runacc.costume-con.org

On 5/8/2011 5:17 PM, Byron Connell wrote:

> Andy, may I have permission to cross-post your comments to the SLUTs? We’re working on our own critique and probably would benefit from some of your comments that differ from those expressed on that list. To the CC29 staff list, too.

Go ahead, both are OK with me.

andy

Great, lots of folks aren’t on here.

As for not posting here yet – hadn’t got here yet & then didn’t know that
you had. Our Outlook has a problem with the runacc posts, keeps putting them
in the spam folder no matter what we try.

I have to keep checking it & hadn’t done so in a couple of days J

Stupid Outlook.

Nora

From: runacc@yahoogroups.com [mailto:runacc@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of
Andrew T Trembley
Sent: Sunday, May 08, 2011 7:19 PM
To: runacc@yahoogroups.com
Cc: Byron Connell
Subject: Re: [runacc] What, silence on CC29?

On 5/8/2011 5:17 PM, Byron Connell wrote:
> Andy, may I have permission to cross-post your comments to the SLUTs?
We’re working on our own critique and probably would benefit from some of
your comments that differ from those expressed on that list. To the CC29
staff list, too.

Go ahead, both are OK with me.

andy

————————————

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

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I’ve made a point of encouraging a couple of new friends to come every year, i.e. “The Montrealers”.
There were actually several new friends again this year, including other Canadians _not_ from Montreal. ;D LOL
I know most people can’t tell the difference. ;D
~Dawn

…but the lack of novice and journeyman entries shows up that we’re not
reaching enough new people.

This is a bad thing. I know a lot of people like the quiet, intimate,
“everyone here is my friend” kind of vibe when, well, it’s mostly the
same people we see every year, but we can’t depend on that. The
Montrealers have been a breath of fresh air, but we need more new
people. We need enough new people that some of them decide to make this
an annual thing and we keep developing a strong core group that’s
interested in working the cons too.

andy

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

Good review. We’re saying a lot of similar things on the SLUTS list. I’m
in the process of putting together our review right now, but it still has to
go through review, then get cleaned up before the RUNACC list.

I agree about needing to get more new people. I think we’re starting to see
more, but not nearly at as fast a rate as we need. Promotion is still
uneven, but the cost factor is also an issue, and I’m not sure how to solve
that.

Yay for our enthusiastic Canadians for bringing down so many new people!

Bruce

From: runacc@yahoogroups.com [mailto:runacc@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of
Andrew T Trembley
Sent: Sunday, May 08, 2011 5:43 PM
To: runacc@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [runacc] What, silence on CC29?

To start, there was a great deal of “excellent” in this con, and not
just because someone did a Bill & Ted entry.

Hotel:
We could have done without the school kids and the Governor, but kudos
to the committee for dealing with those issues.

Hotel lay-out was a bit weird, the function room layout made it feel
simultaneously spread-out, claustrophobic and ghettoized, but there was
nothing the convention could really do about it.

While there were good servers in the restaurant and the food was decent,
service was pretty bad. This is an endemic problem in Hilton properties
these days, and a common problem with hotel restaurant management that
just doesn’t believe we need to eat. It doesn’t really reflect on the
committee.

The “Sky Room” for Friday night was great.

The ballroom for masquerade wasn’t optimal, but it’s what they had. Size
was good, but the low ceilings were a handicap.

I’ll let people in the shows comment definitively on the location and
size of green room. The location and path looked OK to me.

The suite for consuite was a good layout and size except at the busiest
times.

Reg:
Quick and efficient when I picked up. There were a few times (like
before F&SF) that it should have been open to sell masquerade tickets (I
was there when two women showed up who were just coming in to help an
entrant and the reg desk couldn’t sell tickets).

Tech:
What can I say? The gang is excellent and dealt successfully with
fucked-up rental agencies. They made the best of the low ceilings in the
ballroom. Joel, Larry and the rest of technofandom are always a joy to
work with.

Consuite:
Mostly excellent, except for the Friday night early closure (which was
very visible). I’m going to say what Betsy said to us when she found out
that CDs weren’t ripped and data entry was slow because of staffing
issues: Ask for help, at the first sign of trouble. Ask past and future
chairs if there’s someone attending who might have the necessary skills
to fill in. I would have helped. We ran hospitality at World Fantasy
2009, partially to verify whether or not we had really learned from
issues at CC26 (we avoided those same issues).

The Phoenix and Canada parties were fabulous.

Dealers’ Room:
Small, but quality. Nice variety. Having everything in one secureable
room would have been better, but you match demands and space as you can.

Exhibits/Hats/Dolls:
A little slow to start, but beautiful and varied. Kudos to the
organizers for getting so many people to show, and to everyone who showed.

Program:
People went to panels. Nearly every panel I saw, walked by or was on had
an audience (sometimes light, but an audience). Workshops appeared to be
very popular and well-attended.

Friday night social:
It felt like a social. The amateur theatricals were decent. It was a lot
of fun.

F&SF Masquerade:
Except for Chrism’s fall, great. I’ve heard a few complaints about Judy
Mitchell’s abruptness as a workmanship judge (and not just from Carole,
she was just loudest and most public as usual) but I’ve been referring
those to the directors. I expect we’ll hear complaints about awards. The
distribution of entrants among divisions is a bit worrying. I’ll cover
that at the end.

Fashion Show/Single Pattern:
With a half-and-half distribution? How did that happen? We saw a strong
group of fashion show entries and a strong group of single pattern
entries. The show ran smoothly. Very good. It was a bit late in the
afternoon, though, and I’m wondering how much that impacted tech
rehearsal for historical.

