You could schedule exhibit tours for a couple of specific times each day,
or days (if the exhibit rotates). I could be wrong, but it seems to me that
exhibits have been static a very long time. There was a time (until just
after CC9, maybe) when exhibits rotated at least once. I had one rotation –
Friday/Saturday and Sunday/Monday, so we had two different sets of items on
display. The first rotation was fantasy/SF oriented and the second
historical. Included was a retrospective of Jennifer Ketcham’s work (which
spanned both exhibits). I had every snow queen to date on exhibit there,
IIRC.

I’ve been sad to see exhibits so reduced. Some years there haven’t been
labels for the artists or the works, and we’ve had to guess who did what.

Exhibit set-up/tear down is a lot of work, especially if the exhibit
changes, but I think it’s worth the time if you can get enough folks to
agree to show their stuff.

Then again, I am all about show and tell.

Betsy
—
—
—
Betsy Marks Delaney

http://www.hawkeswood.com/

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

On Fri, Jun 8, 2012 at 5:24 AM, Nora & Bruce Mai <casamai@sbcglobal.net>wrote:

> The Monday Costume-Con operations seminar track, which ran just about all
> day, was surprisingly and moderately, successful. Panels ran 30 minutes
> each, and covered topics such as running masquerades, setting the rules,
> paperwork, choosing judges, judges etiquette documentation, etc. No new
> people, but those who were on future committees found the discussions of
> interest. So, this track seemed to work.
>

the morning topics were very lightly attended, the afternoon topics had a
much more full room. It appeared to be a time-of-day thing, not the topics
themselves.

andy

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

At least for CC33, which I am programming, I will look for someone/s to
docent tours on Sat. and and on Sun. mornings. (Maybe we will have 2 of
us do it together for about an hour each time). I Can put it in as a
“regular” program item, and work with the person designated to do
Exhibits, so maybe there are some Exhibits known in advance. Knowing in
advance can make the difference between good, really informative signage,
and little to no signage, as well. If the Quilts/dolls/special contests
are exhibited in the same area, perhaps this could be included. I’d
like to include a “Novice” or “Basic” costume track, sprinkled through
out the weekend, to try to appeal to people with different skill sets. I
thought the CC just past did this well–I stopped in on several of the
“Steampunk” make it yourself workshops, and they were terrific (and quite
well-attended). And I think it gives people a nice sense of inclusion,
to be able to make some accessory that they can wear immediately.

We also did a “Mini-hat” decorating workshop at Balticon right after that
(we made up kits for $10 including a miniature hat with hair clips on it,
and various trim, tulle, decorations, and fringe, that could be hot-glued
on, and we ran out of kits! it was so popular). And for the rest of the
con, we saw various and sundry people wearing their mini-hats
everywhere–which was the best advertising ever. And many of those who
came were not really “costumers” (at least not known to our Guild
previously). (I digress only to say that people really love workshops).

Just brainstorming…..maybe the docented tour could concluded each day
with 10 mins. discussion/questions about what was displayed. i.e. How
does that [detail] get manufactured? What kind of tool is needed for
[making that element]? How do you start making a complex costume?

Yours in cosutmign,Lisa a

On Fri, 8 Jun 2012 20:04:17 -0500 “Nora & Bruce Mai”
<casamai@sbcglobal.net> writes:

> Yes! I believe we’ve talked about docented tours in the past.
> Kinda
> forgot about that suggestion. I think that would require more prep
> ahead of
> time, to be sure of what you’d be getting. Then, you have to give
> your
> docent (and you’ll probably need more than one) lead time to learn
> the stuff
> – or at least have notes to read from. This almost requires having
> a vet or
> at least someone who has costumed for many years.
>
> Bruce
>
> —–Original Message—–
> From: runacc@yahoogroups.com [mailto:runacc@yahoogroups.com] On
> Behalf Of
> lisa58@juno.com
> Sent: Friday, June 08, 2012 8:24 AM
> To: runacc@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: Re: [runacc] Costume-Con 30 Review – Runacc: Exhibits
>
> My two cents on Exhibits:
>
>
>
> I’ve often felt that Exhibits gets marginalized a little bit. I’d
> liket o
> see, at least on Sat. and Sunday of hte con, a morning docented tour
> through
> it, with a “more experienced” costumer maybe pointing out details
> that
> wouldn’t otherwise be noticed. I’d also like to see an area where
> historical or other masq. documentation could be perhaps exhibited,
> even
> looked at more closely.
>
>
> Yorus in costuming,Lisa A
>
>
>
>
> On Fri, 8 Jun 2012 07:05:05 -0500 “Nora & Bruce Mai”
> <casamai@sbcglobal.net> writes:
> > Seemed..okay given that Henry had to scramble when he was asked to
>
> > pick up for Dora when she couldn’t come. It had a few more
> historical
> > costumes than FS & F/Fantasy, but you’re really at the mercy of
> who
> > bothers to bring stuff. Henry can address this more. The number
> of
> > quilts was probably pretty good, given that they’re not costumes.
>
> > That had around a dozen, as well. And the Doll contest had a good
>
> > turnout. Space for all these was adequate.
>
>
> ————————————
>
> View the Document: http://www.Costume-Con.org/procedure/runacc/Yahoo!
> Groups
> Links
>
>
>
> —–
> No virus found in this message.
> Checked by AVG – www.avg.com
> Version: 10.0.1424 / Virus Database: 2433/5056 – Release Date:
> 06/08/12
>
>
>
> ————————————
>
> View the Document:
> http://www.Costume-Con.org/procedure/runacc/Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>

In a message dated 6/8/2012 7:05:10 AM Central Daylight Time,
casamai@sbcglobal.net writes:

> Seemed..okay given that Henry had to scramble when he was asked to pick
> up
> for Dora when she couldn’t come. It had a few more historical costumes
> than
> FS &F/Fantasy, but you’re really at the mercy of who bothers to bring
> stuff. Henry can address this more.
>
>
>

I was concerned about getting enough costumes more than a variety. At one
point before the con, I found out that my assistant, who was more of cohort,
had been working on getting outfits to display also. We had some overlap,
but some ones different from each other. There was also some vagueness in
whether someone was bring a dress form, or an outfit, or both. I tried to get
outfits from local folks, and we did get some.

I also attempted to get outfits from local Cowboy Reenactors and Native
American Dancers because I, personally, know how great their outfits are.
Unfortunately, we did not have any from them.

Henry Osier

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

At 07:05 AM 6/8/2012, you wrote:

Two Dozen Quilts

>Seemed..okay given that Henry had to scramble when he was asked to pick up
>for Dora when she couldn’t come. It had a few more historical costumes than
>FS & F/Fantasy, but you’re really at the mercy of who bothers to bring
>stuff. Henry can address this more. The number of quilts was probably
>pretty good, given that they’re not costumes. That had around a dozen, as
>well. And the Doll contest had a good turnout. Space for all these was
>adequate.

International Costumers’ Guild Archivist

http://www.costume.org/gallery2/main.php

“Those Who Fail to Learn History
Are Doomed to Repeat It;
Those Who Fail To Learn History Correctly –
Why They Are Simply Doomed.”

Achemdro’hm
“The Illusion of Historical Fact”
— C. Y. 4971

Andromeda

That’s not too surprising, I suppose. People have to drag themselves out of
bed. Wonder if there’s any way to motivate people to get to the earlier
panels?

Bruce

—–Original Message—–
From: runacc@yahoogroups.com [mailto:runacc@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of
Andrew Trembley
Sent: Saturday, June 09, 2012 9:31 AM
To: runacc@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [runacc] Costume-Con Review – Runacc: Panel Programming

On Fri, Jun 8, 2012 at 5:24 AM, Nora & Bruce Mai
<casamai@sbcglobal.net>wrote:

> The Monday Costume-Con operations seminar track, which ran just about
> all day, was surprisingly and moderately, successful. Panels ran 30
> minutes each, and covered topics such as running masquerades, setting
> the rules, paperwork, choosing judges, judges etiquette documentation,
> etc. No new people, but those who were on future committees found the
> discussions of interest. So, this track seemed to work.
>

the morning topics were very lightly attended, the afternoon topics had a
much more full room. It appeared to be a time-of-day thing, not the topics
themselves.

andy

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Release Date: 06/09/12

There were a fair number of 9:00 am panels, and I thought they were decently attended. There are so many big events, masquerades, the Fashion Show, that we must use all the time we can for panels, since there are so many time slots that cannot be scheduled. I thought that having the Con Suite sponsored with breakfasts was totally awesome, and the breakfasts were AMAZING! Well worth getting up for (esp. the crepes from the Toronto group–thank you all!).
Many of use are early risers, so having breakfast/coffee available and being able to get to panels at that hour is a real treat.
Yours in cosutming, Lisa A
Subject: RE: [runacc] Costume-Con Review – Runacc: Panel Programming
Date: Mon, 11 Jun 2012 07:22:01 -0500

That’s not too surprising, I suppose. People have to drag themselves out of
bed. Wonder if there’s any way to motivate people to get to the earlier
panels?

Bruce

—–Original Message—–
From: runacc@yahoogroups.com [mailto:runacc@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of
Andrew Trembley
Sent: Saturday, June 09, 2012 9:31 AM
To: runacc@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [runacc] Costume-Con Review – Runacc: Panel Programming

On Fri, Jun 8, 2012 at 5:24 AM, Nora & Bruce Mai
<casamai@sbcglobal.net>wrote:

> The Monday Costume-Con operations seminar track, which ran just about
> all day, was surprisingly and moderately, successful. Panels ran 30
> minutes each, and covered topics such as running masquerades, setting
> the rules, paperwork, choosing judges, judges etiquette documentation,
> etc. No new people, but those who were on future committees found the
> discussions of interest. So, this track seemed to work.
>

the morning topics were very lightly attended, the afternoon topics had a
much more full room. It appeared to be a time-of-day thing, not the topics
themselves.

andy

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Release Date: 06/09/12

————————————

View the Document: http://www.Costume-Con.org/procedure/runacc/Yahoo! Groups Links

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

This generated quite a bit of discussion among the reviewers.

Separating the Single Pattern Show from the Future Fashion Show was a good
idea, but the way it was combined with the Social was not. The theory was
the Social theme was supposed to be the whole steampunk/weird west thing.
However, there was nothing decoration-wise that would have given that idea.

(There were some people in Old West Steampunk attire, though.) I’d
volunteered to bring down my “Wild Wild West” movie banner, which was hung
at the back of the stage, but given the lack of any other decorations, it
seemed incongruous to the rest of the goings-on.

The seating was another issue. Setting up the chairs most of the available
theatre-style made for difficulty moving around the room when there’s
supposed to be a “Social” going on.

The Single Pattern was run like a formal masquerade, which didn’t help,
either. It was very regimented: the Director insisted that every entry have
some sort of explanation/text for their entry(like the Folio) and wouldn’t
take “don’t have any” for an answer. They also insisted people should show
up in the Green Room as close to 5:00 as possible (with the show at 8:00) so
that judging would be able to take place. Given the (ordinarily) simplicity
of the Show, this was overkill.

When people arrived, the Director indicated that the entrants had to go to
one location to be judged, then move to a different location for
photography. The reasoning for this was so that it was known when people
were through with both tasks. Several people were annoyed by the confusion
this engendered.

The show itself went okay, although the MC was apparently unfamiliar with
what “CC” means. He also had some problems with some pronunciations. The
judging, took way too long. I can’t remember how many awards there were,
but it probably could have used a maximum, like the Fashion Show traditional
three. The more there are, the longer the judges will deliberate.

The “Social” amounted to being part of the halftime for the show. At least
the appetizers served were good and plentiful (however, they didn’t turn up
the lights up after the show so you couldn’t read the signs identifying what
some of the less obvious ones were).

Part of the wait for judges was occupied with the “Project Costume-Con”
show/competition (patterned after the “Project Runway” show). The concept
was an interesting idea, and the participants enjoyed themselves, but for me
and the people I was sitting with, it went on way too long. For anyone who
wasn’t a fan of the show, the pacing of the presenting of the outfits and
judging dragged and didn’t make for very interesting watching. At least the
outfits were well done. Most people thought PCC worth fine-tuning &
continuing, but there was a good suggestion made that perhaps it should be
spun off as a daytime program event where people could walk in and out of
the room, rather than having a “captive audience” as it was on Friday night.

The night continued to drag on, waiting for the judges to return. People
were getting bored, despite the runway show, and the photo run. The
drawing of names for door prizes with the tickets that had been handed out
earlier in the evening should have occurred throughout the evening – not at
the end. By the time the awards were announced, it was near or past 10:30
and people were heading for the exits.

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

There appeared to be a pretty good selection of stuff for people who haven’t
been costuming as long. It would have been nice if there was more than one
book dealer, but at least that one book dealer was Janet Wilson-Anderson.
It was good to see her, considering she’d been having some serious health
issues in the past few years. Patterns of Time Looks to be a good source,
and we understand they’ll be very close to the CC31 site. From various
sources, some dealers did relatively well, but others did not sell much.
The room’s location (not being around the courtyard) probably didn’t help,
but at least it was open to the public.

