Gatecon VS Official Stargate Convention

[Shivan]

What is the difference? I've been hearing about Gatecon and don't know much about it at all.

Is it JUST for Stargate? And which one would you guys rather go to if you got to choose and pick one? I recently just got back from the Official Stargate Convention in Chicago, Illinois and had a blast. It was the best damn convention ever.

So? Anyone want to help me out here, what is Gatecon and which is better?

The Official SG:1 Convention

or

Gatecon 200X

[Skydiver]

my personal preference is gatecon. I have never been to a creation con. However, among all my friends, i've never heard anything really positive about them other than 'if you buy a photo ticket, you'll get your photo' or other such things.

gatecon is fan run. the C-4 don't make any money off this puppy. and all the profits go to Make A Wish (the studio's charity of choice)

yes, it's not the most organized con out there. yes, it's staffed 100% by volunteers (with the exception of mgm required security officers)
but each year, it's more a gathering of friends than a group of attendees.

i've gone 4 of 5 years. by now, i recognize many attendees by face, if not by name. we get together, have fun. it's a rather relaxed atmosphere.

yeah, you do have to pay to get in, but it's also not a 'x hundred to get in the door, x more for autos, x more for photos, x more for this, x more for that' which is how some cons are.

My persnal preference will always be fan run cons. they're run (for the most part) by folks that are doing it to do it, not to see how much money they can make.

gatecon can be rather personal, in the vein that folks know each other. You're not just a badge number or name.

Like i said, it's not perfect. THings have beenmessed up, things have gone wrong. Tempers have gotten short, but at the end of the day, gatecon is a few hundred friends making a yearly trip to spen a long weekend together

Official cons, pay mgm for that word. They shell out however much to be 'official'. And many of them are for profit organizations.

for me, if i'm gonna shell out the money, i like the fact that the proceeds to to a charity instead of into a coroporation's pocket. They get enough as it is

[debskec]

First off, glad to hear you enjoyed the con in Chicago, I was there as well!

I've been to a bunch of creation conventions for a couple different shows over the years and went to my first Gatecon this July. I expected Gatecon to be the same as the other cons I'd been to. You go to see the actors, hopefully meet some people to hang out with, get autos/photos, then go home. End of story. Gatecon was so much more than that. If I am able to go back next year, it will be to see all the friends I made. To hang out till random hours of the morning with people from all over the world (and whatever actors are still roaming the halls!). And to celebrate this crazy show that has brought us all together in one of the most beautiful cities I have ever visited.

I suppose that sounds a bit hokey, huh? I mean, things did go wrong, tempers can flare at times, and not everyone can always be happy. (Which is why theres a bar in the hotel!) And as skydiver said, I'd rather my money went to charity than a company. Creation, and other industry-run cons, do have their pluses... but gatecon is an experience all in it's own. And in my opinion, definately worth the trip.

[Shivan]

Well, You are wrong to think all the money Creation makes goes towards their pockets. They also give to the Make A Wish foundation. They have auctions and silent auctions to raise money which ALL of it goes towards the Make A Wish foundation. Also they allow other foundations to be a part of the show if they wish.

So...

But I haven't ever been to a Gatecon, so I myself can't say which is better, is there anyone here who has gone to both? And for the last time, is Gatecon a Stargate Exclusive?

I would also like to add that THIS IS THE FIRST Official Stargate Con. And I was a part of the Gold Members, which with them you get to go to the special breakfast and the desert party and happy hour. And If I return next year I know some of the people I met will be there again. So I am pretty sure that you can make friends at ANY con. And I made friends in this one, It will be great to see peole I saw at this years show next year. It just takes time to build up.

[Gategirl]

I was wondering the same thing Shivan. We had a BLAST at the Chicago con. And from what I have heard, Gatecon is even better. We are hoping to attend next year. Thing is, I don't know where to find information about Gatecon. Like how to buy tickets, how much are the tickets, when is it, where is it, what actors will be attending? etc. etc.....I'm sure this info would be hard to come by for 2005 seeing as how 2004 just happened but as soon as anyone knows something I would appreciate the heads up!

I am the one with the Stargate obsession, yet after this past weekend it is my husband who can't wait till next year! LOL
We also made a few friends at this con. SG fans are so nice!

Oh...LOL...I wanted to mention that after bragging about our trip so much, I got my grandmother to watch Stargate!!! Better watch out or we'll be bringing her with us the the con!! LOL

[Shivan]

Gategirl - Were you a Gold Member?

As long as Amanda Tapping is going to be at next years Official Stargate Convention then I will be there. I think I have heard that there are more people at Gatecon but seriously, with more people comes more frustration. Less people = the actual chance of getting close to the people you have grown to love.