Historical:
Mostly excellent. Also the same concern about distribution of entries
among the divisions. I heard complaints about rehearsal and pre-judging
delays, along with how long the judging interval was. Award delays were
made worse by the lack of half-time entertainment (after the photo run).
Kevin can address the view from the inside.

Dead Dog:
Eric and Sue re-running the masquerades was cool, and it was nice giving
folks who missed the video masq submissions a chance to see them.

Promotion:
I said that I was concerned about the distribution of entrants. We’re
talking a huge proportion of master entries in each competition. Now
it’s really cool that we have that many master entries, and it makes for
a real blockbuster of a show…

…but the lack of novice and journeyman entries shows up that we’re not
reaching enough new people.

This is a bad thing. I know a lot of people like the quiet, intimate,
“everyone here is my friend” kind of vibe when, well, it’s mostly the
same people we see every year, but we can’t depend on that. The
Montrealers have been a breath of fresh air, but we need more new
people. We need enough new people that some of them decide to make this
an annual thing and we keep developing a strong core group that’s
interested in working the cons too.

andy

————————————

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

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Sorry, Dawn, but y’all look alike to us!

Elaine
Nil significat nisi oscillat!

I’ve made a point of encouraging a couple of new friends to come every year, i.e. “The Montrealers”.
There were actually several new friends again this year, including other Canadians _not_ from Montreal. ;D LOL
I know most people can’t tell the difference. ;D
~Dawn

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

dawn, don’t believe her, we all look alike – we dress up and no one can tell us
apart or who we are!!!!
Dora Buck
who is now going to be sewing and competing instead of running it

________________________________
From: Elaine Mami <ecmami@hotmail.com>
To: Betsy D <runacc@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Tue, May 10, 2011 6:27:05 PM
Subject: RE: [runacc] What, silence on CC29?

Sorry, Dawn, but y’all look alike to us!

Elaine
Nil significat nisi oscillat!

I’ve made a point of encouraging a couple of new friends to come every year,
i.e. “The Montrealers”.

There were actually several new friends again this year, including other
Canadians _not_ from Montreal. ;D LOL
I know most people can’t tell the difference. ;D
~Dawn

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

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

Time once again for the Costume-Con review as seen through the eyes of
members of the SLUTS and their friends. This is more of a summarized
version of the “warts & all”
review that was posted on the SLCG’s Yahoo Group. There will be some
details, for the purposes of the folks on this list to be aware of, as
organizers. Some additional stuff may appear in the ICG newsletter. A
much condensed version has already appeared on the CC30 Google list.

Right off the bat, we want to say that any criticisms were mainly nitpicks –
we had a pretty good time at CC29. Many of the problems we will point out
are recurring mistakes committees either fail to anticipate, etc. There
were only minor annoyances and questions people spoke up about on the list.
The main thing that seemed to be a problem for this convention (and this
seems to be an ongoing CC problem) was lapses in communication at times.

BEFORE THE CON

There seemed to be a lack of co-ordination of publicity. There were
regular updates on Facebook, but there was practically no representation on
the Costume-Con Yahoo Group (which has some 60 – 70 members), or the D-List
(which boasts 300+ members) or the Cosplay.com forum, where many cosplayers
are finding out about CC. We recommend to future committees to make sure
there is someone able to monitor all these venues. It can make a valuable
first impression when there’s a friendly presence out there. They can also
provide useful early feedback to the committee or squash incorrect
impressions/rumors before they get out of hand. Finally, any information
needs to be posted on all these places – not just Facebook or just the CC
list, etc.

And while we understand it gets tedious to have to constantly answer the
same questions over and over, it’s just not a good policy to say “go to our
website” – where the questioner then has to click around to find the info.
People are lazy – they don’t want to have to work for it. Either post a
direct link or take the opportunity to not only answer the question but also
add any other info that might be pertinent. It would have been nice to
either have a second PR closer to the con. We don’t really have a problem
with it only being published on the web – hopefully there were some paper
ones handed out for promotional purposes, but we don’t know for sure.
Semi-related to before-the-con impressions – a few words about hotel
reservations. There seemed to be a constant problem with getting
reservations correct. To the con committee’s credit, every time they were
made aware of a problem, they were fairly quick about looking into it, but
we’re not sure why this happened multiple times. This is another contact
point that can set the tone for a convention-goer – especially the new ones.
Upon arrival, there was at least two instances where the reservation was
still incorrect, but turned out to be okay. Nonetheless, we suspect there
were more. Why this continued to be difficult, we’re not sure. We’ve
gotten later info that explained some of the reasons why the hotel kept
changing up the reservations, and hopefully, that won’t be a problem in the
future.

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Having run 2 CCs ourselves, we recognize that con committees often have
little choice on the size of the room used for the con suite, but we did get
complaints about the size. And being too warm.

General Con Suite observations: The convention-supplied snacks were a bit
sparse and unimaginative. However, we heard that some supplies were
either late getting put out or not put out at all. There needed to be
better monitoring on making sure there were plenty of cold drinks. Also,
there wasn’t as much variety as we would have liked to have seen. Given
the hotel alternative, though, we appreciated the modest breakfast supplies
(ie. sweet rolls, bagels, milk, orange juice, etc.). Not having to go out
and hunt for the morning meal was a big plus.

Sponsors: Speaking of breakfasts, having sponsored breakfasts – an excellent
idea. Really appreciated the boiled eggs from Poison Pen Press. We’re a
big fan of protein as an integral part of a con suite’s supplies. Also,
liked the fact that something as simple as the cheese cubes and pepperoni
slices in one of the parties gave you two of the necessary components for
pizza. The Canadians’ CC32 suite party, after the Historical masquerade,
rocked the house with fresh crepes, maple flavored liqueurs and cookies.