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Re: the Single Pattern Director: Does the phrase “Control Freak” ring a bell? She ran roughshod over everyone who had any job function even remotely associated with the show/Social. The Social WAS set up for socializing; she is the one who forced them to reset it theater style. She also wanted to reorganize the managing of the Green Room (with limited success, as Byron wouldn’t put up with it). Tried to bully the photographer into only taking photos in run order, rather than as the contestants were ready for photographing. That’s only what I know about – I wouldn’t be surprised if she did her best to “manage” in other inapppropriate areas as well, while at the same time she neglected the more uninteresting normal duties of a masquerade director, such as familiarizing herself with the route to the stage from the Green Room. She obviously wanted this show to be about HER, not the contestants.

Tina

— In runacc@yahoogroups.com, “Nora & Bruce Mai” <casamai@…> wrote:
>
> This generated quite a bit of discussion among the reviewers.
>
>
>
> Separating the Single Pattern Show from the Future Fashion Show was a good
> idea, but the way it was combined with the Social was not. The theory was
> the Social theme was supposed to be the whole steampunk/weird west thing.
> However, there was nothing decoration-wise that would have given that idea.
>
> (There were some people in Old West Steampunk attire, though.) I’d
> volunteered to bring down my “Wild Wild West” movie banner, which was hung
> at the back of the stage, but given the lack of any other decorations, it
> seemed incongruous to the rest of the goings-on.
>
>
>
> The seating was another issue. Setting up the chairs most of the available
> theatre-style made for difficulty moving around the room when there’s
> supposed to be a “Social” going on.
>
>
>
> The Single Pattern was run like a formal masquerade, which didn’t help,
> either. It was very regimented: the Director insisted that every entry have
> some sort of explanation/text for their entry(like the Folio) and wouldn’t
> take “don’t have any” for an answer. They also insisted people should show
> up in the Green Room as close to 5:00 as possible (with the show at 8:00) so
> that judging would be able to take place. Given the (ordinarily) simplicity
> of the Show, this was overkill.
>
>
>
> When people arrived, the Director indicated that the entrants had to go to
> one location to be judged, then move to a different location for
> photography. The reasoning for this was so that it was known when people
> were through with both tasks. Several people were annoyed by the confusion
> this engendered.
>
>
>
> The show itself went okay, although the MC was apparently unfamiliar with
> what “CC” means. He also had some problems with some pronunciations. The
> judging, took way too long. I can’t remember how many awards there were,
> but it probably could have used a maximum, like the Fashion Show traditional
> three. The more there are, the longer the judges will deliberate.
>
>
>
> The “Social” amounted to being part of the halftime for the show. At least
> the appetizers served were good and plentiful (however, they didn’t turn up
> the lights up after the show so you couldn’t read the signs identifying what
> some of the less obvious ones were).
>
>
>
> Part of the wait for judges was occupied with the “Project Costume-Con”
> show/competition (patterned after the “Project Runway” show). The concept
> was an interesting idea, and the participants enjoyed themselves, but for me
> and the people I was sitting with, it went on way too long. For anyone who
> wasn’t a fan of the show, the pacing of the presenting of the outfits and
> judging dragged and didn’t make for very interesting watching. At least the
> outfits were well done. Most people thought PCC worth fine-tuning &
> continuing, but there was a good suggestion made that perhaps it should be
> spun off as a daytime program event where people could walk in and out of
> the room, rather than having a “captive audience” as it was on Friday night.
>
>
>
>
> The night continued to drag on, waiting for the judges to return. People
> were getting bored, despite the runway show, and the photo run. The
> drawing of names for door prizes with the tickets that had been handed out
> earlier in the evening should have occurred throughout the evening – not at
> the end. By the time the awards were announced, it was near or past 10:30
> and people were heading for the exits.
>
>
>
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>

I won’t comment on the person running the Single Pattern Show other than to say “I could write a book”.

However, I do want to mention that I spent about an hour decorating the room you say was not decorated. Because people always tend to take pictures of other people and not the decor, there is not much photographic evidence of it, but I have found some (if you’re interested).

We had gear collages on the walls around the room, two signs that said Wild Wild West, two signs that said Welcome to Miss Elaine’s Saloon, and little “red mountain” candle centerpieces (with blue bandanas and sheriff’s badges) on most every table.

Sorry that you missed seeing them.

We also had a few hours of ragtime & steampunk music playing quietly in the background, two costumed poker dealers (who, due to poor timing issues, sadly never got put into action), and our steampunk cake & cupcakes. Plus there were special cow napkins to accompany the food and drink.

— In runacc@yahoogroups.com, “Nora & Bruce Mai” <casamai@…> wrote:
>
> This generated quite a bit of discussion among the reviewers.
>
>
>
> Separating the Single Pattern Show from the Future Fashion Show was a good
> idea, but the way it was combined with the Social was not. The theory was
> the Social theme was supposed to be the whole steampunk/weird west thing.
> However, there was nothing decoration-wise that would have given that idea.
>
> (There were some people in Old West Steampunk attire, though.) I’d
> volunteered to bring down my “Wild Wild West” movie banner, which was hung
> at the back of the stage, but given the lack of any other decorations, it
> seemed incongruous to the rest of the goings-on.
>
>
>
> The seating was another issue. Setting up the chairs most of the available
> theatre-style made for difficulty moving around the room when there’s
> supposed to be a “Social” going on.
>
>
>
> The Single Pattern was run like a formal masquerade, which didn’t help,
> either. It was very regimented: the Director insisted that every entry have
> some sort of explanation/text for their entry(like the Folio) and wouldn’t
> take “don’t have any” for an answer. They also insisted people should show
> up in the Green Room as close to 5:00 as possible (with the show at 8:00) so
> that judging would be able to take place. Given the (ordinarily) simplicity
> of the Show, this was overkill.
>
>
>
> When people arrived, the Director indicated that the entrants had to go to
> one location to be judged, then move to a different location for
> photography. The reasoning for this was so that it was known when people
> were through with both tasks. Several people were annoyed by the confusion
> this engendered.
>
>
>
> The show itself went okay, although the MC was apparently unfamiliar with
> what “CC” means. He also had some problems with some pronunciations. The
> judging, took way too long. I can’t remember how many awards there were,
> but it probably could have used a maximum, like the Fashion Show traditional
> three. The more there are, the longer the judges will deliberate.
>
>
>
> The “Social” amounted to being part of the halftime for the show. At least
> the appetizers served were good and plentiful (however, they didn’t turn up
> the lights up after the show so you couldn’t read the signs identifying what
> some of the less obvious ones were).
>
>
>
> Part of the wait for judges was occupied with the “Project Costume-Con”
> show/competition (patterned after the “Project Runway” show). The concept
> was an interesting idea, and the participants enjoyed themselves, but for me
> and the people I was sitting with, it went on way too long. For anyone who
> wasn’t a fan of the show, the pacing of the presenting of the outfits and
> judging dragged and didn’t make for very interesting watching. At least the
> outfits were well done. Most people thought PCC worth fine-tuning &
> continuing, but there was a good suggestion made that perhaps it should be
> spun off as a daytime program event where people could walk in and out of
> the room, rather than having a “captive audience” as it was on Friday night.
>
>
>
>
> The night continued to drag on, waiting for the judges to return. People
> were getting bored, despite the runway show, and the photo run. The
> drawing of names for door prizes with the tickets that had been handed out
> earlier in the evening should have occurred throughout the evening – not at
> the end. By the time the awards were announced, it was near or past 10:30
> and people were heading for the exits.
>
>
>
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>

Greetings, all!

Up here in the area around Madison, WI, we’re trying to put together a bid
for 2016. We’re running into a problem right now concerning the hotel from
which we want to get a letter of intent. The place is perfect; size,
location, familiarity with niche cons (it hosts the feminist Sci-fi Wiscon
every year and played host to North American Disc World Con last year).

Our first correspondence with them indicated that they were very interested
and enthusiatic. This gave way to a misunderstanding that we wanted a
contract right away and they told us they couldn’t do one until a year out
from our prospective dates. When we corrected that notion and said we were
just looking for a letter that said they were interested, they came back
and said that they couldn’t host a convention that did not fill their hotel
for the weekend (360 rooms!) and were therefore no longer interested.

So, I’m looking to hear from this group about this sort of thing. In your
experience, is this a ploy to see if we are serious? Should we ask for
another face-to-face? What sort of pitfalls should we look for with them
int he future? Or should we just cut our losses and look elsewhere?

Thanks!

– Sarah Bloy
CC Madison Bid Committee Chair

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

I agree with what has been said, that the decorations, the buffet and the
“social” aspect got pretty much shovved to the background. I know that
When I first enetered the room and saw the theater seating, I wondered,
“How in the world are we supposed to mingle and socialize”. I would hate
to see the Friday night social become just another contest.

Yours in cosutmiagn,Lisa a

On Tue, 12 Jun 2012 17:13:58 -0000 “Margie” <marg1066@gmail.com> writes:

> I won’t comment on the person running the Single Pattern Show other
> than to say “I could write a book”.
>
> However, I do want to mention that I spent about an hour decorating
> the room you say was not decorated. Because people always tend to
> take pictures of other people and not the decor, there is not much
> photographic evidence of it, but I have found some (if you’re
> interested).
>
> We had gear collages on the walls around the room, two signs that
> said Wild Wild West, two signs that said Welcome to Miss Elaine’s
> Saloon, and little “red mountain” candle centerpieces (with blue
> bandanas and sheriff’s badges) on most every table.
>
> Sorry that you missed seeing them.
>
> We also had a few hours of ragtime & steampunk music playing quietly
> in the background, two costumed poker dealers (who, due to poor
> timing issues, sadly never got put into action), and our steampunk
> cake & cupcakes. Plus there were special cow napkins to accompany
> the food and drink.
>
> — In runacc@yahoogroups.com, “Nora & Bruce Mai” <casamai@…>
> wrote:
> >
> > This generated quite a bit of discussion among the reviewers.
> >
> >
> >
> > Separating the Single Pattern Show from the Future Fashion Show
> was a good
> > idea, but the way it was combined with the Social was not. The
> theory was
> > the Social theme was supposed to be the whole steampunk/weird west
> thing.
> > However, there was nothing decoration-wise that would have given
> that idea.
> >
> > (There were some people in Old West Steampunk attire, though.)
> I’d
> > volunteered to bring down my “Wild Wild West” movie banner, which
> was hung
> > at the back of the stage, but given the lack of any other
> decorations, it
> > seemed incongruous to the rest of the goings-on.
> >
> >
> >
> > The seating was another issue. Setting up the chairs most of the
> available
> > theatre-style made for difficulty moving around the room when
> there’s
> > supposed to be a “Social” going on.
> >
> >
> >
> > The Single Pattern was run like a formal masquerade, which didn’t
> help,
> > either. It was very regimented: the Director insisted that every
> entry have
> > some sort of explanation/text for their entry(like the Folio) and
> wouldn’t
> > take “don’t have any” for an answer. They also insisted people
> should show
> > up in the Green Room as close to 5:00 as possible (with the show
> at 8:00) so
> > that judging would be able to take place. Given the (ordinarily)
> simplicity
> > of the Show, this was overkill.
> >
> >
> >
> > When people arrived, the Director indicated that the entrants had
> to go to
> > one location to be judged, then move to a different location for
> > photography. The reasoning for this was so that it was known when
> people
> > were through with both tasks. Several people were annoyed by the
> confusion
> > this engendered.
> >
> >
> >
> > The show itself went okay, although the MC was apparently
> unfamiliar with
> > what “CC” means. He also had some problems with some
> pronunciations. The
> > judging, took way too long. I can’t remember how many awards
> there were,
> > but it probably could have used a maximum, like the Fashion Show
> traditional
> > three. The more there are, the longer the judges will
> deliberate.
> >
> >
> >
> > The “Social” amounted to being part of the halftime for the show.
> At least
> > the appetizers served were good and plentiful (however, they
> didn’t turn up
> > the lights up after the show so you couldn’t read the signs
> identifying what
> > some of the less obvious ones were).
> >
> >
> >
> > Part of the wait for judges was occupied with the “Project
> Costume-Con”
> > show/competition (patterned after the “Project Runway” show). The
> concept
> > was an interesting idea, and the participants enjoyed themselves,
> but for me
> > and the people I was sitting with, it went on way too long. For
> anyone who
> > wasn’t a fan of the show, the pacing of the presenting of the
> outfits and
> > judging dragged and didn’t make for very interesting watching. At
> least the
> > outfits were well done. Most people thought PCC worth fine-tuning
> &
> > continuing, but there was a good suggestion made that perhaps it
> should be
> > spun off as a daytime program event where people could walk in and
> out of
> > the room, rather than having a “captive audience” as it was on
> Friday night.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > The night continued to drag on, waiting for the judges to return.
> People
> > were getting bored, despite the runway show, and the photo run.
> The
> > drawing of names for door prizes with the tickets that had been
> handed out
> > earlier in the evening should have occurred throughout the evening
> – not at
> > the end. By the time the awards were announced, it was near or
> past 10:30
> > and people were heading for the exits.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
> >
>
>
>
>
> ————————————
>
> View the Document:
> http://www.Costume-Con.org/procedure/runacc/Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>

A few quick thoughts about the Friday Social from the top of my head, and I
am going to try not to repeat Bruce’s, which are very good.

