Florida Con

[Jarrod]

Hello everyone..

I am currently thinking about starting a new Con in the Orlando area starting in 2010. Already working on a new Who con in the area for 2009, 2010 is as soon as it is possible for me to get it launched. Just curious as to if there would be an interest if I were to try and get one off the ground.

Feedback Welcomed

Jarrod

[griffindorgirl]

Sounds intresting. I have been to several non sci fi cons in the area. There are alot of great hotels that have the space for a con. I love Walt Disney World so a con in Orlando would be great. I could come in on the weekend before the con and go to Disney World. Then do the con.

[Arctic Goddess]

Hello everyone..

I am currently thinking about starting a new Con in the Orlando area starting in 2010. Already working on a new Who con in the area for 2009, 2010 is as soon as it is possible for me to get it launched. Just curious as to if there would be an interest if I were to try and get one off the ground.

Feedback Welcomed

Jarrod

That's a very lofty goal. It is also a very expensive one. Can you cover the cost of the venue if people don't buy enough tickets? Can you cover the talent's wages?

[Kett1701]

Hello everyone..

I am currently thinking about starting a new Con in the Orlando area starting in 2010. Already working on a new Who con in the area for 2009, 2010 is as soon as it is possible for me to get it launched. Just curious as to if there would be an interest if I were to try and get one off the ground.

Feedback Welcomed

Jarrod

Aren't there existing SciFi conventions already in the Orlando area? If so, it's really not cool to put another convention into the backyard of an existing convention without working things out with the one that's already there.

I've been the Con Chair of Shore Leave, based in Baltimore. We co-exist peacefully with Farpoint - which is also a Media SciFi con by making sure that we are spaced far enough away from each other timewise as to not harm the attendance of either convention.
We also co-exist with Balticon (literary SciFi) and Horrorfind (Horror) by respecting the different audiences that we each have and not crossing into each other's genres.

You really have to take a look at a lot of different things before deciding to put on a convention.

1) Do you have enough financing and are you willing to lose every penny? 2) Do you have enough staff to pull it off?
3) Do you have prior experience working other people's conventions so that you know what to expect?
4) Have you checked out location pricing? Orlando is a big vacation-destination and I'm sure that many locations are booked well in advance and are pricey at certain times of the year.

If the answer to any of these questions is "No" then my advice is to not do it. Volunteer to work at someone else's shows while you gain the experience that you need in order to put together an organization and financing to do this.

Kett

[Jarrod]

Aren't there existing SciFi conventions already in the Orlando area? If so, it's really not cool to put another convention into the backyard of an existing convention without working things out with the one that's already there.

I've been the Con Chair of Shore Leave, based in Baltimore. We co-exist peacefully with Farpoint - which is also a Media SciFi con by making sure that we are spaced far enough away from each other timewise as to not harm the attendance of either convention.
We also co-exist with Balticon (literary SciFi) and Horrorfind (Horror) by respecting the different audiences that we each have and not crossing into each other's genres.

You really have to take a look at a lot of different things before deciding to put on a convention.

1) Do you have enough financing and are you willing to lose every penny? 2) Do you have enough staff to pull it off?
3) Do you have prior experience working other people's conventions so that you know what to expect?
4) Have you checked out location pricing? Orlando is a big vacation-destination and I'm sure that many locations are booked well in advance and are pricey at certain times of the year.

If the answer to any of these questions is "No" then my advice is to not do it. Volunteer to work at someone else's shows while you gain the experience that you need in order to put together an organization and financing to do this.

Kett

There are no fan based Media conventions in the area. Other than the two large signing shows FX and Megacon. All of the other sci fi conventions are Literary.

I have been in convention services dept for for one of the large theme park resorts for several years now. I know what it takes to put on a good con here in the Orlando area.

The answer to all of those other questions is "Yes". I am only asking the open forum here to get the interest level of a new Stargate event on the East Coast.

[Kett1701]

There are no fan based Media conventions in the area. Other than the two large signing shows FX and Megacon. All of the other sci fi conventions are Literary.
I have been in convention services dept for for one of the large theme park resorts for several years now. I know what it takes to put on a good con here in the Orlando area.
The answer to all of those other questions is "Yes". I am only asking the open forum here to get the interest level of a new Stargate event on the East Coast.

Even though they are Pro shows, they are still shows that are already established and cover SciFi Media programs. In the spirit of cooperation you should still try to establish relations with them and stay as far away from their established dates as you can.

While working convention services for a large theme park does give you a leg up on other first-timers -- it is not the same thing as having actually worked on a committee that was putting on a SciFi Media convention.
Now, you may very well have an organization of fellow fans behind you with experience to help you pull this off. It's been done. However, I have known too many people that lost their shirts because they tried to start too big and couldn't survive when the expected attendance didn't materialize. I've even seen it happen to experienced people that had been on the convention circuit for years and figured they knew enough to keep it from happening to them.
If you do go forward -- your first step is to figure out how much money you have to spend and then stay within those boundaries. Don't assume that you'll make enough thru pre-reg to pay for more -- that's the most common mistake. Set your budget for whatever you have to start out with. Then, if you make money that's your new starting point for the following year.

One other thing to keep in mind -- Creation Entertainment -- whether you love them or hate them -- holds the license to Stargate. Legally, they are the only convention allowed to call themselves a Stargate convention.
Creation did the same thing with Star Trek. Star Trek conventions started in 1972, but once Creation paid for the licensing fees -- no other convention was allowed to call themselves a Star Trek convention. Creation is THE Star Trek Convention. Luckily, my convention had long since expanded to being a SciFi Media Convention, but still ---

As for finding out about interest in Orlando - I don't know that this is the best way to find those people. The people on these boards can be from pretty much anywhere in the world.
Do you have a local mailing list or email list? You'd need that anyway in order to reach the right people with your fliers. Send out a postage paid mailer and an email burst and ask the potential attendees in your local area. That's also a good way to find your volunteers that would be working the show for you.

Kett