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The concom gets a thumbs up for being prepared and having pre-reg
memberships ready for pickup in the Con Suite on Thursday night. Also,
having them available at the Friday Night Social was a very good idea. In
the past, late arrivals have feared they can’t enter if they haven’t picked
up their packets yet.

We found it odd was that, if you wanted a lanyard for your membership badge,
you had to pay for it. Most times, these are included as part of your
membership. Would it have cost that much more for a relatively inexpensive
item?

A nice touch was including a little sewing kit with the packets. These were
apparently donated by Byron and Tina Connell, because the con was strapped
for cash for a while.

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It seemed to be about the right size for the convention. Meeting spaces
were adequate. One complaint heard often over the weekend was the lack of
consistency of temperature in the various rooms. Either the staff was not
hearing about this, or didn’t have access to the controls, or didn’t bother
to notify the hotel staff about problems. Another complaint was the seeming
stinginess of small tables.

The hotel rooms were fairly typical, size-wise, but the closet space was
woefully inadequate. Given that this seems often to be the case, if you
know this will be a problem, recommending guests bring along a portable rack
to hang costumes on isn’t the worst idea in the world. There appeared to be
hotel reservation problems on people’s arrival, but I believe that’s already
been covered, so we won’t go into details again.

Speaking of parking, that was another point of interest, regarding
communication by the con committee. There was a question before the
convention about whether there was a parking fee. At first, the concom
waffled about it, but eventually the answer was (and was posted on the
website – not sure about the timing) it was $10 per day. After the weekend
was over, though, we weren’t charged for parking, so that was a nice
surprise.

The restaurant, had a limited fare, but it was overpriced (at least, to a
Midwesterner’s point of view, but Byron concurred). There were no other
choices within walking distance, so if you didn’t have access to
transportation, you were stuck. A printed list of nearby restaurants was
somewhat helpful, but a map with them marked out would have been better, so
people had an idea of how far away they were. The hotel bar was located in
the restaurant, with only 6 stools, so that limited its usefulness. There
was also no common area where people could hang out and socialize. There
was supposedly a heated pool, but it was closed, and once again, no hot tub.
We haven’t particularly liked this trend in CC hotels over the past few
years!

The hotel staff was friendly and helpful. The housekeeping staff got high
marks for responding quickly with room supply requests. On the other hand,
English was the second language in the restaurant.

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First impressions: good sized rooms, but suffered from warm temperatures.
More importantly, there were serious problems with organization of this
room. First of all, there was no guidance as to where to put things to
exhibit. Also, there was an inadequate number of display mannequins, so
many items that were brought to show never got exhibited properly or rotated
out on the mannequins – they were put on a clothes rack with no
identification at all. Signage was incomplete, with scant information or
context. On top of all this, the rooms were unguarded. Fortunately,
Costume-Cons aren’t a real high security risk, but there were other guests
of the hotel (including a busload of teenagers) who could have wandered in
without much notice. There were tables manned by various people across the
hall from the exhibit rooms, but it wouldn’t have been impossible to make
off with something – like the doll competition entries.

This having been said, the quality of the items that did get displayed was
fairly good. The number of dolls shown was smallish, but all interesting,
and the hat competition was interesting, as well.

As part of the ongoing communication problems with the con, there was no
mention in publications or announcements of when exhibits could be picked up
on Monday morning. Upon asking about, the answer was it would be open
Sunday morning at 9:00 AM. That morning, no one had arrived to unlock the
doors after 35 minutes. Finally, one of the other con staff requested that
the hotel staff unlock the doors.

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The most serious communication lapses with the convention were in related to
programming.

1. While some of us didn’t have as big a problem with it, at least one
person we polled felt that the list of panels in the Program Book should
have had the scheduled times published. Most of us just referred to the
Pocket Program.
Besides, we’ve been told most people don’t read their Program Books until
after the convention. So take that with a grain of salt.

2. More importantly, nowhere in the publications was there any listing
of which people were in what panels. The only way speakers could learn
where they were to appear was either by an email from the Programming
Director before the con, or a list (by name, not panel title) posted on a
wall near Registration. And anyone who attended a panel had no idea who the
speakers were unless they introduced themselves.

3. There was no signage to speak of, to direct people to the function
spaces, meeting rooms or the Con Suite. There was no map of the hotel,
either. A kiosk (like at CC25 and 27) or some other sort of bulletin board
that

was more readable and posted changes would have eased things.

4. The Pocket Program was readable, but truncated, and at least one
title did not match the listings in the PB.

5. The Con Suite times should have been listed on the Pocket Program.

6. Other things that should have been published: Green Room opening
times, the masquerades, the Fashion Show, Dealers Room hours, who was
sponsoring the Con Suite at what times (and maybe a thank you for doing so).

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

Most people felt the selection and breadth of panel subjects was pretty
good, and almost all of them were well attended. They also all ran on time.
We have a number of individual comments on some panels:

1. The people on the “Next Big Thing: Costume-Cons Yet to Come” panel
were not well prepared for questions. Only the Canadian bid seemed to have
ready answers.

2. Several panels could have used moderators. Either one speaker
dominated discussions, or they lacked focus. We would like to recommend
to the future committee Program Directors that they assign one person on the
panel to keep things on track.

3. Not all panel descriptions were accurate – having the speakers
themselves write the Program text (if you can get them to do it) would solve
this problem.

4. The PB listed the “Hats and Headpieces” panel was a “last minute
change in programming”. That’s probably why only one speaker showed up
because no plans were made to add any people who may have dropped off.

5. One of the speakers was not included in the pre-planning of the
knitting and crochet workshop. It wound up that most attendees were more
interested in crocheting, than knitting.