Why Theater Seating for a Social?

Why wasn’t the Raffle used a filler during the course of the evening
instead of as an end piece?

I heard that after everything, there was a poker game happening there. But,
after everything else, I was not interested in staying longer. And why
wasn’t it going when people showed up, as it would have been in an Old West
Saloon?

General Question: When did the Friday Social become an event to get dinner
at? With a start time of 7 PM, at the earliest, shouldn’t it be time for
cocktail snacks?

Henry Osier

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

In a message dated 6/12/2012 8:04:50 AM Central Daylight Time,
tina.connell@gmail.com writes:

> Re: the Single Pattern Director: Does the phrase “Control Freak” ring a
> bell?
>
>
>

Ooh. That explains it all! Thanks, Tina!

Henry

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Tina has it right. In spades! I have nothing to add.

Elaine
Nil significat nisi oscillat!

Re: the Single Pattern Director: Does the phrase “Control Freak” ring a bell? She ran roughshod over everyone who had any job function even remotely associated with the show/Social. The Social WAS set up for socializing; she is the one who forced them to reset it theater style. She also wanted to reorganize the managing of the Green Room (with limited success, as Byron wouldn’t put up with it). Tried to bully the photographer into only taking photos in run order, rather than as the contestants were ready for photographing. That’s only what I know about – I wouldn’t be surprised if she did her best to “manage” in other inapppropriate areas as well, while at the same time she neglected the more uninteresting normal duties of a masquerade director, such as familiarizing herself with the route to the stage from the Green Room. She obviously wanted this show to be about HER, not the contestants.

Tina

— In runacc@yahoogroups.com, “Nora & Bruce Mai” <casamai@…> wrote:
>
> This generated quite a bit of discussion among the reviewers.
>
>
>
> Separating the Single Pattern Show from the Future Fashion Show was a good
> idea, but the way it was combined with the Social was not. The theory was
> the Social theme was supposed to be the whole steampunk/weird west thing.
> However, there was nothing decoration-wise that would have given that idea.
>
> (There were some people in Old West Steampunk attire, though.) I’d
> volunteered to bring down my “Wild Wild West” movie banner, which was hung
> at the back of the stage, but given the lack of any other decorations, it
> seemed incongruous to the rest of the goings-on.
>
>
>
> The seating was another issue. Setting up the chairs most of the available
> theatre-style made for difficulty moving around the room when there’s
> supposed to be a “Social” going on.
>
>
>
> The Single Pattern was run like a formal masquerade, which didn’t help,
> either. It was very regimented: the Director insisted that every entry have
> some sort of explanation/text for their entry(like the Folio) and wouldn’t
> take “don’t have any” for an answer. They also insisted people should show
> up in the Green Room as close to 5:00 as possible (with the show at 8:00) so
> that judging would be able to take place. Given the (ordinarily) simplicity
> of the Show, this was overkill.
>
>
>
> When people arrived, the Director indicated that the entrants had to go to
> one location to be judged, then move to a different location for
> photography. The reasoning for this was so that it was known when people
> were through with both tasks. Several people were annoyed by the confusion
> this engendered.
>
>
>
> The show itself went okay, although the MC was apparently unfamiliar with
> what “CC” means. He also had some problems with some pronunciations. The
> judging, took way too long. I can’t remember how many awards there were,
> but it probably could have used a maximum, like the Fashion Show traditional
> three. The more there are, the longer the judges will deliberate.
>
>
>
> The “Social” amounted to being part of the halftime for the show. At least
> the appetizers served were good and plentiful (however, they didn’t turn up
> the lights up after the show so you couldn’t read the signs identifying what
> some of the less obvious ones were).
>
>
>
> Part of the wait for judges was occupied with the “Project Costume-Con”
> show/competition (patterned after the “Project Runway” show). The concept
> was an interesting idea, and the participants enjoyed themselves, but for me
> and the people I was sitting with, it went on way too long. For anyone who
> wasn’t a fan of the show, the pacing of the presenting of the outfits and
> judging dragged and didn’t make for very interesting watching. At least the
> outfits were well done. Most people thought PCC worth fine-tuning &
> continuing, but there was a good suggestion made that perhaps it should be
> spun off as a daytime program event where people could walk in and out of
> the room, rather than having a “captive audience” as it was on Friday night.
>
>
>
>
> The night continued to drag on, waiting for the judges to return. People
> were getting bored, despite the runway show, and the photo run. The
> drawing of names for door prizes with the tickets that had been handed out
> earlier in the evening should have occurred throughout the evening – not at
> the end. By the time the awards were announced, it was near or past 10:30
> and people were heading for the exits.
>
>
>
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Sarah –
Trust me, you do not want to deal with the hotel where the 2011 North
American Disc World convention was held. They basically screwed over the
convention who did fill the hotel and were still charged for function
space and everything else. If I have not already sent you a copy of the
draft Costume Con Hotel Contract, ping me off line and I will do so.
Take it into any hotel that you are considering, plunk it down with the
line “Our international organization requires that we use this as the
starting point for any hotel negotiations.” (this of course is a bunch
of BS) But if the hotel flatly refuses to consider that, then thank
them for their time and walk away. The hotels that are not willing to
use this as a starting point have an agenda all of their own and the
odds are that you will get screwed. Secondly, in spite of that hotel’s
spaces, it is far from ideally suited for a costume con. If you want a
detailed discussion as to why, again, ping me off list. Third, there
are several reasons that you should consider some city other than
Madison. The major problem is that the CC core people come in from all
over the country and there are no direct flights into Madison. When I
came out to the NADWCon, it took us 14 hours to get there by air, and
another 12 hours to get home. The Abbots drove there from Northern
Virginia and made it in less time than we did by air. I have nothing
against Madison itself, my older son graduated from there, but there are
factors that you need to consider for a Costume Con.

Marty

On 6/12/2012 3:07 PM, Sarah Bloy wrote:
>
> Greetings, all!
>
> Up here in the area around Madison, WI, we’re trying to put together a bid
> for 2016. We’re running into a problem right now concerning the hotel from
> which we want to get a letter of intent. The place is perfect; size,
> location, familiarity with niche cons (it hosts the feminist Sci-fi Wiscon
> every year and played host to North American Disc World Con last year).
>
> Our first correspondence with them indicated that they were very
> interested
> and enthusiatic. This gave way to a misunderstanding that we wanted a
> contract right away and they told us they couldn’t do one until a year out
> from our prospective dates. When we corrected that notion and said we were
> just looking for a letter that said they were interested, they came back
> and said that they couldn’t host a convention that did not fill their
> hotel
> for the weekend (360 rooms!) and were therefore no longer interested.
>
> So, I’m looking to hear from this group about this sort of thing. In your
> experience, is this a ploy to see if we are serious? Should we ask for
> another face-to-face? What sort of pitfalls should we look for with them
> int he future? Or should we just cut our losses and look elsewhere?
>
> Thanks!
>
> – Sarah Bloy
> CC Madison Bid Committee Chair
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
>
> No virus found in this message.
> Checked by AVG – www.avg.com <http://www.avg.com>
> Version: 2012.0.2180 / Virus Database: 2433/5065 – Release Date: 06/12/12
>

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

I agree with Marty. And I worked a fair amount with that hotel for NADWCon.

— In runacc@yahoogroups.com, Martin Gear <MartinGear@…> wrote:
>
> Sarah –
> Trust me, you do not want to deal with the hotel where the 2011 North
> American Disc World convention was held. They basically screwed over the
> convention who did fill the hotel and were still charged for function
> space and everything else. If I have not already sent you a copy of the
> draft Costume Con Hotel Contract, ping me off line and I will do so.
> Take it into any hotel that you are considering, plunk it down with the
> line “Our international organization requires that we use this as the
> starting point for any hotel negotiations.” (this of course is a bunch
> of BS) But if the hotel flatly refuses to consider that, then thank
> them for their time and walk away. The hotels that are not willing to
> use this as a starting point have an agenda all of their own and the
> odds are that you will get screwed. Secondly, in spite of that hotel’s
> spaces, it is far from ideally suited for a costume con. If you want a
> detailed discussion as to why, again, ping me off list. Third, there
> are several reasons that you should consider some city other than
> Madison. The major problem is that the CC core people come in from all
> over the country and there are no direct flights into Madison. When I
> came out to the NADWCon, it took us 14 hours to get there by air, and
> another 12 hours to get home. The Abbots drove there from Northern
> Virginia and made it in less time than we did by air. I have nothing
> against Madison itself, my older son graduated from there, but there are
> factors that you need to consider for a Costume Con.
>
> Marty
>
> On 6/12/2012 3:07 PM, Sarah Bloy wrote:
> >
> > Greetings, all!
> >
> > Up here in the area around Madison, WI, we’re trying to put together a bid
> > for 2016. We’re running into a problem right now concerning the hotel from
> > which we want to get a letter of intent. The place is perfect; size,
> > location, familiarity with niche cons (it hosts the feminist Sci-fi Wiscon
> > every year and played host to North American Disc World Con last year).
> >
> > Our first correspondence with them indicated that they were very
> > interested
> > and enthusiatic. This gave way to a misunderstanding that we wanted a
> > contract right away and they told us they couldn’t do one until a year out
> > from our prospective dates. When we corrected that notion and said we were
> > just looking for a letter that said they were interested, they came back
> > and said that they couldn’t host a convention that did not fill their
> > hotel
> > for the weekend (360 rooms!) and were therefore no longer interested.
> >
> > So, I’m looking to hear from this group about this sort of thing. In your
> > experience, is this a ploy to see if we are serious? Should we ask for
> > another face-to-face? What sort of pitfalls should we look for with them
> > int he future? Or should we just cut our losses and look elsewhere?
> >
> > Thanks!
> >
> > – Sarah Bloy
> > CC Madison Bid Committee Chair
> >
> > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
> >
> >
> >
> > No virus found in this message.
> > Checked by AVG – www.avg.com <http://www.avg.com>
> > Version: 2012.0.2180 / Virus Database: 2433/5065 – Release Date: 06/12/12
> >
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>

Sarah,

I started by contacting the local Visitor and Convention Bureau. They
asked me a bunch of questions, then sent my request out to bid to a
bunch of hotels. I only got a few bites and none of them worked out.
If I had gone with one of their hotels, they would have done all of the
negotiating with the hotels on my behalf. Despite not using one of
their hotels, they also have lots of resources for any event that brings
visitors to the city.

Michael
CC31

On 2012-06-12 12:07, Sarah Bloy wrote:
> Greetings, all!
>
> Up here in the area around Madison, WI, we’re trying to put together
> a bid
> for 2016. We’re running into a problem right now concerning the
> hotel
> from
> which we want to get a letter of intent. The place is perfect; size,
> location, familiarity with niche cons (it hosts the feminist Sci-fi
> Wiscon
> every year and played host to North American Disc World Con last
> year).
>
> Our first correspondence with them indicated that they were very
> interested
> and enthusiatic. This gave way to a misunderstanding that we wanted
> a
> contract right away and they told us they couldn’t do one until a
> year out
> from our prospective dates. When we corrected that notion and said
> we
> were
> just looking for a letter that said they were interested, they came
> back
> and said that they couldn’t host a convention that did not fill
> their
> hotel
> for the weekend (360 rooms!) and were therefore no longer
> interested.
>
> So, I’m looking to hear from this group about this sort of thing. In
> your
> experience, is this a ploy to see if we are serious? Should we ask
> for
> another face-to-face? What sort of pitfalls should we look for with
> them
> int he future? Or should we just cut our losses and look elsewhere?
>
> Thanks!
>
> – Sarah Bloy
> CC Madison Bid Committee Chair

Now that you mention it, I think I remember the music. Guess the
decorations were too “sub-tul”. But the dim lighting didn’t help.

Bruce

—–Original Message—–
From: runacc@yahoogroups.com [mailto:runacc@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of
Margie
Sent: Tuesday, June 12, 2012 12:14 PM
To: runacc@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [runacc] Re: Costume-Con 30 Review – Runacc: Friday Night Social &
Single Pattern Show

I won’t comment on the person running the Single Pattern Show other than to
say “I could write a book”.

However, I do want to mention that I spent about an hour decorating the room
you say was not decorated. Because people always tend to take pictures of
other people and not the decor, there is not much photographic evidence of
it, but I have found some (if you’re interested).

We had gear collages on the walls around the room, two signs that said Wild
Wild West, two signs that said Welcome to Miss Elaine’s Saloon, and little
“red mountain” candle centerpieces (with blue bandanas and sheriff’s badges)
on most every table.

Sorry that you missed seeing them.

We also had a few hours of ragtime & steampunk music playing quietly in the
background, two costumed poker dealers (who, due to poor timing issues,
sadly never got put into action), and our steampunk cake & cupcakes. Plus
there were special cow napkins to accompany the food and drink.