Next year though my friends are taking a plane, it took us 10 hours from where we live to get to Chicago.

[debskec]

I apologzie, you're right, not all of creation's money went to the company. I had forgotten about the auctions they held. I was in and out all weekend.

Yes, gatecon is strictly stargate. And I didn't mean to imply that you couldn't make friends at offical cons, I just never really had. I also had never traveled to a con before, since I live in Chicago many things come to us. So I guess it was a different experience.

Either way do what makes you happiest. Some prefer fan run cons, others don't. After attending both, I can say I prefer the fan-run. (Though that obviously didn't stop me from attending an offical one this past weekend.)

[debskec]

Thing is, I don't know where to find information about Gatecon. Like how to buy tickets, how much are the tickets, when is it, where is it, what actors will be attending? etc. etc.....I'm sure this info would be hard to come by for 2005 seeing as how 2004 just happened but as soon as anyone knows something I would appreciate the heads up!

The gatecon website is www.gatecon.com. The info from 2004 is still up, but you can use that as a reference till the new info is created and posted.

[Shivan]

It just seems to me that Gatecon would be a big mess, I looked at the info for this years Gatecon and damn. They must have things going every which way. Are the lines big when waiting for signatures? At the Chicago Convention I was sitting in row G. And I know rows A-H was all Gold. And Gold always went first. It wasn't too bad of a wait, once you got in the line things moved fast.

Also do you get to go to special things like the Breakfast and have the actors walk around to each table and shake your hands and carry on conversation? Tom Mcbeth actually sit at every table and took pictures at the Desert Party. And Amanda Tapping and Christopher Judge walked around and met everyone and talked to them and allowed pictures as well.

Also funny story-
I was sitting on the middle table at the breakfast gettogether, and at the table beside us someone gave Christopher some gum, well when he got to our table(1 table over) he was meeting me first and he put the game in my empty water glass. I did'nt care about the gum too much, I'm not a freak like that, some of my friends were though. Thing is, the other people on our table sit around waiting for us to leave to take the gum. So we ended up taking it anyways.

I don't have it here, my friends are keeping it. But I just though I would share that.

Don't have anything of Amanda's.
She did however, personalize my autograph to my name.

[debskec]

It just seems to me that Gatecon would be a big mess, I looked at the info for this years Gatecon and damn. They must have things going every which way.

Yeah, things can get a little crazy. Passes/tickets do come in levels like at the offical con. I had a super pass, which is equivilent to the gold pass creation had. they also had a lower-level weekend pass and day passes. Photos and autos were done by pass number, lowest number first...etc. Yes, lines did get long. Patience was definately necessary, but I think it depends on the person. Many people chose to wait in the hallways until their group was called. I had a high pass number, so sat out by the pool reading, much more relaxing.

As far as comparing access to the actors and different events taking place... it's just different. Did they have breakfasts like the offical one did? No. But there were cocktail parties. Theres also an independent cocktail party hosted the night before the con that many of the actors go to. The auctions at gatecon are two or more hour actor hosted events that get crazy! I was lifted up in the air twice by dougie arthurs in the middle of the room.

As far as personal time with the actors, there are usually auctions held before the con starts for different things, chris had a lunch, amanda and jr had a walk w/ their dogs, stuff like that. Granted, only a handful of people get to go to those. But they all walk around during the weekend talking to people. Jason Schomberg (Dr. Rothman) sat with us by the pool and had a beer while taking a break from pictures. Most of the guys stay late after the day is over and can be found in the bar talking with fans and taking pictures. Yes, gatecon is larger, but some person time with the actors can definately be found.

[Gategirl]

Gategirl - Were you a Gold Member?

No. Husband and I had preferred Saturday. Can't afford 6 hr drive plus hotel plus $360 x 2. Now for Gatcon 05, we'll start saving now! LOL

Thank you debskec for the link! Can't believe I didn't know about that one! LOL

Speaking of more people, there were 660 ppl there on Sat. Any estimate on how many people go to Gatecon? Maybe they have that at the website..I'll check it out.

[debskec]

Speaking of more people, there were 660 ppl there on Sat. Any estimate on how many people go to Gatecon? Maybe they have that at the website..I'll check it out.

The day Michael, Amanda and Chris were there, I think there were just over 700 with all the different types of passes. I'm pretty sure, anyway. You'd have to ask a gatecon rep for an exact number.

[Skydiver]

there are different passes. Super pass gets the first 500 or so more privileges. such as 'guaranteeed' autos and pictures (with whatever actors are available) it gets you entrance into the cocktail party, a disco friday night (a first for this year) and some other things.

the next level down was superquads which got you into the talks and second dibs on pics and autos

last down was day passes, which basically got you in the door.