6. A number of people said that, while they were flattered to be asked
to be on panels, they felt over-scheduled.

7. Some felt there was not enough programming on Monday to justify
staying the extra day. This is an ongoing debate in a lot of circles. One
suggestion is perhaps to repeat some panels from earlier in the weekend, but
this is heavily dependent on speakers’ availability. It’s almost a chicken
or the egg conundrum: how to you get people to stay Monday if there’s no
programming, but how to you get speakers to stay over if everyone leaves?

8. There was little or no thought given to schedule changes. In one
particular incident, one of our folks found out that their Monday panel time
had changed by reading it in the convention daily newsletter that they
happened to come across in the Con Suite. If they had not known this, they
would have missed their panel.

A final note: in discussion on the CC30 list, and also on Cosplay.com, newer
people who spoke up seemed to be less impressed with the subject matter in
panels. They’re apparently looking for more advanced techniques to learn
and are less interested in panel discussions. The CC30 committee recognizes
that Programming is going to have to step up its game a bit to have more
appeal to the younger, newer people we’re starting to attract In more
numbers. (More on this later)

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The ballroom on the 12th floor was very nice, with a good view of Manhattan
in the distance. There was a traffic flow problem where people exited the
elevators, due to photographers and the “maitre d'” who was supposed to
announce arrivals and take “tips” (drawing tickets). The cash bar was
expensive ($4 for a soda or water? Seriously?).

Several people commented that they didn’t feel compelled to wear something
in line with the theme. Most people
wore something “formal-ish”, rather than dress as their favorite Broadway
character, etc. Mercifully, the music wasn’t so loud that you couldn’t
carry on a
conversation.

“Refreshments”: As one person put it, “Lamest – food – ever!” There was,
maybe, two smallish plates of vegetables. We presume this was because
having the

Hotel cater would have been expensive? Good thing Nora was surprised with a
big
birthday cake during the evening. (Again, thanks to the concom for
arranging this!)

The reasons for the “funny money” wasn’t well explained, but at least the
members’ names were on the back. The
drawings were fun, and there were some nice prizes (including stuff from the
future CCs), but it would have been better to spread them out, rather than
do them all at once, because once the drawings were over, people started
drifting back to their rooms.

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

Tech rehearsals seemed to go well, with no problems with people running late
or hogging time. “Issues” started early with the Green Room, though. It
was too small for the number of entries, and too warm. Why no one
re-arranged the chairs from the way the hotel did them so they’d be useful
is a mystery,
There were also no tables to set props and costume bits on, or clothing
racks to hang them on. No mirrors. And even though the room was open at
6:00 pm, there must have been a miscommunication about when Green Room crew
were supposed to be there and be available to entrants.

. The Masquerade Directors arrived at 6:10.

. The Workmanship Judge and clerk arrived around 6:10.

. The Den Mothers arrived shortly before 6:30 – not good.

. The repair table person arrived around 6:45. No reports of
“wardrobe malfunctions”. Was the kit available before that? Also, not
good.

. The Official Photographer – was late (40 – 45 minutes – more on
him, later).

The Green Room Director came in for a lot of criticism. They were,
reportedly, also late, because they had left the Green Room to find a needy
costumer a portable CD player so they could practice their
presentation(???). They were not organized – the dens had not been divided
up, nor had the “den moms” been assigned nor given any direction. This may
have been one reason why the inexperienced Den Mom had no clue at all.

Meanwhile, entrants were filing in, starting at 6:00, but the GRD couldn’t
seem to properly check the people in, nor tell them what den they were in.
Was that because they didn’t have a running list?
This caused people to wander around, waiting for instructions. And, for
some reason, they never appeared to get out from behind the check in table
to observe how conditions were in other parts of the room. It was reported
that the Green Room Director had never worked a CC masquerade before, and
was unaware that judges reference photos were needed, thus forcing the MDs
to scramble to get a digital camera, and one of them wound up shooting those
pictures. Someone also mentioned that the food they were eating should not
have been in the GR, in case of an accident with someone’s costume.

We heard several complaints about the Workmanship judging. Among others,
the judge insisted on taking people in running order(??). The Judges Clerk
acted more like a judge than a clerk at times. Most complaints centered
around the Judge’s time management. They started out giving the early
entrants generous amounts of time to talk about their costumes, but because
they had arrived late (and the Green Room Director had not set aside a place
to work), they felt pressured to spend less and less time with following
entries. As a result, the Judge came across as abrupt, rude and dismissive
(even
though we know that was not their intent). Nonetheless, the phrase “felt
cheated” was overheard at least twice in complaints to the MDs during the
halftime.

This has been a problem with workmanship judges in the recent CCs. We have
a couple of suggestions on how this can be made easier for everyone
involved. First – make sure the Workmanship Judge(s) arrive on time and are
ready to go when the Green Room opens, not some time after. Second, allot a
fixed time segment for each entry (divide the number of entries into the
time the GR is open, plus a “slop factor”). Make sure the contestants know
this ahead of time – like publish on the website before the con (and before
they enter the Green Room) and have the Judges Clerk keep a stopwatch to
ensure both the judge(s) or the contestants do not run over time.

IMPORTANT POINT: It occurred to us that the Workmanship judging may be the
single most important point of contact that sets the mood for the entire con
for anyone who is competing during the weekend. If they believe they are
not being treated in a fair, respectful fashion, this will put them off, and
they will tell their friends. Whether their impressions are correct or not,
this is how bad opinions about CC are spread. So we urge committees to
choose their Workmanship judges carefully for people skills as well as an
eye for good workmanship – learn as much as you can about their style, be
aware of any biases, make sure they arrive on time and make sure costumers
gets their due!