— In runacc@yahoogroups.com, “Nora & Bruce Mai” <casamai@…> wrote:
>
> This generated quite a bit of discussion among the reviewers.
>
>
>
> Separating the Single Pattern Show from the Future Fashion Show was a
> good idea, but the way it was combined with the Social was not. The
> theory was the Social theme was supposed to be the whole steampunk/weird
west thing.
> However, there was nothing decoration-wise that would have given that
idea.
>
> (There were some people in Old West Steampunk attire, though.) I’d
> volunteered to bring down my “Wild Wild West” movie banner, which was
> hung at the back of the stage, but given the lack of any other
> decorations, it seemed incongruous to the rest of the goings-on.
>
>
>
> The seating was another issue. Setting up the chairs most of the
> available theatre-style made for difficulty moving around the room
> when there’s supposed to be a “Social” going on.
>
>
>
> The Single Pattern was run like a formal masquerade, which didn’t
> help, either. It was very regimented: the Director insisted that
> every entry have some sort of explanation/text for their entry(like
> the Folio) and wouldn’t take “don’t have any” for an answer. They
> also insisted people should show up in the Green Room as close to 5:00
> as possible (with the show at 8:00) so that judging would be able to
> take place. Given the (ordinarily) simplicity of the Show, this was
overkill.
>
>
>
> When people arrived, the Director indicated that the entrants had to
> go to one location to be judged, then move to a different location for
> photography. The reasoning for this was so that it was known when
> people were through with both tasks. Several people were annoyed by
> the confusion this engendered.
>
>
>
> The show itself went okay, although the MC was apparently unfamiliar with
> what “CC” means. He also had some problems with some pronunciations.
The
> judging, took way too long. I can’t remember how many awards there
> were, but it probably could have used a maximum, like the Fashion Show
> traditional three. The more there are, the longer the judges will
deliberate.
>
>
>
> The “Social” amounted to being part of the halftime for the show. At
> least the appetizers served were good and plentiful (however, they
> didn’t turn up the lights up after the show so you couldn’t read the
> signs identifying what some of the less obvious ones were).
>
>
>
> Part of the wait for judges was occupied with the “Project Costume-Con”
> show/competition (patterned after the “Project Runway” show). The
> concept was an interesting idea, and the participants enjoyed
> themselves, but for me and the people I was sitting with, it went on
> way too long. For anyone who wasn’t a fan of the show, the pacing of
> the presenting of the outfits and judging dragged and didn’t make for
> very interesting watching. At least the outfits were well done. Most
> people thought PCC worth fine-tuning & continuing, but there was a
> good suggestion made that perhaps it should be spun off as a daytime
> program event where people could walk in and out of the room, rather than
having a “captive audience” as it was on Friday night.
>
>
>
>
> The night continued to drag on, waiting for the judges to return.
> People were getting bored, despite the runway show, and the photo
> run. The drawing of names for door prizes with the tickets that had
> been handed out earlier in the evening should have occurred throughout
> the evening – not at the end. By the time the awards were announced, it
was near or past 10:30
> and people were heading for the exits.
>
>
>
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>

————————————

View the Document: http://www.Costume-Con.org/procedure/runacc/Yahoo! Groups
Links

—–
No virus found in this message.
Checked by AVG – www.avg.com
Version: 10.0.1424 / Virus Database: 2433/5063 – Release Date: 06/11/12

Well, I was going to reply, but looks like Marty covered it all (although I
don’t see a copy of it in our Inbox – not sure why.

But in any case, I highly recommend Marty’s contract. It’ll save you a lot
of headaches. Should be standard issue for CCs. And most any other
convention, for that matter.

Bruce

—–Original Message—–
From: runacc@yahoogroups.com [mailto:runacc@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of
Sarah Bloy
Sent: Tuesday, June 12, 2012 2:08 PM
To: runacc@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [runacc] Talking to Your Venue

Greetings, all!

Up here in the area around Madison, WI, we’re trying to put together a bid
for 2016. We’re running into a problem right now concerning the hotel from
which we want to get a letter of intent. The place is perfect; size,
location, familiarity with niche cons (it hosts the feminist Sci-fi Wiscon
every year and played host to North American Disc World Con last year).

Our first correspondence with them indicated that they were very interested
and enthusiatic. This gave way to a misunderstanding that we wanted a
contract right away and they told us they couldn’t do one until a year out
from our prospective dates. When we corrected that notion and said we were
just looking for a letter that said they were interested, they came back and
said that they couldn’t host a convention that did not fill their hotel for
the weekend (360 rooms!) and were therefore no longer interested.

So, I’m looking to hear from this group about this sort of thing. In your
experience, is this a ploy to see if we are serious? Should we ask for
another face-to-face? What sort of pitfalls should we look for with them
int he future? Or should we just cut our losses and look elsewhere?

Thanks!

– Sarah Bloy
CC Madison Bid Committee Chair

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

————————————

View the Document: http://www.Costume-Con.org/procedure/runacc/Yahoo! Groups
Links

—–
No virus found in this message.
Checked by AVG – www.avg.com
Version: 10.0.1424 / Virus Database: 2433/5063 – Release Date: 06/11/12

The show was well-paced – and Master-heavy. There weren’t any big costumes
or props. I can’t say it was an outstanding show, but the quality was
pretty good. There were some clever ideas that I’d not seen before. At
least this year, we didn’t hear complaints about the judging (especially by
the Workmanship judges).

However, we saw fewer awards given (in comparison to last year, anyway),
which may have been good or bad, depending on how you looked at it.

Byron can address the SF Green Room, but for Nora’s experience, it was big
enough to handle all the entries, and there seemed to be enough Den Moms.
Some Den Moms seemed to be distracted by one or another costumer’s issues,
and missed helping some people who could have used momentary assistance.
Byron could have used an assistant from time to time. Of course, he might
argue that. J

Even after the video masquerade and the photo run, we were still waiting for
the judges to return.

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Henry, since you’re asking, we requested theatre-style seating for 60, in part to acknowledge the CC Runway event & the Single Pattern Show, and figuring some people would just like to sit theatre-style for them.

The bulk of the space was designated for a mixture banquet and cocktail rounds, with a few tallboys for folks that might want to stand and socialize.

Yes, the poker games were supposed to start much earlier, but the proposed schedule for the evening went wonky somewhere (not sure what happened).

The food was appetizers only, but because our hotel contract gave us a hefty (in our minds) f&b minimum to meet, we thought we’d do that at the Friday Night Social, and surprise folks with some interesting fare.

For the record, we served:
chipotle deviled eggs (6 doz servings)
bbq steak bites (4 doz svgs)
bacon-wrapped jalapenos (6 doz svgs)
bbq shredded pork on biscuits (6 doz svgs)
chicken taquitos (6 doz svgs)
chips, salsa, guac platter (x1, serves 50)
cheese, fruit & veggie platters (x2 ea, serves 40-50 ea)

Our Catering person thought that would not be enough food, but as it turns out, it was more than enough. I did want to figure on having enough food that folks involved in the two shows would still have the opportunity for a variety to eat after they were released. And that was the logic behind the food.

I didn’t realize that “pumpkin time” for folks would be so early, and so was figuring the Social would run past 11pm. (It started at 8pm)

— In runacc@yahoogroups.com, osierhenry@… wrote:
>
> A few quick thoughts about the Friday Social from the top of my head, and I
> am going to try not to repeat Bruce’s, which are very good.
>
> Why Theater Seating for a Social?
>
> Why wasn’t the Raffle used a filler during the course of the evening
> instead of as an end piece?
>
> I heard that after everything, there was a poker game happening there. But,
> after everything else, I was not interested in staying longer. And why
> wasn’t it going when people showed up, as it would have been in an Old West
> Saloon?
>
> General Question: When did the Friday Social become an event to get dinner
> at? With a start time of 7 PM, at the earliest, shouldn’t it be time for
> cocktail snacks?
>
> Henry Osier
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>

Bruce (and everyone else) –
Attached are copies of “The Hotel Contract”, a supplemental contract
(usually not necessary), and the form for an insurance company that is
both “con friendly” and reasonable. Feel free to post it and/or share it
wherever desired. From time to time I may update the main contract when
something new comes up. For anyone who does not know me or has not
heard me expound on this (usually at too great length) I am not a lawyer
and since most contracts are covered by state law, if you have any legal
questions take them up with your own lawyer. What I am is a contracts
negotiator with 45 years experience in negotiating contracts with the
U.S. Federal Government, 10 years experience negotiating the hotel
contracts for “Balticon” (Maryland regional S-F convention), negotiator
for the four Maryland Costume Cons, and facilities director/venue
negotiator for the 1998 Worldcon (10 separate hotels and a Convention
Center.)

One point to consider when you are considering a venue for a Costume
Con, you want to “Own the Hotel” which means being able to rent at least
half (more is better) of their sleeping rooms during the core nights
(Friday, Saturday & Sunday) and remember that on the average you should
figure on 3 people per room/night. i.e. if you expect to have a 300
attending members, then you will have 100 rooms per night. This means
that a 500 room hotel is right out no matter how great their
facilities. There are exceptions to all of this, of course, but these
are the figures that you should keep in mind when planning your con.

Marty

On 6/13/2012 8:05 AM, Nora & Bruce Mai wrote:
>
> Well, I was going to reply, but looks like Marty covered it all
> (although I
> don’t see a copy of it in our Inbox – not sure why.
>
> But in any case, I highly recommend Marty’s contract. It’ll save you a lot
> of headaches. Should be standard issue for CCs. And most any other
> convention, for that matter.
>
> Bruce
>
> —–Original Message—–
> From: runacc@yahoogroups.com <mailto:runacc%40yahoogroups.com>
> [mailto:runacc@yahoogroups.com <mailto:runacc%40yahoogroups.com>] On
> Behalf Of
> Sarah Bloy
> Sent: Tuesday, June 12, 2012 2:08 PM
> To: runacc@yahoogroups.com <mailto:runacc%40yahoogroups.com>
> Subject: [runacc] Talking to Your Venue
>
> Greetings, all!
>
> Up here in the area around Madison, WI, we’re trying to put together a bid
> for 2016. We’re running into a problem right now concerning the hotel from
> which we want to get a letter of intent. The place is perfect; size,
> location, familiarity with niche cons (it hosts the feminist Sci-fi Wiscon
> every year and played host to North American Disc World Con last year).
>
> Our first correspondence with them indicated that they were very
> interested
> and enthusiatic. This gave way to a misunderstanding that we wanted a
> contract right away and they told us they couldn’t do one until a year out
> from our prospective dates. When we corrected that notion and said we were
> just looking for a letter that said they were interested, they came
> back and
> said that they couldn’t host a convention that did not fill their
> hotel for
> the weekend (360 rooms!) and were therefore no longer interested.
>
> So, I’m looking to hear from this group about this sort of thing. In your
> experience, is this a ploy to see if we are serious? Should we ask for
> another face-to-face? What sort of pitfalls should we look for with them
> int he future? Or should we just cut our losses and look elsewhere?
>
> Thanks!
>
> – Sarah Bloy
> CC Madison Bid Committee Chair
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
> ————————————
>
> View the Document: http://www.Costume-Con.org/procedure/runacc/Yahoo!
> Groups
> Links
>
> —–
> No virus found in this message.
> Checked by AVG – www.avg.com
> Version: 10.0.1424 / Virus Database: 2433/5063 – Release Date: 06/11/12
>
>

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

On 6/13/2012 8:14 AM, Nora & Bruce Mai wrote:
<snip>
>
> Even after the video masquerade and the photo run, we were still
> waiting for
> the judges to return.
>
There was some confusion as what exactly was going to be done during the
masquerade halftime and how much time should have been allotted. Also
point to keep in mind for the future, although “judges photos” were
taken and were left in the judging room, this was not pointed out to us
and we didn’t find them until after the judging had been completed. Had
we been aware of them, it might have saved perhaps 10 minutes of the
time that we took. Otherwise I was quite happy with the way that the
masquerade went off, and was extremely happy with my judging panel.

