A new conventions first year.
Marshall University sported their first pop culture event this past March 16, and let me tell ya' it made a lasting impression. We were able to attend the con, cover the event, and provide our game of Critically Absurd Werewolf in Drinko throughout the convention. We were even able to talk with Herdcon staff on the event for now and whats to come. For now we'll spill the beans on what we thought on the convention.
The first year of a convention is never easy or an explosion of achievement, Marshall however has pulled it off in our opinion, Herdcon made a lasting impression on vendors and Game Masters throughout. Students and anyone under 18 were free otherwise a $5 entry so the con was not difficult to get into nor costly. The convention though was spread out a bit farther than what most are used to but was keeped together very well, being it was supplied with ample signs and directions of where certain events, games, and vendors were. Herdcon did not fall short of activities, food was very much in arms reach as the main level of the con had pizza hut and other shops the MU student center had to offer and to add to that Herdcon was able to secure some food trucks to park right outside!
Final Form Fusion was among one of the many events/panels Herdcon had to offer. They always draw a crowd when they go to conventions, as they should their dances are mesmerizing. Bands were playing directly behind the student center and Star Wars groups such as the 501st Legion were in company at Herdcon they were interacting and putting on shows for the convention, its a place to be for Star Wars fans. Below the student center were the Table tops and group gaming areas. A large variety of games from magic to the huge table requiring Warhammer. Multiple groups were stationed by to show off and teach how to play their games, free to those who wished to take table top gaming to the next level.
Luckily we were able to talk to Michelle Alford, Library IT Consultant Sr at Marshall University. We spoke about some questions about herndon.
Critically Absurd- "How does the staff of HerdCon feel the reception was by the public?"
Michelle - "For the first year, I feel that HerdCon went wonderfully. We had a steady stream of people throughout the day. I spoke with several people and was pleased to hear that they all had positive things to say and were enjoying the variety of activities and events we had."
Critically Absurd- "Any idea of how many people attended this first year?"
Michelle- "I don’t have the raw numbers yet...I would guess we had 800 or so attend."
Critically Absurd- "How was the vendor seeking process and getting others onboard?"
Michelle- "Vendor seeking effort wasn’t bad at all. We had two organizers from WillCon who graciously provided suggestions, which gave us a decent starting point. I’m also familiar with several area artists who specialize is geeky artwork, so we made sure to contact them as well. We took our business cards to several other conventions and events to pass out to vendors, and we pulled some through social media posts. I think the hardest part was having to turn away last minute vendor requests."
Critically Absurd- "How do you think special guests and vendors felt on the convention?"
Michelle- "I think early on several of the larger vendors were wary of the fact we were a first year con, but many took a chance on us and most were pleasantly surprised by the turn out and their on site sales. Most have already asked to notified as soon as our 2020 vendor registration goes live."
Critically Absurd- "How do you think Hercon will do next year and are there any plans?"
Michelle- "I really feel that next year could be great. We already have dates reserved for the venue and will start meeting for 2020 planning soon. We’ve included an extra day on our reservation with the hopes of making next year’s event a full two days. This will depend greatly on how things such as our sponsorships and volunteers go. Expect to see more amazing panels, interactive events, vendors, and more. We plan to continue adding both fun and educational programming to the event. Keep an eye out on our Facebook page for updates throughout the year."
Critically Absurd- "Was there anything that couldn't happen this year but are planned for the future?"
Michelle- "We really wanted to do a small robotics exhibition this year with the area high school teams, but unfortunately, we just could not get that nailed down. We are already talking about remedying that for 2020 and hope to have area schools on site at least one day for an exhibition match of some sort."
Critically Absurd- "Any word on how the gaming areas went?"
Michelle- "From all that I saw and have been told things went went with the gaming areas overall. I’ve spoken to a few folks that got their first ever DnD experience at HerdCon which is exciting to me. It sounds like the morning was a bit sparse but that’s not uncommon with a con. Our retro video games area stayed busy, with original Duck Hunt bring the most popular game of the day. The Smash Bros. tournament started off a little slow but ended up with a packed house a little after lunch."
Critically Absurd- "How did you feel we performed, anything you want us to do next year?"
Michelle- "We LOVED having Critically Absurd TV on site and would love to have you back next year as well. Thank you for doing some giveaways with us this year and I hope that we can do more in the coming year to help promote you and HerdCon."
Critically Absurd- "Will HerdCon be attending any cons during the rest of 2019?"
Michelle- "We certainly hope to. It’s a little early in our planning, but we were so honored to have several areas cons take us under their wings, allow us to setup tables at their cons, and who came to HerdCon and helped create the awesome inclusive and friendly environment that made Saturday so much fun. We meet up next week to review this year’s event and start talking about our planning schedule for 2020."
Go ahead and save the dates for March 13-14 2020. It’s a Friday and Saturday. Hopefully we will be getting some surveys out to social media soon to ask attendees what they liked best about HerdCon and what they hope to see in the future."
2020 Herdcon a two day event?? THAT'S AWESOME, SO MUCH MORE ROOM FOR ACTIVITIES! We at Critically Absurd TV are very excited of a 2 day or even a 1 day HerdCon for 2020 and we will be there! We hope everyone had a blast at herd con and that this article a great read for you. Be sure to mark your calendars and be read y to attend next year!
10/10 would recommend
-Brandon
Comments