There were other problems, logistically, with the Green Room, including no
fans (hand or battery) for keeping costumers cooled, but at least there was
water. Fortunately, there were adequate snacks for nervous nibblers,
including protein(!), provided by the Northeast Costumers Guild (yay!).
There weren’t enough den moms for the number of entries. One den mom out of
the available four had no experience before, and should not have been left
by themselves. Fortunately, their den was mostly self-sufficient.

Most everyone has heard about the problem with the stage by now, so we won’t
spend any time on that. Suffice to say, MDs are on notice to walk the stage
in the future.

As for the rest of the show, it went relatively smoothly with only a few
bumps in the road. The tech crew was top-notch. They were, on the whole,
friendly, helpful and efficient. The audience liked the projection screen
on the side, but the costumers wished there had been a backstage video feed.
It was good
to see the return of Gordon Rose as MC, for the F & SF and the Historical
shows – his last appearance was at CC15.

There was some interesting discussion surrounding the
number and status of the “Judges Choice” awards, but otherwise, it was
mostly felt Presentation judging was fair.

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Given the 2:00 pm start time (which struck some as odd), there were
questions about why there was an 11:00 Green Room arrival time. For
less than 30 participants between both shows, it seemed unnecessarily
early. Also, two of the judges were roughly 15 minutes late at the time of
Green Room opening. No one was manning the repair table, although the kit
was there. The judges were apparently not given a room to deliberate the
awards, so they had to do so in the Green Room while the show participants
were out in the Ballroom rehearsing their turns on stage. When the
rehearsal was over, participants were kept out for a short while until the
judges were finished(??).

The official photographer was not in the Green Room – he had to be hunted
down, and when he was found, it seemed as though he was not informed that he
needed to record the event. Was he told? Once again, the stage was tricky
because the “thrust” platform projecting from the main stage was slightly
lower, which forced people to step down slightly. There were complaints
about the choice of music for the show, which seemed too formal and not very
fun.

Several people we spoke to, within and without our group, expressed that
they preferred to see these two shows split up. Otherwise, it forces some
people to choose one or another. Having the SP during the CC28 FNS seemed
to work out well.

There were a few complaints this year about the Single Pattern contest.
People acknowledged that finding patterns that are readily available in
advance, not too expensive, not too difficult to work with and yet lends
itself to a variety of modification — but this year’s choices were deemed
uninspiring. It is hoped that more effort will be made to either repeat
something from the past history of the convention or find a new garment to
use.

Entry-wise, the two shows’ participant numbers were still nothing like the
first decade of CC, but there were almost 30 people on stage, so perhaps
splitting up the shows in the future will help numbers increase.

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

We have very little information on how the pre-judging went – but no
complaints, either. The Green Room was more suitable for the smaller
masquerade, and was more comfortable. The photographer was on time, and
there was a better set of den moms to attend to the costumers.

There were a few complaints about some of the crew/ninjas for this show.
Some of this were the result of there apparently being no propmaster. This
caused some miscommunication regarding prop pre-sets. A specific complaint
was about one crewmember’s refusal to display a flag in a particular manner.
Otherwise, the crew seemed to be enjoying themselves throughout all shows.
A question was raised about some presentations sound tracks sounding muddy,
but this could have been the fault of the costumer’s audio, rather than the
crew equipment.

This show was also very Master Class heavy, which led to the judges
combining the Novices and
Journeymen into one group of 6: this struck some people within and without
our group as “odd”. Perhaps it’s the nature of the beast, because of the
potential for awards in three different categories (documentation,
workmanship and presentation), and maybe because it WAS so Master heavy, but
it did strike some as the Historical is becoming a venue where “everyone
gets a cookie”. Whether this trend needs further examination so that
awards do not become meaningless in the light of the philosophy of
“excellence deserves recognition” is fodder for a separate discussion.

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

For the F & SF masquerade, not only did the Official Photographer arrive
late, he was slow off the mark getting set up. Before he arrived, people
were setting props and costume bits in the only clear area of the Green Room
– where the photo area was supposed to go. Once the photographer was set
up, they were observed spending noticeable time chatting with some of the
nearby costumers, rather than shooting pictures. Whether this was because
the Green Room Director was not making sure den moms were bringing their
charges to him in a timely fashion or not at all was not certain. As
previously mentioned, he did not seem aware that he was supposed to take
pictures of the FFS and Single Pattern, but since he failed to show up for
the Single Pattern Show at CC27, as well, at least one person questioned his
commitment to making sure all events were being properly recorded. No
problems were reported for the Historical Masquerade photography. As a
side note, everyone agreed having long-time CC fan photog Steward Hartmann
taking charge of co-ordinating the photo lines during the judging periods of
the shows was much appreciated.

Speaking of other photographers, a word about Penny Ladnier, of the Costume
Gallery website. While everyone liked the fact that she was at the
convention, snapping detailed pictures of every show entry, several people
questioned the freedom she was given back stage. In the already crowded
and hot F & SF Green Room, no one had been informed that she was going to be
there with her assistant, nor was her purpose completely understood by some
contestants. It would have made far more sense to allow her some place in a
hallway to set up and pull willing people over when they weren’t trying to
get ready in time to go on stage. By the way, in a possible lack of
communication on concom’s part again, the Green Room Director was unaware
that the Press (Ladnier) had been given access.

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

Panel tech support was excellent. They made sure scheduled equipment was in
the meeting rooms and functioning. And if there was something missing (like
someone forgot to bring their own equipment), the crew moved rapidly to
provide it, often getting stuff up and running in as little as 15 minutes!
Bravo!

No one had anything to say about the Dealers Room – it was what it was.
They did like the fact that Poison Pen was there. We’re probably getting
jaded, but these days, there’s hardly anything most of us long-timers are
interested in these days, beyond the books and maybe one or two patterns.
Nice hats.