Marty

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

OK, I forgot that Yahoo Groups strips out attachments. Anyone who wants
a copy, please email me directly and I’ll be happy to send you a copy.
Bruce, you don’t have to, I’ll send you on directly now.
Marty

On 6/13/2012 2:14 PM, Martin Gear wrote:
>
> Bruce (and everyone else) –
> Attached are copies of “The Hotel Contract”, a supplemental contract
> (usually not necessary), and the form for an insurance company that is
> both “con friendly” and reasonable. Feel free to post it and/or share it
> wherever desired. From time to time I may update the main contract when
> something new comes up. For anyone who does not know me or has not
> heard me expound on this (usually at too great length) I am not a lawyer
> and since most contracts are covered by state law, if you have any legal
> questions take them up with your own lawyer. What I am is a contracts
> negotiator with 45 years experience in negotiating contracts with the
> U.S. Federal Government, 10 years experience negotiating the hotel
> contracts for “Balticon” (Maryland regional S-F convention), negotiator
> for the four Maryland Costume Cons, and facilities director/venue
> negotiator for the 1998 Worldcon (10 separate hotels and a Convention
> Center.)
>
> One point to consider when you are considering a venue for a Costume
> Con, you want to “Own the Hotel” which means being able to rent at least
> half (more is better) of their sleeping rooms during the core nights
> (Friday, Saturday & Sunday) and remember that on the average you should
> figure on 3 people per room/night. i.e. if you expect to have a 300
> attending members, then you will have 100 rooms per night. This means
> that a 500 room hotel is right out no matter how great their
> facilities. There are exceptions to all of this, of course, but these
> are the figures that you should keep in mind when planning your con.
>
> Marty
>
> On 6/13/2012 8:05 AM, Nora & Bruce Mai wrote:
> >
> > Well, I was going to reply, but looks like Marty covered it all
> > (although I
> > don’t see a copy of it in our Inbox – not sure why.
> >
> > But in any case, I highly recommend Marty’s contract. It’ll save you
> a lot
> > of headaches. Should be standard issue for CCs. And most any other
> > convention, for that matter.
> >
> > Bruce
> >
> > —–Original Message—–
> > From: runacc@yahoogroups.com <mailto:runacc%40yahoogroups.com>
> <mailto:runacc%40yahoogroups.com>
> > [mailto:runacc@yahoogroups.com <mailto:runacc%40yahoogroups.com>
> <mailto:runacc%40yahoogroups.com>] On
> > Behalf Of
> > Sarah Bloy
> > Sent: Tuesday, June 12, 2012 2:08 PM
> > To: runacc@yahoogroups.com <mailto:runacc%40yahoogroups.com>
> <mailto:runacc%40yahoogroups.com>
> > Subject: [runacc] Talking to Your Venue
> >
> > Greetings, all!
> >
> > Up here in the area around Madison, WI, we’re trying to put together
> a bid
> > for 2016. We’re running into a problem right now concerning the
> hotel from
> > which we want to get a letter of intent. The place is perfect; size,
> > location, familiarity with niche cons (it hosts the feminist Sci-fi
> Wiscon
> > every year and played host to North American Disc World Con last year).
> >
> > Our first correspondence with them indicated that they were very
> > interested
> > and enthusiatic. This gave way to a misunderstanding that we wanted a
> > contract right away and they told us they couldn’t do one until a
> year out
> > from our prospective dates. When we corrected that notion and said
> we were
> > just looking for a letter that said they were interested, they came
> > back and
> > said that they couldn’t host a convention that did not fill their
> > hotel for
> > the weekend (360 rooms!) and were therefore no longer interested.
> >
> > So, I’m looking to hear from this group about this sort of thing. In
> your
> > experience, is this a ploy to see if we are serious? Should we ask for
> > another face-to-face? What sort of pitfalls should we look for with them
> > int he future? Or should we just cut our losses and look elsewhere?
> >
> > Thanks!
> >
> > – Sarah Bloy
> > CC Madison Bid Committee Chair
> >
> > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
> >
> > ————————————
> >
> > View the Document: http://www.Costume-Con.org/procedure/runacc/Yahoo!
> > Groups
> > Links
> >
> > —–
> > No virus found in this message.
> > Checked by AVG – www.avg.com
> > Version: 10.0.1424 / Virus Database: 2433/5063 – Release Date: 06/11/12
> >
> >
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

In a message dated 6/13/2012 12:09:45 PM Central Daylight Time,
marg1066@gmail.com writes:

> Henry, since you’re asking,
>
>
>

Marg,
I read the thing about the Social person redoing the arrangement. To
me, it looked like a dinner buffet was happening. I do admit that I went to
bed earlier because I had to get up and work the next day at the con. I do
not recall any announcement about more stuff happening. And I think everyone
was bored after the raffle.
Henry

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Marty,
In regard to NADWCon in Madison, take it from me, who was on staff,
I am under the opinion that the two people who were running the thing really
had no idea what they were doing. The paid for an entire second stage to be
set up in the big ballroom for only one use. And it sat there in the way
all weekend. My reaction was “Really?”
Henry

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Henry –
I couldn’t agree with you more. But at the same time, the hotel saw them
coming and took advantage of them.
Marty

On 6/13/2012 2:53 PM, osierhenry@cs.com wrote:
>
> Marty,
> In regard to NADWCon in Madison, take it from me, who was on staff,
> I am under the opinion that the two people who were running the thing
> really
> had no idea what they were doing. The paid for an entire second stage
> to be
> set up in the big ballroom for only one use. And it sat there in the way
> all weekend. My reaction was “Really?”
> Henry
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

We missed the beginning of the Social (and the Single Pattern Contest) because we had gone out to eat and then up to get dressed. Food at some recent Socials had been a bit sparse so we were not counting on getting anything there. Your menu sounds like it was quite tasty. I’m sorry I didn’t get to try any of it. I did see decorations on the tables and something on the walls, but it was so dark in the room that it was hard to make out much of the decor. It was also hard to make out the other people that were there. We met some nice folks who were there for the first time, but I would not have recognized them the next day. I think the darkness also added to a feeling of tiredness (well, that and the jet lag that some of us were suffering from). I like the idea of spreading the shows out through the weekend. I think I liked the Social format better in Milwaukee. Socialize the first hour. Have show. Socialze more while judges judge. Announce winners and socialze until everyone leaves. Trudy
To: runacc@yahoogroups.com
From: marg1066@gmail.com
Date: Wed, 13 Jun 2012 17:09:41 +0000
Subject: [runacc] Re: Costume-Con 30 Review – Runacc: Friday Night Social & Single Pat…

Henry, since you’re asking, we requested theatre-style seating for 60, in part to acknowledge the CC Runway event & the Single Pattern Show, and figuring some people would just like to sit theatre-style for them.

The bulk of the space was designated for a mixture banquet and cocktail rounds, with a few tallboys for folks that might want to stand and socialize.

Yes, the poker games were supposed to start much earlier, but the proposed schedule for the evening went wonky somewhere (not sure what happened).

The food was appetizers only, but because our hotel contract gave us a hefty (in our minds) f&b minimum to meet, we thought we’d do that at the Friday Night Social, and surprise folks with some interesting fare.

For the record, we served:

chipotle deviled eggs (6 doz servings)

bbq steak bites (4 doz svgs)

bacon-wrapped jalapenos (6 doz svgs)

bbq shredded pork on biscuits (6 doz svgs)

chicken taquitos (6 doz svgs)

chips, salsa, guac platter (x1, serves 50)

cheese, fruit & veggie platters (x2 ea, serves 40-50 ea)

Our Catering person thought that would not be enough food, but as it turns out, it was more than enough. I did want to figure on having enough food that folks involved in the two shows would still have the opportunity for a variety to eat after they were released. And that was the logic behind the food.

I didn’t realize that “pumpkin time” for folks would be so early, and so was figuring the Social would run past 11pm. (It started at 8pm)

— In runacc@yahoogroups.com, osierhenry@… wrote:

>

> A few quick thoughts about the Friday Social from the top of my head, and I

> am going to try not to repeat Bruce’s, which are very good.

>

> Why Theater Seating for a Social?

>

> Why wasn’t the Raffle used a filler during the course of the evening

> instead of as an end piece?

>

> I heard that after everything, there was a poker game happening there. But,

> after everything else, I was not interested in staying longer. And why

> wasn’t it going when people showed up, as it would have been in an Old West

> Saloon?

>

> General Question: When did the Friday Social become an event to get dinner

> at? With a start time of 7 PM, at the earliest, shouldn’t it be time for

> cocktail snacks?

>

> Henry Osier

>

> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

>

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Anyone who is a member of this group may upload files to our files section,
which has the advantage of storing all sorts of cool stuff. You are
encouraged to share files this way!

Betsy

—
—
Betsy Marks Delaney
www.hawkeswood.com

On Jun 13, 2012 2:28 PM, “Martin Gear” <MartinGear@comcast.net> wrote:

> OK, I forgot that Yahoo Groups strips out attachments. Anyone who wants
> a copy, please email me directly and I’ll be happy to send you a copy.
> Bruce, you don’t have to, I’ll send you on directly now.
> Marty
>
> On 6/13/2012 2:14 PM, Martin Gear wrote:
> >
> > Bruce (and everyone else) –
> > Attached are copies of “The Hotel Contract”, a supplemental contract
> > (usually not necessary), and the form for an insurance company that is
> > both “con friendly” and reasonable. Feel free to post it and/or share it
> > wherever desired. From time to time I may update the main contract when
> > something new comes up. For anyone who does not know me or has not
> > heard me expound on this (usually at too great length) I am not a lawyer
> > and since most contracts are covered by state law, if you have any legal
> > questions take them up with your own lawyer. What I am is a contracts
> > negotiator with 45 years experience in negotiating contracts with the
> > U.S. Federal Government, 10 years experience negotiating the hotel
> > contracts for “Balticon” (Maryland regional S-F convention), negotiator
> > for the four Maryland Costume Cons, and facilities director/venue
> > negotiator for the 1998 Worldcon (10 separate hotels and a Convention
> > Center.)
> >
> > One point to consider when you are considering a venue for a Costume
> > Con, you want to “Own the Hotel” which means being able to rent at least
> > half (more is better) of their sleeping rooms during the core nights
> > (Friday, Saturday & Sunday) and remember that on the average you should
> > figure on 3 people per room/night. i.e. if you expect to have a 300
> > attending members, then you will have 100 rooms per night. This means
> > that a 500 room hotel is right out no matter how great their
> > facilities. There are exceptions to all of this, of course, but these
> > are the figures that you should keep in mind when planning your con.
> >
> > Marty
> >
> > On 6/13/2012 8:05 AM, Nora & Bruce Mai wrote:
> > >
> > > Well, I was going to reply, but looks like Marty covered it all
> > > (although I
> > > don’t see a copy of it in our Inbox – not sure why.
> > >
> > > But in any case, I highly recommend Marty’s contract. It’ll save you
> > a lot
> > > of headaches. Should be standard issue for CCs. And most any other
> > > convention, for that matter.
> > >
> > > Bruce
> > >
> > > —–Original Message—–
> > > From: runacc@yahoogroups.com <mailto:runacc%40yahoogroups.com>
> > <mailto:runacc%40yahoogroups.com>
> > > [mailto:runacc@yahoogroups.com <mailto:runacc%40yahoogroups.com>
> > <mailto:runacc%40yahoogroups.com>] On
> > > Behalf Of
> > > Sarah Bloy
> > > Sent: Tuesday, June 12, 2012 2:08 PM
> > > To: runacc@yahoogroups.com <mailto:runacc%40yahoogroups.com>
> > <mailto:runacc%40yahoogroups.com>
> > > Subject: [runacc] Talking to Your Venue
> > >
> > > Greetings, all!
> > >
> > > Up here in the area around Madison, WI, we’re trying to put together
> > a bid
> > > for 2016. We’re running into a problem right now concerning the
> > hotel from
> > > which we want to get a letter of intent. The place is perfect; size,
> > > location, familiarity with niche cons (it hosts the feminist Sci-fi
> > Wiscon
> > > every year and played host to North American Disc World Con last year).
> > >
> > > Our first correspondence with them indicated that they were very
> > > interested
> > > and enthusiatic. This gave way to a misunderstanding that we wanted a
> > > contract right away and they told us they couldn’t do one until a
> > year out
> > > from our prospective dates. When we corrected that notion and said
> > we were
> > > just looking for a letter that said they were interested, they came
> > > back and
> > > said that they couldn’t host a convention that did not fill their
> > > hotel for
> > > the weekend (360 rooms!) and were therefore no longer interested.
> > >
> > > So, I’m looking to hear from this group about this sort of thing. In
> > your
> > > experience, is this a ploy to see if we are serious? Should we ask for
> > > another face-to-face? What sort of pitfalls should we look for with
> them
> > > int he future? Or should we just cut our losses and look elsewhere?
> > >
> > > Thanks!
> > >
> > > – Sarah Bloy
> > > CC Madison Bid Committee Chair
> > >
> > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
> > >
> > > ————————————
> > >
> > > View the Document: http://www.Costume-Con.org/procedure/runacc/Yahoo!
> > > Groups
> > > Links
> > >
> > > —–
> > > No virus found in this message.
> > > Checked by AVG – www.avg.com
> > > Version: 10.0.1424 / Virus Database: 2433/5063 – Release Date: 06/11/12
> > >
> > >
> >
> > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
> >
> >
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
>
> ————————————
>
> View the Document: http://www.Costume-Con.org/procedure/runacc/Yahoo!
> Groups Links
>
>
>
>

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Cobbling from what Nora reported on first:

Submissions: We had over 300, 111 made it into the Folio. Good turnout,
lots of enthusiasm. Roughly 95% received via email. So we’ve pretty much
made the jump to electronic submissions now, which will make an editor’s job
somewhat easier.

Judging: We use the “Gang Method” we’ve used in St Louis before (meaning, we
gathered a group of our Guild members and poured over them in an afternoon.
Makes for a diverse set of opinions. Of course, sometimes there’s a bit of
cat herding. Worked fairly well, as usual, but she could see room for some
tweaking to the method after having used it a couple of times.

