (I barely had chance to say 'Hi' and 'bye' to them before I was replaced by the next person in the queue - again, not their fault, everyone was being rushed through)

No, don't go if you have to travel a *long* way (say from Europe) for no other reason than to go to the con unless you're really fanatical (I already happened to be going to Vancouver at the time of the Con before I found out about it and, as big a fan as I am, I don't think I could justify the £700 16-hour round trip by plane + accommodation + $200 or so cost of the week pass or the $90 a day Day Pass for what was essentially a photo and a bit of friendly banter. My bank account isn't that big!)

I'll never forget my trip to Gatecon and I had a great time but I think from now on I'll stick to my local Cons unless I happen to be in the area already. I do think, however, if you'd have asked me *before* I'd gone I probably would have said try to get there by any means at all.

[Skydiver]

I'll never forget my trip to Gatecon and I had a great time but I think from now on I'll stick to my local Cons unless I happen to be in the area already. I do think, however, if you'd have asked me *before* I'd gone I probably would have said try to get there by any means at all.

~~~~~

you are so lucky being in the uk and having local fan run cons.

GAtecon is really my only opportunity. I live in the midwest and while there have been cons in chicago and denver, both are a full day's drive away, which is rather difficult because it turns going to a con into a 'lreally long weekend' which makes it hard to go to more than one since a person only has so much vacation time and financial freedom.

Then add to that the fact that the con tickets are rather pricey.....they're a 'once a year' type of thing (since i won't just slap it on plastic and go into debt for it <G>)

London and the area have how many sci fi cons a year????? I know i always seem to be hearing about them.

Conventions are a case where the folks on the coasts have it made and us in the middle have to make due.

One of these days that may change, but given that it's easier to get porn around here (playboy and the such) than it is to get a scifi magazine (i think 2 whole book stores in town even carry them, and they're weeks after they've come out in the uk) i don't see that changing much

[#1gatefan]

I am also trying to decide which event to go to. I live in Oklahoma and there is a Creation con in Dallas (about a 3 hour drive) or I can go to Gatecon (I would have to fly). Due to the costs of either event I will probably only get the chance to do this once and I am nervous because I am not sure which one to do. I really want the chance to meet as many of the actors as possible, but I hate the thought of going all the way to Canada and then not meeting any of them. How many people attend the events? I know that Creation has specified seating for the gold members, does Gatecon do something similar to that as well or is it first come first serve? I really appreciate any help anyone can give.