Wrapping up, we generally had a good time at CC29. Sure it had its
problems, but no con’s perfect – just a few major hiccups. We give it a
good, solid B to B+.

Still to follow – a post-mortem discussion of what con committees need to
keep in mind for the future vis-à-vis an influx of new, uninitiated members,
membership costs, and a possible music copyright issue to be aware of.

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

Less than a year to Costume-Con 30 – and only 3 months until the deadline for the Future Fashion Folio!

Yes, that’s right – the deadline for the FFF is September 1, 2011, and it’s coming up fast!

What is the Future Fashion Folio (FFF)? It’s a design competition sponsored in conjunction with Costume-Con and you don’t actually have to be a member of CC30 to participate. Check here: http://costumecon30.com/folio.php
for more info, details & rules (gotta’ have some rules). I’m cross-posting this everywhere I can but feel free to forward this info to any groups you might be in that would be interested.

I’ve already received a few designs & some inquiries and look forward to many more. Our local group is actually having a “Sketch `n Kvetch” to encourage folks to enter – maybe yours could too?
Let’s get sketching!!!

Nora Mai
CC30 FFF Director

Now that CC29 over, we’re left with the usual analysis of how to improve
the con-goer’s experience next time – especially in a new location for the
next three years. Reading the comments on the Cosplay.com forum, the major
observation that has come out of the discussion is that the future
committees (and veterans) need to concentrate on not just making new people
feel welcome – they need to build a sense of being a part of our community.

After 5-6 years of (sometimes) haphazard promotion, attempting to attract a
significant number of newcomers from the anime cons, they’re starting to
attend in noticeable numbers, and when they come – they feel like outsiders.
Most of that comes from misconceptions as a result of a lack of information.

Even though there are descriptions of the events on both the main CC site,
potential newbies want more specific explanations and a better understanding
of what they will experience. There is a sense of irony here, as I’ve
mentioned how there is sometimes a problem with individual staff operating
on the assumption that running a CC is the same as a general SF con. On
the flip side, concoms have operated on the assumption that anyone coming
from outside of a CC will easily adapt to the format. This is apparently
not the case, entirely.

The consensus is that the best first step is to update the Costume-Con.Com
site. There should be an FAQ that will answer people’s questions they might
have before making the decision to spend a fairly significant amount of
money on a convention they are unfamiliar with. I’m working to create that
FAQ, now, based on their first-time experiences.

The next step involves working to helping new people fit in as quickly as
possible. Some first-timers “get” CC immediately, without help. For
others, we need to help new people make connections with those who have been
going for years. By doing so, it will make them want to come back again
and again, even if it means having to travel from their home region.

There are already some good ideas in the works for CC30. One is to revive
the ribbons CC16 & 25 passed out for first-timers to identify themselves so
that veterans could talk to them. Another is a “meet and greet” in the Con
Suite. One thing we need to continue is to have the F & SF or FFS MC have
all the newcomers in the audience stand up, so that they can be applauded.
(Finally, the “Costume-Con Virgins” panel could be better focused by making
it more like the FAQ)

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

Other things that bothered some people that we can work on:

In-jokes: While I’ve been around long enough to know about “Baptistown” and
other subjects from the past, I understand how new people might feel out of
the loop. Rather than eliminate them, we should make an effort to explain
them, and let them in on the joke. That not only makes them included, it
helps to preserve the history of Costume-Con.

The Lifetime Achievement Award – this is probably more the responsibility of
the sitting President of the ICG, but since the presentation is made at CC,
it bears mentioning here. This is the highest honor the ICG bestows, yet,
for the past 2 years, no real explanation was given about the details WHY
the recipients deserved the award. I know – I’ve watched the videos. If
the President does not feel comfortable ad-libbing the reason, then at the
very least, they should read aloud the nomination that was submitted to the
Board. The new people need to know what the Lifetime Achievement Award
recipients have done for the community that warrants their recognition.

Another way to bring more people into the community is for the parent
organization and the individual ICG chapters to get involved in more
outreach. There were a couple of good examples at CC29, like the sponsored
breakfast by the Pups as well as the Green Room snacks by North East. Were
there flyers for these chapters available? If there were, I missed them.
There should be more chapters, beyond the local regional ones, involved in
some sponsorship, which is why the SLCG will be providing the newbie ribbons
for the foreseeable future. We will entertain the idea of other
sponsorships in the future – perhaps a breakfast. Not only is this good PR,
but it’s another way of increasing the membership in the ICG, and
consequently, growing the costuming community.

Bruce

Another issue that merits some discussion is the cost to attend Costume-Con.
At least in the past, one of the things that have put off some new people
was the membership (fee). There has been a trend, maybe, the turn of the
century, that more people are waiting until shortly before the convention,
or even pay at the door to purchase their memberships. Anime cons have
typically been cheaper because they draw more attendees, and thus command
better deals with the hotels. However in more recent years, even
memberships at anime cons are slowly creeping up, as Dawn pointed out on the
forum.

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

In a message dated 6/3/2011 5:24:34 AM Central Daylight Time,
casamai@sbcglobal.net writes:

> In-jokes: While I’ve been around long enough to know about “Baptistown”
> and
> other subjects from the past, I understand how new people might feel out
> of
> the loop. Rather than eliminate them, we should make an effort to explain
> them, and let them in on the joke. That not only makes them included, it
> helps to preserve the history of Costume-Con.
>

Personally, I have been wanting to start a new Baptistown style joke for us
newer folks. I just haven’t gotten the ball rolling yet.

> The Lifetime Achievement Award – this is probably more the responsibility
> of
> the sitting President of the ICG, but since the presentation is made at
> CC,
> it bears mentioning here. This is the highest honor the ICG bestows, yet,
> for the past 2 years, no real explanation was given about the details WHY
> the recipients deserved the award.