Production: All designs were entered into a spreadsheet as received. And
she scanned and partially edited (lightened, cropped) all the designs as
received. She also typed up and corrected any descriptions.
This made for a much faster actual production time since everything was
already electronic and just needed a little more tidying and to be applied
to the layout. She had determined the layout beforehand, one of
the few things you can do before the judging.

Distribution: Used an online storage site and sent the URL with password to
members. Uploaded both a .pdf and .doc version, most downloads were of the
.pdf. Members had few problems with the download that she was aware of,
she helped those that contacted her directly and they were individual IT
problems, not problems with the site or documents. The Vice Chair took care
of most of the notifications to members.

Pros – Electronic version saves tons of money; accessible to most users with
no problem; ease of distribution (email); gets the Folio into the hands of
the members faster so more likely to help increase
the number of participants in the FFS. The “Tons of Money” part should be
repeated – given that it was roughly $7.50 per copy when we last published
the CC25 FFF, it will make things much easier on a future CC. Could make
the difference with providing better “horse divers” for the FNS, which can
get pricey when the hotel does the catering.

Cons – Folks with no email or download capability don’t have access. The
number of these is very small but they are still there and we need to have a
plan for them. Not sure what Marg & Elaine’s final solution
was for them but she said at least one person didn’t ever get the Folio, and
he’s notoriously tech-phobic. He also admitted that he may have had some
communication from you that he never properly responded to so partly his own
fault. Plus, it was only thought of after the con about how to distribute
the Folio to at-the-door registrants (after all, the con membership is
supposed to include the FFF). Future committees may need to investigate
producing a stack of CDs to hand out at registration.

Unfortunately, as the Folio Show Director, I committed a number of rookie
mistakes. Ones I can remember off-hand:

When in contact with my entrants before the con, I neglected to say, “Come
see me at Registration so I can pre-check you in”. As a result, some noobs
didn’t know to let me know they were there, so I could plan for them to be
in the show (we wanted to do at least some minimal stage direction during
tech rehearsal).

One issue beyond my control was the inability to have documents printed in
Ops. Sunday morning, they were having a problem with their computer
connections and couldn’t send documents to their printer (why it wasn’t
directly connected to the computer, I don’t know). I wound up having to run
down to the Business Center and shell out $13 to print out my MC’s script.

The Official Photographer was about 20 minutes late getting into the Green
Room to get set up. Luckily, taking Fashion Show pictures is easy to set up
and go, but it was annoying.

The show itself went pretty well. However, I completely spaced about having
the tech crew project the Folio designs as the entrants took their turns on
stage. I’d meant to check with Tadao about that, and it got lost in the
shuffle.

Worse, I forgot to have the awards ready at the end of the show. My judges
were great – they were Gypsy Ames, Bjo Trimble & Randall Whitlock (from the
AZ Guild). They got everything done almost on time for the show to start –
I held it over for 7 minutes and then we were good to go. However, they
caught me off guard when they made up two more awards beyond the 3 I’d
planned for. Compounding this, I didn’t think to ask where my allotted
ribbons and certificates were ahead of time (they were in Con Ops – maybe it
was mentioned on the CC30 list, but nobody bothered to tell me, on site,
either). They probably should have been brought to me. I wound up running
to Ops to bring them back while the show was in progress. So what wound
up happening was I had to get the judges to sign the certificates after the
show and track down my winners later. It took until late afternoon before
I could get the other 2 certificates printed and give them to the ones the
judges had recognized.

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Bruce –
Re your printer problem, you could have asked me. When I am running a
major event at a con, I travel with a color printer/copier/scanner and
would have been happy to have let you use it. This is something to keep
in mind for the next time that we are both running something at a CC.
Marty

On 6/13/2012 10:53 PM, Nora & Bruce Mai wrote:
>
> Cobbling from what Nora reported on first:
>
> Submissions: We had over 300, 111 made it into the Folio. Good turnout,
> lots of enthusiasm. Roughly 95% received via email. So we’ve pretty much
> made the jump to electronic submissions now, which will make an
> editor’s job
> somewhat easier.
>
> Judging: We use the “Gang Method” we’ve used in St Louis before
> (meaning, we
> gathered a group of our Guild members and poured over them in an
> afternoon.
> Makes for a diverse set of opinions. Of course, sometimes there’s a bit of
> cat herding. Worked fairly well, as usual, but she could see room for some
> tweaking to the method after having used it a couple of times.
>
> Production: All designs were entered into a spreadsheet as received. And
> she scanned and partially edited (lightened, cropped) all the designs as
> received. She also typed up and corrected any descriptions.
> This made for a much faster actual production time since everything was
> already electronic and just needed a little more tidying and to be applied
> to the layout. She had determined the layout beforehand, one of
> the few things you can do before the judging.
>
> Distribution: Used an online storage site and sent the URL with
> password to
> members. Uploaded both a .pdf and .doc version, most downloads were of the
> .pdf. Members had few problems with the download that she was aware of,
> she helped those that contacted her directly and they were individual IT
> problems, not problems with the site or documents. The Vice Chair took
> care
> of most of the notifications to members.
>
> Pros – Electronic version saves tons of money; accessible to most
> users with
> no problem; ease of distribution (email); gets the Folio into the hands of
> the members faster so more likely to help increase
> the number of participants in the FFS. The “Tons of Money” part should be
> repeated – given that it was roughly $7.50 per copy when we last published
> the CC25 FFF, it will make things much easier on a future CC. Could make
> the difference with providing better “horse divers” for the FNS, which can
> get pricey when the hotel does the catering.
>
> Cons – Folks with no email or download capability don’t have access. The
> number of these is very small but they are still there and we need to
> have a
> plan for them. Not sure what Marg & Elaine’s final solution
> was for them but she said at least one person didn’t ever get the
> Folio, and
> he’s notoriously tech-phobic. He also admitted that he may have had some
> communication from you that he never properly responded to so partly
> his own
> fault. Plus, it was only thought of after the con about how to distribute
> the Folio to at-the-door registrants (after all, the con membership is
> supposed to include the FFF). Future committees may need to investigate
> producing a stack of CDs to hand out at registration.
>
> Unfortunately, as the Folio Show Director, I committed a number of rookie
> mistakes. Ones I can remember off-hand:
>
> When in contact with my entrants before the con, I neglected to say, “Come
> see me at Registration so I can pre-check you in”. As a result, some noobs
> didn’t know to let me know they were there, so I could plan for them to be
> in the show (we wanted to do at least some minimal stage direction during
> tech rehearsal).
>
> One issue beyond my control was the inability to have documents printed in
> Ops. Sunday morning, they were having a problem with their computer
> connections and couldn’t send documents to their printer (why it wasn’t
> directly connected to the computer, I don’t know). I wound up having
> to run
> down to the Business Center and shell out $13 to print out my MC’s script.
>
> The Official Photographer was about 20 minutes late getting into the Green
> Room to get set up. Luckily, taking Fashion Show pictures is easy to
> set up
> and go, but it was annoying.
>
> The show itself went pretty well. However, I completely spaced about
> having
> the tech crew project the Folio designs as the entrants took their
> turns on
> stage. I’d meant to check with Tadao about that, and it got lost in the
> shuffle.
>
> Worse, I forgot to have the awards ready at the end of the show. My judges
> were great – they were Gypsy Ames, Bjo Trimble & Randall Whitlock
> (from the
> AZ Guild). They got everything done almost on time for the show to start –
> I held it over for 7 minutes and then we were good to go. However, they
> caught me off guard when they made up two more awards beyond the 3 I’d
> planned for. Compounding this, I didn’t think to ask where my allotted
> ribbons and certificates were ahead of time (they were in Con Ops –
> maybe it
> was mentioned on the CC30 list, but nobody bothered to tell me, on site,
> either). They probably should have been brought to me. I wound up running
> to Ops to bring them back while the show was in progress. So what wound
> up happening was I had to get the judges to sign the certificates
> after the
> show and track down my winners later. It took until late afternoon before
> I could get the other 2 certificates printed and give them to the ones the
> judges had recognized.
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
>
> No virus found in this message.
> Checked by AVG – www.avg.com <http://www.avg.com>
> Version: 2012.0.2180 / Virus Database: 2433/5068 – Release Date: 06/13/12
>

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Sandy only here:
Out of the foods listed, the only things I could
eat were on the cheese, etc. platter. Kind of
disappointing when seeing the size of the
spread. I realize you can’t cater to everyones’
tastes, but EVERYTHING else there was spicy. It
needed at least one other item that wasn’t spicy.

Also, I don’t know whose idea it was to put the
lit candles on the floor under the buffet table,
but that was a REALLY bad idea. I gather one
person’s costume actually did catch on fire
briefly. Not a good way to start….

At 12:09 PM 6/13/2012, you wrote:

>Henry, since you’re asking, we requested
>theatre-style seating for 60, in part to
>acknowledge the CC Runway event & the Single
>Pattern Show, and figuring some people would
>just like to sit theatre-style for them.
>
>The bulk of the space was designated for a
>mixture banquet and cocktail rounds, with a few
>tallboys for folks that might want to stand and socialize.
>
>Yes, the poker games were supposed to start much
>earlier, but the proposed schedule for the
>evening went wonky somewhere (not sure what happened).
>
>The food was appetizers only, but because our
>hotel contract gave us a hefty (in our minds)
>f&b minimum to meet, we thought we’d do that at
>the Friday Night Social, and surprise folks with some interesting fare.
>
>For the record, we served:
>chipotle deviled eggs (6 doz servings)
>bbq steak bites (4 doz svgs)
>bacon-wrapped jalapenos (6 doz svgs)
>bbq shredded pork on biscuits (6 doz svgs)
>chicken taquitos (6 doz svgs)
>chips, salsa, guac platter (x1, serves 50)
>cheese, fruit & veggie platters (x2 ea, serves 40-50 ea)
>
>Our Catering person thought that would not be
>enough food, but as it turns out, it was more
>than enough. I did want to figure on having
>enough food that folks involved in the two shows
>would still have the opportunity for a variety
>to eat after they were released. And that was the logic behind the food.
>
>I didn’t realize that “pumpkin time” for folks
>would be so early, and so was figuring the
>Social would run past 11pm. (It started at 8pm)
>
>— In
><mailto:runacc%40yahoogroups.com>runacc@yahoogroups.com, osierhenry@… wrote:
> >
> > A few quick thoughts about the Friday Social
> from the top of my head, and I
> > am going to try not to repeat Bruce’s, which are very good.
> >
> > Why Theater Seating for a Social?
> >
> > Why wasn’t the Raffle used a filler during the course of the evening
> > instead of as an end piece?
> >
> > I heard that after everything, there was a
> poker game happening there. But,
> > after everything else, I was not interested in staying longer. And why
> > wasn’t it going when people showed up, as it
> would have been in an Old West
> > Saloon?
> >
> > General Question: When did the Friday Social become an event to get dinner
> > at? With a start time of 7 PM, at the earliest, shouldn’t it be time for
> > cocktail snacks?
> >
> > Henry Osier
> >
> > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
> >
>
>

International Costumers’ Guild Archivist

http://www.costume.org/gallery2/main.php

“Those Who Fail to Learn History
Are Doomed to Repeat It;
Those Who Fail To Learn History Correctly –
Why They Are Simply Doomed.”

Achemdro’hm
“The Illusion of Historical Fact”
— C. Y. 4971

Andromeda

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Sandy –

When I was looking for appetizers that were “southwestern”, I guess spicy is just their nature, because that was all I found. I really didn’t think about it, just tried to get a variety. I guess the chicken taquitos were spicy too? (I didn’t actually eat anything in there myself, as I was too busy.) I guess that only left biscuits, chips, cheeses, veggies & fruit as options for you. 🙁 Sorry about that.

Yeah, the oil candles under the table was the hotel’s idea. Fail. I’m sure under normal circumstances that might work fine/be pretty for them, but not for a group with big skirts!