I do feel that gatecon is more affordable. My superpass was 200ish, with pictures being extra. Autos are included in that price (with the exception of actors that jsut showed up, weren't getting paid and charged for thier autos)

I had to pay for my pictures, 25 for the 'big 3' 15 for the others....which is how it's always been done.

Not having been to a creation or other professional con, i can't really say which is 'better'

for me? I prefer the less regimented aspect of a fan run con. I go there knowing that it wont' be perfect, knowing taht things happen and prepared to go with the flow

There's another fan run con, the Weekend with Amanda that's this comign feb in teh UK. I can't afford to go this year, but i hope to in 2006, presuming there is a second one.

I personally, would rather go to a smaller con that is fan run than a large professional one.

again,your mileage may vary. different people like different things

[The Kit Kat Lady]

I can't compare Gatecon to a Creation event as I haven't been to an official event (yet!). Gatecon 2004 was my first time to this event, but I have been to several UK weekend events over the last couple of years and could therefore compare the two.

In some respects I was disappointed with Gatecon, and in others I wasn't. Here are my personal points on Gatecon/UK events:

I had heard that it was quite a small event, no more than 450 attendees (on average), rather than the usual 700-800 in the UK, so I was looking forward to something that was a little smaller. 2004 unfortunately was very similar to the UK events (which I know are much smaller than the Creation cons) and there were times when I felt that neither the hotel or organisers quite knew how to cope with something that had increased in size by more than 200 people since the previous year.

Cons are about queuing and it is generally where you meet some terrific people. The queues started quite early in the morning, and as per usual, things ran late which left us standing around getting in everyone's way. At the end of the morning's talks we were then kicked out of the room for the air con unit to calm down (or something like that) and we had to queue again. UK hotels seem to have different systems as we can usually stay in the main hall all day.

The main talk on the Saturday was a first time at any con - Amanda, Michael and Chris on stage together doing a Q&A session. This meant that the queues to get front seats started again at around 10.30am for a talk that didn't start until 1.00pm which was stupid as it meant that you would miss the majority of the morning's talks if you wanted anything remotely decent.

Now the good stuff. With Vancouver being the home city for the majority of the cast it generally means that they are more relaxed because they haven't had hours of travelling and jet lag to get over. Whilst the actors are generally only there for one or two days of the con rather than the whole weekend (although some were there every day), they made up for that by being wilder in the auctions and louder - if that's possible. The UK events quite often has the actors auctioning items from the stage rather than coming out into the audience like they do at Gatecon.

Again, it being local they have better access to props, photos and costumes for auctioning off, generally raising lots of money for charity in the process. It being in Vancouver also means that you can pretty much ignore the guest list, because the actors quite often bring their friends with them who stay for the weekend. Unexpected guests this year included Brent Stait, Jason Schombing, James Robbins, Dan Shea and a last minute appearance (literally) by Peter Williams - these on top of a list of names that had already started with about 15 attendees.

I love the UK events, and they are much easier for me to get to (living in England if you hadn't guessed) and I will continue to attend them for a while longer. Would I do Gatecon again - if I could afford the cost of travel, and had the holiday to spare I would go again in a heartbeat.

Vancouver is a beautiful city, filled with friendly, accommodating people. The added bonus is that it hosts what is probably the biggest Stargate convention in the world (guest-wise) every year.

Sorry for the long post!

Elaine

[ShadowMaat]

I find fan-run cons a lot more personable and fun to be at. Sure, they may not be as well organized as the "official" cons, but they make up for it with enthusiasm. I also appreciate that fan-run cons actually know the matierial- they're fans of the show, they know the actors and a lot of them know some of the fans, too. For people at the official cons, it's just a job- they could be herding Gaters or Trekkies or Scapers and it wouldn't make any difference to them... assuming they even knew the difference between those fandoms (or knew the terms). Maybe it's a small thing, but I like to know that the people behind the scenes actually CARE- about the show, about the guests and fans, about any problems that arise...

I've only been to one or two official conventions (one of which was a Creation XF) and I wasn't keen on either of them. They felt impersonal and the people in charge weren't very knowledgable beyond the rote facts about the show(s) which they probably had to memorize (or learned in self-defense). The Creation XF con was terrible. Poorly organized, poorly advertised (they were handing out flyers on the street trying to get people to come in) and I spent the entire time feeling as if I were being herded like a sheep.

Official cons are great if that's the only way you can see a con, and goodness knows you're at least going to have an impressive guest list, but I'll stick with the fan cons, thanks.