Here! Here! Well spoken, Bruce! Perhaps a video retrospective could be
prepared to help visualize the honor.

Henry

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

 

> In-jokes: While I’ve been around long enough to know about “Baptistown”
> and
> other subjects from the past, I understand how new people might feel out
> of
> the loop.

well, only one vote was cast for baptist town this year   😉 and the baptost
town stuff predates the guild and was originally a worldcon /costumeapa thing

> The Lifetime Achievement Award – this is probably more the responsibility
> of
> the sitting President of the ICG, but since the presentation is made at
> CC,
> it bears mentioning here. This is the highest honor the ICG bestows, yet,
> for the past 2 years, no real explanation was given about the details WHY
> the recipients deserved the award.

when I was asked to hand it out 2 years, i totally tried to give it some sense
of stature, and context.

including at least reading off the list of past winners, or having all attending
winners come up on stage to help hand it out/welcome the new person.
if it is our ‘hall of fame’ then the ceremony needs to reflect that. to reflect
that it matters and is important

if attending, perhaps if you dont choose an mc to do it, maybe the person that
nominated the winner could be asked to present it, as they obviously feel the
deepest connection ti that winner

Ricky

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

In-jokes:

now that I go to anime cons a lot, there are millions of in jokes they all have
that I dont get, and when I seem puzzled, I am blown off as too old, or, its
there con, so its my problem to catch up, and get on track
so part of me  realizes that we need this positive outreach and need to be
inclusive, there is, in all honesty a part of me that thinks,

shut up and grow a pair, you’re spoiled and want it all handed to you before we
even know your name.

okay just venting on this list not in open forum.
all done now LOL
Ricky

While I’ve been around long enough to know about “Baptistown” and
other subjects from the past, I understand how new people might feel out of
the loop. Rather than eliminate them, we should make an effort to explain
them, and let them in on the joke. That not only makes them included, it
helps to preserve the history of Costume-Con.

The Lifetime Achievement Award – this is probably more the responsibility of
the sitting President of the ICG, but since the presentation is made at CC,
it bears mentioning here. This is the highest honor the ICG bestows, yet,
for the past 2 years, no real explanation was given about the details WHY
the recipients deserved the award. I know – I’ve watched the videos. If
the President does not feel comfortable ad-libbing the reason, then at the
very least, they should read aloud the nomination that was submitted to the
Board. The new people need to know what the Lifetime Achievement Award
recipients have done for the community that warrants their recognition.

Another way to bring more people into the community is for the parent
organization and the individual ICG chapters to get involved in more
outreach. There were a couple of good examples at CC29, like the sponsored
breakfast by the Pups as well as the Green Room snacks by North East. Were
there flyers for these chapters available? If there were, I missed them.
There should be more chapters, beyond the local regional ones, involved in
some sponsorship, which is why the SLCG will be providing the newbie ribbons
for the foreseeable future. We will entertain the idea of other
sponsorships in the future – perhaps a breakfast. Not only is this good PR,
but it’s another way of increasing the membership in the ICG, and
consequently, growing the costuming community.

Bruce

Another issue that merits some discussion is the cost to attend Costume-Con.
At least in the past, one of the things that have put off some new people
was the membership (fee). There has been a trend, maybe, the turn of the
century, that more people are waiting until shortly before the convention,
or even pay at the door to purchase their memberships. Anime cons have
typically been cheaper because they draw more attendees, and thus command
better deals with the hotels. However in more recent years, even
memberships at anime cons are slowly creeping up, as Dawn pointed out on the
forum.

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

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

My response to the below issue that Bruce mentioned was this:

With good planning buying a Costume-Con
membership doesn’t have to be much/any more expensive than attending
one of top 10 Anime Cons or big sci-fi cons.

If you buy your CC32 membership right now, ($65), you’re paying less or
about the same as for any of the top 10 Anime Cons. (I’ve added Fanexpo
as #0 for comparison as it’s our big local DragconCon/Comicon type
behemoth and it’s relevant to any Canadians reading this…)

0.FANEXPO Canda 60,000+ ($75) USD

1.Anime Expo: 44,000 total ($75) USD

2.Otakon: 26,300 ($75) USD

3.New York Anime Festival 21,300 ($90) USD

4 Anime North: 16,800 ($55) CAD

5.Sakura-Con: 16,500 ($60)USD

6.A-Kon: 16,000 ($62) USD

7. Anime Central 15,400 estimated paid ($55) USD

8. FanimeCon: estimated 15,000 paid ($60) USD

9. Anime Weekend Atlanta: 11,700 ($45) USD

10 Anime Boston: 9,354 total ($55) USD

Bruce M wrote:

Another issue that merits some discussion is the cost to attend Costume-Con.

At least in the past, one of the things that have put off some new people

was the membership (fee). There has been a trend, maybe, the turn of the

century, that more people are waiting until shortly before the convention,

or even pay at the door to purchase their memberships. Anime cons have

typically been cheaper because they draw more attendees, and thus command

better deals with the hotels. However in more recent years, even

memberships at anime cons are slowly creeping up, as Dawn pointed out on the

forum.

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

Curmudgeon! LOL!

I’m not partial to in-jokes cause they’re generally used to exclude people instead of include, which is of course not what we want.
But so long as they’re explained, as in “we think this is funny & think you will too, here’s what’s meant”, it doesn’t have to be a bad thing.