— In runacc@yahoogroups.com, Pierre & Sandy Pettinger <costumrs@…> wrote:
>
> Sandy only here:
> Out of the foods listed, the only things I could
> eat were on the cheese, etc. platter. Kind of
> disappointing when seeing the size of the
> spread. I realize you can’t cater to everyones’
> tastes, but EVERYTHING else there was spicy. It
> needed at least one other item that wasn’t spicy.
>
> Also, I don’t know whose idea it was to put the
> lit candles on the floor under the buffet table,
> but that was a REALLY bad idea. I gather one
> person’s costume actually did catch on fire
> briefly. Not a good way to start….
>
> At 12:09 PM 6/13/2012, you wrote:
>
> >Henry, since you’re asking, we requested
> >theatre-style seating for 60, in part to
> >acknowledge the CC Runway event & the Single
> >Pattern Show, and figuring some people would
> >just like to sit theatre-style for them.
> >
> >The bulk of the space was designated for a
> >mixture banquet and cocktail rounds, with a few
> >tallboys for folks that might want to stand and socialize.
> >
> >Yes, the poker games were supposed to start much
> >earlier, but the proposed schedule for the
> >evening went wonky somewhere (not sure what happened).
> >
> >The food was appetizers only, but because our
> >hotel contract gave us a hefty (in our minds)
> >f&b minimum to meet, we thought we’d do that at
> >the Friday Night Social, and surprise folks with some interesting fare.
> >
> >For the record, we served:
> >chipotle deviled eggs (6 doz servings)
> >bbq steak bites (4 doz svgs)
> >bacon-wrapped jalapenos (6 doz svgs)
> >bbq shredded pork on biscuits (6 doz svgs)
> >chicken taquitos (6 doz svgs)
> >chips, salsa, guac platter (x1, serves 50)
> >cheese, fruit & veggie platters (x2 ea, serves 40-50 ea)
> >
> >Our Catering person thought that would not be
> >enough food, but as it turns out, it was more
> >than enough. I did want to figure on having
> >enough food that folks involved in the two shows
> >would still have the opportunity for a variety
> >to eat after they were released. And that was the logic behind the food.
> >
> >I didn’t realize that “pumpkin time” for folks
> >would be so early, and so was figuring the
> >Social would run past 11pm. (It started at 8pm)
> >
> >— In
> ><mailto:runacc%40yahoogroups.com>runacc@yahoogroups.com, osierhenry@ wrote:
> > >
> > > A few quick thoughts about the Friday Social
> > from the top of my head, and I
> > > am going to try not to repeat Bruce’s, which are very good.
> > >
> > > Why Theater Seating for a Social?
> > >
> > > Why wasn’t the Raffle used a filler during the course of the evening
> > > instead of as an end piece?
> > >
> > > I heard that after everything, there was a
> > poker game happening there. But,
> > > after everything else, I was not interested in staying longer. And why
> > > wasn’t it going when people showed up, as it
> > would have been in an Old West
> > > Saloon?
> > >
> > > General Question: When did the Friday Social become an event to get dinner
> > > at? With a start time of 7 PM, at the earliest, shouldn’t it be time for
> > > cocktail snacks?
> > >
> > > Henry Osier
> > >
> > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
> > >
> >
> >
>
> International Costumers’ Guild Archivist
>
> http://www.costume.org/gallery2/main.php
>
> “Those Who Fail to Learn History
> Are Doomed to Repeat It;
> Those Who Fail To Learn History Correctly –
> Why They Are Simply Doomed.”
>
> Achemdro’hm
> “The Illusion of Historical Fact”
> — C. Y. 4971
>
> Andromeda
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>

In a message dated 6/13/2012 2:07:54 PM Central Daylight Time,
MartinGear@comcast.net writes:

> Henry –
> I couldn’t agree with you more. But at the same time, the hotel saw them
> coming and took advantage of them.
>
>
>

To be blunt, F yea! And, in my opinion, those idiots deserved to get a raw
deal.

Henry

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

The candles under the tables were the hotel’s idea?! I’m surprised the fire marshal permitted it. I’m even more surprised that the hotel’s insurance policy permitted it.

Future CC concoms need to remember that the fire marshal has the final say on any physical arrangements and can shut down without warning a space that does not meet the local fire code. The venue’s insurance policy also needs to be consulted for restrictions based on liability.

Byron

On Jun 14, 2012, at 1:09 PM, Margie wrote:

> Sandy –
>
> When I was looking for appetizers that were “southwestern”, I guess spicy is just their nature, because that was all I found. I really didn’t think about it, just tried to get a variety. I guess the chicken taquitos were spicy too? (I didn’t actually eat anything in there myself, as I was too busy.) I guess that only left biscuits, chips, cheeses, veggies & fruit as options for you. 🙁 Sorry about that.
>
> Yeah, the oil candles under the table was the hotel’s idea. Fail. I’m sure under normal circumstances that might work fine/be pretty for them, but not for a group with big skirts!
>
> — In runacc@yahoogroups.com, Pierre & Sandy Pettinger <costumrs@…> wrote:
> >
> > Sandy only here:
> > Out of the foods listed, the only things I could
> > eat were on the cheese, etc. platter. Kind of
> > disappointing when seeing the size of the
> > spread. I realize you can’t cater to everyones’
> > tastes, but EVERYTHING else there was spicy. It
> > needed at least one other item that wasn’t spicy.
> >
> > Also, I don’t know whose idea it was to put the
> > lit candles on the floor under the buffet table,
> > but that was a REALLY bad idea. I gather one
> > person’s costume actually did catch on fire
> > briefly. Not a good way to start….
> >
> > At 12:09 PM 6/13/2012, you wrote:
> >
> > >Henry, since you’re asking, we requested
> > >theatre-style seating for 60, in part to
> > >acknowledge the CC Runway event & the Single
> > >Pattern Show, and figuring some people would
> > >just like to sit theatre-style for them.
> > >
> > >The bulk of the space was designated for a
> > >mixture banquet and cocktail rounds, with a few
> > >tallboys for folks that might want to stand and socialize.
> > >
> > >Yes, the poker games were supposed to start much
> > >earlier, but the proposed schedule for the
> > >evening went wonky somewhere (not sure what happened).
> > >
> > >The food was appetizers only, but because our
> > >hotel contract gave us a hefty (in our minds)
> > >f&b minimum to meet, we thought we’d do that at
> > >the Friday Night Social, and surprise folks with some interesting fare.
> > >
> > >For the record, we served:
> > >chipotle deviled eggs (6 doz servings)
> > >bbq steak bites (4 doz svgs)
> > >bacon-wrapped jalapenos (6 doz svgs)
> > >bbq shredded pork on biscuits (6 doz svgs)
> > >chicken taquitos (6 doz svgs)
> > >chips, salsa, guac platter (x1, serves 50)
> > >cheese, fruit & veggie platters (x2 ea, serves 40-50 ea)
> > >
> > >Our Catering person thought that would not be
> > >enough food, but as it turns out, it was more
> > >than enough. I did want to figure on having
> > >enough food that folks involved in the two shows
> > >would still have the opportunity for a variety
> > >to eat after they were released. And that was the logic behind the food.
> > >
> > >I didn’t realize that “pumpkin time” for folks
> > >would be so early, and so was figuring the
> > >Social would run past 11pm. (It started at 8pm)
> > >
> > >— In
> > ><mailto:runacc%40yahoogroups.com>runacc@yahoogroups.com, osierhenry@ wrote:
> > > >
> > > > A few quick thoughts about the Friday Social
> > > from the top of my head, and I
> > > > am going to try not to repeat Bruce’s, which are very good.
> > > >
> > > > Why Theater Seating for a Social?
> > > >
> > > > Why wasn’t the Raffle used a filler during the course of the evening
> > > > instead of as an end piece?
> > > >
> > > > I heard that after everything, there was a
> > > poker game happening there. But,
> > > > after everything else, I was not interested in staying longer. And why
> > > > wasn’t it going when people showed up, as it
> > > would have been in an Old West
> > > > Saloon?
> > > >
> > > > General Question: When did the Friday Social become an event to get dinner
> > > > at? With a start time of 7 PM, at the earliest, shouldn’t it be time for
> > > > cocktail snacks?
> > > >
> > > > Henry Osier
> > > >
> > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
> > > >
> > >
> > >
> >
> > International Costumers’ Guild Archivist
> >
> > http://www.costume.org/gallery2/main.php
> >
> > “Those Who Fail to Learn History
> > Are Doomed to Repeat It;
> > Those Who Fail To Learn History Correctly –
> > Why They Are Simply Doomed.”
> >
> > Achemdro’hm
> > “The Illusion of Historical Fact”
> > — C. Y. 4971
> >
> > Andromeda
> >
> > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
> >
>
>

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

I know Sandy couldn’t eat the stuff, but I enjoyed quite a bit of it all. I
really like SW food. As I believe you and I acknowledged, not having to
publish the Folio frees up more money for better catering.

As for “pumpkin time”, I think this can vary, but I think the pacing of the
evening sort of mentally drained any ability to stay up later. Or, maybe
we’re just getting’ old. 😉

Bruce

—–Original Message—–
From: runacc@yahoogroups.com [mailto:runacc@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of
Margie
Sent: Wednesday, June 13, 2012 12:10 PM
To: runacc@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [runacc] Re: Costume-Con 30 Review – Runacc: Friday Night Social &
Single Pat…

The food was appetizers only, but because our hotel contract gave us a hefty
(in our minds) f&b minimum to meet, we thought we’d do that at the Friday
Night Social, and surprise folks with some interesting fare.

For the record, we served:
chipotle deviled eggs (6 doz servings)
bbq steak bites (4 doz svgs)
bacon-wrapped jalapenos (6 doz svgs)
bbq shredded pork on biscuits (6 doz svgs) chicken taquitos (6 doz svgs)
chips, salsa, guac platter (x1, serves 50) cheese, fruit & veggie platters
(x2 ea, serves 40-50 ea)

Our Catering person thought that would not be enough food, but as it turns
out, it was more than enough. I did want to figure on having enough food
that folks involved in the two shows would still have the opportunity for a
variety to eat after they were released. And that was the logic behind the
food.

I didn’t realize that “pumpkin time” for folks would be so early, and so was
figuring the Social would run past 11pm. (It started at 8pm)

Yup – on the main nights, this was pretty much spot-on.

Bruce

—–Original Message—–
From: runacc@yahoogroups.com [mailto:runacc@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of
Martin Gear
Sent: Wednesday, June 13, 2012 1:15 PM
To: runacc@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [runacc] Talking to Your Venue – The contract

One point to consider when you are considering a venue for a Costume Con,
you want to “Own the Hotel” which means being able to rent at least half
(more is better) of their sleeping rooms during the core nights (Friday,
Saturday & Sunday) and remember that on the average you should figure on 3
people per room/night. i.e. if you expect to have a 300 attending members,
then you will have 100 rooms per night. This means that a 500 room hotel is
right out no matter how great their facilities. There are exceptions to all
of this, of course, but these are the figures that you should keep in mind
when planning your con.

Marty

In a message dated 6/15/2012 6:57:14 AM Central Daylight Time,
casamai@sbcglobal.net writes:

> As for “pumpkin time”, I think this can vary, but I think the pacing of
> the
> evening sort of mentally drained any ability to stay up later. Or, maybe
> we’re just getting’ old. 😉

I think I was also bored after the raffle.

Henry

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Mixing in the exhibitions was probably a good idea, otherwise, it would have
been a short show. It was paced well, and the MC was okay. Judging seemed
to take too long. You’d think that, since the documentation and close-up
judging had already taken care of, it should have been a relatively quick
task. But, it still took beyond the 20 minute bellydance troupe
performance, announcements &

photo run before they returned.

Awards – everyone got one. There were only 5 eligible entries. I’ll let

someone else address this topic.

In a conversation during a panel, Kevin had an interesting thought regarding
Historical Interpretation entries in the Historical. Given that they often
don’t need much in the way of documentation, it might speed up judging to
give the choice to just have a 5 minute interview to explain their concept,
since their focus is more for on stage performance. Our folks thought it a
good idea, so long as that route was optional.

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

The tech crew was pretty good at what they did, and were very accommodating
to quick, on the fly, changes of plan. Tadao, himself, was a little
overworked (having been working several other conventions shortly before
CC30). (Some people got tired of his filler “stand-up” because it was
always the same patter each time he had to stall.) It probably would have
been better if they’d just let people get up and wander around. Sometimes,
I think some con staff may’ve neglected to at least give him a heads up
about certain MD needs.

There was a noticeable lack of Guild awards this year, save for one during
the FNS (I think) and a couple backstage. Granted, In the past, there have
been problems with some Guild chapters taking up way too much time
explaining what their award was for. But an official announced policy
limiting the number of said awards pretty much put a damper on them all.
Some people missed them. Yes, they can get of hand, but there are other
ways of keeping presentations to a minimum without killing the whole
concept.

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Others, however, had strong reservations about making workmanship judging optional for historical interpretation entries.

Byron

On Jun 15, 2012, at 11:45 PM, Nora & Bruce Mai wrote:

> Mixing in the exhibitions was probably a good idea, otherwise, it would have
> been a short show. It was paced well, and the MC was okay. Judging seemed
> to take too long. You’d think that, since the documentation and close-up
> judging had already taken care of, it should have been a relatively quick
> task. But, it still took beyond the 20 minute bellydance troupe
> performance, announcements &
>
> photo run before they returned.
>
> Awards – everyone got one. There were only 5 eligible entries. I’ll let
>
> someone else address this topic.
>
> In a conversation during a panel, Kevin had an interesting thought regarding
> Historical Interpretation entries in the Historical. Given that they often
> don’t need much in the way of documentation, it might speed up judging to
> give the choice to just have a 5 minute interview to explain their concept,
> since their focus is more for on stage performance. Our folks thought it a
> good idea, so long as that route was optional.
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Supposedly, there were hall costume awards given out, but neither nor I saw
any of the judges. Don’t know if that means they were good or not.

I couldn’t put my finger on it most of the weekend until the observation was
made that there was a lack of a critical mass of crowd energy, mostly
because there were rarely large groups of people in the same place at the
same time (except during breaks in the shows). If there were roughly 350+
attendees on site, you wouldn’t know it. The central atrium/hallways at
CC25 and CC27 had lots of people passing through, meeting new people and
old friends. While CC30 had lots of seating and tables, we didn’t see a lot
of people taking advantage of it, because it was all outside in the
courtyard – with the heat. That meant you had to wait until there was
shade, or until the evening. The hotel lobby had a fair amount of seating,
but all the traffic involved crossing the courtyard. We missed saying
goodbye to people leaving on Monday, because the traffic was so diffused.

Random notes from our last meeting, where we actually talked about CC30 in
person for the first time:

Allow observers in the workshops, even if all the workshop slots are full.

Programming note: Make sure people are prepared for their panels. There was
at least one person who brought the wrong thumb drive with the pictures of
ethnic costumes they were supposed to show, so the panelist spent the entire
talking about their own costume experiences – with no pictures. Dull.

The con website may’ve been taken down a little too fast. All that’s left
is the wrap-up pages. In any case, it might be good to save an entire copy
on a file somewhere for reference purposes.

Speaking of the website, one person remarked that the rules for the
Historical Masquerade came across as if talking down to potential entrants.
Since that part of the website is gone, I can’t verify that.

Having sewing machines in Ops was deemed a good idea – at least 2 people
availed themselves of it.

The CC30 committee should get credit for doing a good job of analysis of
their own performance after the event – if they were as good about their
discussions before the con, they might have had fewer problems behind the
scenes. At least these communications problems didn’t present themselves in
a way attendees would have noticed.

There was apparently a misunderstanding as to what the “Info Booth” was
supposed to be. People thought it was for info about the convention, but
was actually more about the surroundings of the hotel. It would have been
more useful for someone to be able to speak about schedule changes, what
panels were in what rooms, etc. I think what people were getting at was
perhaps someone who was a living pocket program. Not a bad idea, given the
technology available with computers and smart phones.

All the new people we met were having a good time, and many planned to
travel to Denver next year. It’s too bad that there was apparently no
official tracking of how many new people were at the con, but going by the
number of First Timer ribbons given out, there was something like 80+.

Mr. Mike can tell you how many pre-registrants he has so far for next year –
sounds pretty good for a year out.

Given that everyone we ran across expressed that they were having a good
time, we can say the con was a success. (One of our folks said that, out of
the 4 years they’ve attended so far, this one was the best for them). For
seasoned vets, you kind of get jaded after a while, so it’s harder to be
impressed, so many of them felt it was not the best CC they’ve been to, nor
was it the worst by any stretch of the imagination.

The consensus was CC30 was a 7 out of 10.

Keep in mind this review is highly subjective. However, it’s a good
representation of your average CC-goers, since the majority of the 12 – 15
of us have been attending CC for close to 20 years. Hopefully, the future
CC committee members on this list will take this review and use it to avoid
the most common pitfalls.

If there’s just one thing to take away from this review, it’s the importance
of good communication before and during the event. That, and reminding
those staff who have not attended a CC (which is highly recommended before
actually running one), that there are similarities, but CC has its own
quirks, community and traditions. Avoid what one person said: “A con is a
con is a con”. It’s not a “convention”: it’s a CONFERENCE.

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

On Mon, Jun 11, 2012 at 8:42 PM, Nora & Bruce Mai <casamai@sbcglobal.net>wrote:

> The Single Pattern was run like a formal masquerade, which didn’t help,
> either. It was very regimented: the Director insisted that every entry
> have
> some sort of explanation/text for their entry(like the Folio) and wouldn’t
> take “don’t have any” for an answer. They also insisted people should show
> up in the Green Room as close to 5:00 as possible (with the show at 8:00)
> so
> that judging would be able to take place. Given the (ordinarily)
> simplicity
> of the Show, this was overkill.
>

I was working for Byron in the green room, so I had another view of this.

When people arrived, the Director indicated that the entrants had to go to

> one location to be judged, then move to a different location for
> photography. The reasoning for this was so that it was known when people
> were through with both tasks. Several people were annoyed by the confusion
> this engendered.
>

Seriously, Diane couldn’t have done a better job obsessing over things that
aren’t important and ignoring things that are.

Ferrying entrants through judging and photo didn’t need her undivided
attention. They just needed checklists in the hands of the right people
(green room head or clerk, judge’s clerk-did she have one?). These are
tasks that should be delegated.

Ensuring that entrants were photographed in run order didn’t need her
attention at all. It didn’t need to be done.

Explaining to the crew and the green room the traffic flow needed her
attention, but was only obtained by prying it out of her. If this had been
clear, the green room layout could have been optimized for the show.
Instead, single pattern entrants had to go through a (small) crowd of CC
Runway contestants, who were justifiably nervous themselves, and the edge
of the photo area. It was a suboptimal traffic flow.

In the end, the green room crew and the tech crew cobbled together a
walk-through plan and got seating in the house for the single pattern
entrants reserved. This isn’t something we should have had to cobble
together on the fly, though.

Even with the unanticipated large number of entrants, the green room was
more than large enough to support 4 dens, the CC runway entrants, a big
photo area and judging (instead of doing it elsewhere). Simple things were
made unnecessarily complicated, and complicated things were left to chance.

The show itself went okay, although the MC was apparently unfamiliar with

> what “CC” means. He also had some problems with some pronunciations. The
> judging, took way too long. I can’t remember how many awards there were,
> but it probably could have used a maximum, like the Fashion Show
> traditional
> three. The more there are, the longer the judges will deliberate.
>

Single Pattern should have set awards. It was created to be a light,
low-pressure show. Kevin can elaborate on this more.

The “Social” amounted to being part of the halftime for the show. At least

> the appetizers served were good and plentiful (however, they didn’t turn up
> the lights up after the show so you couldn’t read the signs identifying
> what
> some of the less obvious ones were).
>

Had the single pattern contest not been such a mess, the social might have
been more social.

> Part of the wait for judges was occupied with the “Project Costume-Con”
> show/competition (patterned after the “Project Runway” show). The concept
> was an interesting idea, and the participants enjoyed themselves, but for
> me
> and the people I was sitting with, it went on way too long. For anyone who
> wasn’t a fan of the show, the pacing of the presenting of the outfits and
> judging dragged and didn’t make for very interesting watching. At least
> the
> outfits were well done. Most people thought PCC worth fine-tuning &
> continuing, but there was a good suggestion made that perhaps it should be
> spun off as a daytime program event where people could walk in and out of
> the room, rather than having a “captive audience” as it was on Friday
> night.
>

CC Runway was interesting, and the individual parts were nice and short. If
it happens again, the folks involved have to binge on the segments of the
show being recreated on stage to really get a feel for making the process
entertaining for the audience.

The night continued to drag on, waiting for the judges to return. People

were getting bored, despite the runway show, and the photo run. The

drawing of names for door prizes with the tickets that had been handed out

> earlier in the evening should have occurred throughout the evening – not at
> the end. By the time the awards were announced, it was near or past 10:30
> and people were heading for the exits.
>

The judges ran a bit long, but the real wait was on the prizes. Diane
wasn’t willing to announce without the physical prizes in hand. She wasn’t
willing to do anything to facilitate prize item pick-up on Saturday or
later. And I guess she wasn’t willing to go with anybody to ops to pick up
the prizes herself.

This is something that should have been obsessed over before the show
started, not when people want to get on with the social. She could have
taken care of this when she was going psycho over photo happening in run
order.

So the short? It could have been much worse if Byron wasn’t a great green
room head and Tadao’s crew wasn’t capable of improvising. I came out of it
with a list of new things I’m never doing if/when I run a show again.

andy

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Personally I felt like I was being held hostage after each show by
having the lights kept down in the room.

Michael

On 2012-06-15 20:51, Nora & Bruce Mai wrote:

> CC30). (Some people got tired of his filler “stand-up” because it
> was
> always the same patter each time he had to stall.) It probably would
> have
> been better if they’d just let people get up and wander around.
> Sometimes,
> I think some con staff may’ve neglected to at least give him a heads
> up
> about certain MD needs.

I respectfully disagree. I’d say we get an 8 out of 10.

— In runacc@yahoogroups.com, “Nora & Bruce Mai” <casamai@…> wrote:
>
> Supposedly, there were hall costume awards given out, but neither nor I saw
> any of the judges. Don’t know if that means they were good or not.
>
>
>
> I couldn’t put my finger on it most of the weekend until the observation was
> made that there was a lack of a critical mass of crowd energy, mostly
> because there were rarely large groups of people in the same place at the
> same time (except during breaks in the shows). If there were roughly 350+
> attendees on site, you wouldn’t know it. The central atrium/hallways at
> CC25 and CC27 had lots of people passing through, meeting new people and
> old friends. While CC30 had lots of seating and tables, we didn’t see a lot
> of people taking advantage of it, because it was all outside in the
> courtyard – with the heat. That meant you had to wait until there was
> shade, or until the evening. The hotel lobby had a fair amount of seating,
> but all the traffic involved crossing the courtyard. We missed saying
> goodbye to people leaving on Monday, because the traffic was so diffused.
>
>
>
> Random notes from our last meeting, where we actually talked about CC30 in
> person for the first time:
>
>
>
> Allow observers in the workshops, even if all the workshop slots are full.
>
>
>
> Programming note: Make sure people are prepared for their panels. There was
> at least one person who brought the wrong thumb drive with the pictures of
> ethnic costumes they were supposed to show, so the panelist spent the entire
> talking about their own costume experiences – with no pictures. Dull.
>
>
>
> The con website may’ve been taken down a little too fast. All that’s left
> is the wrap-up pages. In any case, it might be good to save an entire copy
> on a file somewhere for reference purposes.
>
>
>
> Speaking of the website, one person remarked that the rules for the
> Historical Masquerade came across as if talking down to potential entrants.
> Since that part of the website is gone, I can’t verify that.
>
>
>
> Having sewing machines in Ops was deemed a good idea – at least 2 people
> availed themselves of it.
>
>
>
> The CC30 committee should get credit for doing a good job of analysis of
> their own performance after the event – if they were as good about their
> discussions before the con, they might have had fewer problems behind the
> scenes. At least these communications problems didn’t present themselves in
> a way attendees would have noticed.
>
>
>
> There was apparently a misunderstanding as to what the “Info Booth” was
> supposed to be. People thought it was for info about the convention, but
> was actually more about the surroundings of the hotel. It would have been
> more useful for someone to be able to speak about schedule changes, what
> panels were in what rooms, etc. I think what people were getting at was
> perhaps someone who was a living pocket program. Not a bad idea, given the
> technology available with computers and smart phones.
>
>
>
> All the new people we met were having a good time, and many planned to
> travel to Denver next year. It’s too bad that there was apparently no
> official tracking of how many new people were at the con, but going by the
> number of First Timer ribbons given out, there was something like 80+.
>
>
>
> Mr. Mike can tell you how many pre-registrants he has so far for next year –
> sounds pretty good for a year out.
>
>
>
> Given that everyone we ran across expressed that they were having a good
> time, we can say the con was a success. (One of our folks said that, out of
> the 4 years they’ve attended so far, this one was the best for them). For
> seasoned vets, you kind of get jaded after a while, so it’s harder to be
> impressed, so many of them felt it was not the best CC they’ve been to, nor
> was it the worst by any stretch of the imagination.
>
>
>
> The consensus was CC30 was a 7 out of 10.
>
>
>
> Keep in mind this review is highly subjective. However, it’s a good
> representation of your average CC-goers, since the majority of the 12 – 15
> of us have been attending CC for close to 20 years. Hopefully, the future
> CC committee members on this list will take this review and use it to avoid
> the most common pitfalls.
>
>
>
> If there’s just one thing to take away from this review, it’s the importance
> of good communication before and during the event. That, and reminding
> those staff who have not attended a CC (which is highly recommended before
> actually running one), that there are similarities, but CC has its own
> quirks, community and traditions. Avoid what one person said: “A con is a
> con is a con”. It’s not a “convention”: it’s a CONFERENCE.
>
>
>
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>

I agree, and that certainly wasn’t the plan (or on the schedule). :/

— In runacc@yahoogroups.com, bruno@… wrote:
>
> Personally I felt like I was being held hostage after each show by
> having the lights kept down in the room.
>
> Michael
>
> On 2012-06-15 20:51, Nora & Bruce Mai wrote:
>
> > CC30). (Some people got tired of his filler “stand-up” because it
> > was
> > always the same patter each time he had to stall.) It probably would
> > have
> > been better if they’d just let people get up and wander around.
> > Sometimes,
> > I think some con staff may’ve neglected to at least give him a heads
> > up
> > about certain MD needs.
>

How long should these be kept?
And how do we feel about scanning them? Are e-files of the releases still as
valid?

Nora

I keep mine for 5 years. Scanned copies of a form with an original signature
will probably pass muster. I would not count on eforms necessarily passing
the test unless the individual has a “security certificate” and your
software captures that to.
Marty

Sent from my Verizon Wireless Phone

—–Original message—–
From: Nora & Bruce Mai <casamai@sbcglobal.net>
To: runacc@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Sun, Jul 1, 2012 13:35:02 GMT+00:00
Subject: [runacc] Signed releases

How long should these be kept?
And how do we feel about scanning them? Are e-files of the releases still as
valid?

Nora

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]