Nora

— In runacc@yahoogroups.com, Gravely MacCabre <gravelymac@…> wrote:
> In-jokes:
>
> now that I go to anime cons a lot, there are millions of in jokes they all have
> that I dont get, and when I seem puzzled, I am blown off as too old, or, its
> there con, so its my problem to catch up, and get on track
> so part of me  realizes that we need this positive outreach and need to be
> inclusive, there is, in all honesty a part of me that thinks,
>
> shut up and grow a pair, you’re spoiled and want it all handed to you before we
> even know your name.
>
> okay just venting on this list not in open forum.
> all done now LOL
> Ricky

Now if we only had a copy of toni’s original Baptistown bid flyer…………
Some things are only explained by show-&-tell.

Elaine
Nil significat nisi oscillat!

To: runacc@yahoogroups.com
From: von_drago@yahoo.com
Date: Fri, 3 Jun 2011 21:50:19 +0000
Subject: [runacc] Re: Post CC info for committees – suggestions for newcomer inclusion

Curmudgeon! LOL!

I’m not partial to in-jokes cause they’re generally used to exclude people instead of include, which is of course not what we want.
But so long as they’re explained, as in “we think this is funny & think you will too, here’s what’s meant”, it doesn’t have to be a bad thing.

Nora

— In runacc@yahoogroups.com, Gravely MacCabre <gravelymac@…> wrote:
> In-jokes:
>
> now that I go to anime cons a lot, there are millions of in jokes they all have
> that I dont get, and when I seem puzzled, I am blown off as too old, or, its
> there con, so its my problem to catch up, and get on track
> so part of me� realizes that we need this positive outreach and need to be
> inclusive, there is, in all honesty a part of me that thinks,
>
> shut up and grow a pair, you’re spoiled and want it all handed to you before we
> even know your name.
>
> okay just venting on this list not in open forum.
> all done now LOL
> Ricky

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

Might be n00b of me, but can’t we just let Baptisttown die? It seems to me
like it was a turf-war full of bitterness and anger (perhaps I have gotten
the wrong impression from wrong explanations), and that’s not exactly
something we need to explain to new people, or even at all. Bitter jokes
should die gracefully.

~Aurora

On Fri, Jun 3, 2011 at 8:39 PM, Elaine Mami <ecmami@hotmail.com> wrote:

>
> Now if we only had a copy of toni’s original Baptistown bid
> flyer…………
> Some things are only explained by show-&-tell.
>
> Elaine
> Nil significat nisi oscillat!
>
>
>
>
>
> To: runacc@yahoogroups.com
> From: von_drago@yahoo.com
> Date: Fri, 3 Jun 2011 21:50:19 +0000
> Subject: [runacc] Re: Post CC info for committees – suggestions for
> newcomer inclusion
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Curmudgeon! LOL!
>
> I’m not partial to in-jokes cause they’re generally used to exclude people
> instead of include, which is of course not what we want.
> But so long as they’re explained, as in “we think this is funny & think you
> will too, here’s what’s meant”, it doesn’t have to be a bad thing.
>
> Nora
>
> — In runacc@yahoogroups.com, Gravely MacCabre <gravelymac@…> wrote:
> > In-jokes:
> >
> > now that I go to anime cons a lot, there are millions of in jokes they
> all have
> > that I dont get, and when I seem puzzled, I am blown off as too old, or,
> its
> > there con, so its my problem to catch up, and get on track
> > so part of me realizes that we need this positive outreach and need to
> be
> > inclusive, there is, in all honesty a part of me that thinks,
> >
> > shut up and grow a pair, you’re spoiled and want it all handed to you
> before we
> > even know your name.
> >
> > okay just venting on this list not in open forum.
> > all done now LOL
> > Ricky
>
>
>
>

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

I fully agree about clueing new members in to our history and about the Lifetime Achievement Award. The history can be presented on con Web sites as well as in the Program Book. Part of our problem is that Costume-Con and the ICG are two separate yet related organizations, as Karen has pointed out. On the one hand, Baptistown, for example, is a Costume-Con tradition that really has nothing to do with the ICG. On the other hand, any attempt to present history on a CC Web site would be greatly enhanced by resources from the ICG archive.

There were Pups flyers available in half a dozen places at the con suite breakfast as well as on the freebies table and the Pups fan table throughout the con. Our table was manned almost all of the time and we ran masquerade videos to attract attention. The flyer was identical to the inside back cover of the program book. One thing that disappointed me at CC 29 was that we did not have more groups sponsoring events in the Con Suite. A lot of time was available for other groups to do so. Exposure is important to improving CC attendance and ICG chapter membership.

Byron

On Jun 3, 2011, at 6:24 AM, Nora & Bruce Mai wrote:

> Other things that bothered some people that we can work on:
>
> In-jokes: While I’ve been around long enough to know about “Baptistown” and
> other subjects from the past, I understand how new people might feel out of
> the loop. Rather than eliminate them, we should make an effort to explain
> them, and let them in on the joke. That not only makes them included, it
> helps to preserve the history of Costume-Con.
>
> The Lifetime Achievement Award – this is probably more the responsibility of
> the sitting President of the ICG, but since the presentation is made at CC,
> it bears mentioning here. This is the highest honor the ICG bestows, yet,
> for the past 2 years, no real explanation was given about the details WHY
> the recipients deserved the award. I know – I’ve watched the videos. If
> the President does not feel comfortable ad-libbing the reason, then at the
> very least, they should read aloud the nomination that was submitted to the
> Board. The new people need to know what the Lifetime Achievement Award
> recipients have done for the community that warrants their recognition.
>
> Another way to bring more people into the community is for the parent
> organization and the individual ICG chapters to get involved in more
> outreach. There were a couple of good examples at CC29, like the sponsored
> breakfast by the Pups as well as the Green Room snacks by North East. Were
> there flyers for these chapters available? If there were, I missed them.
> There should be more chapters, beyond the local regional ones, involved in
> some sponsorship, which is why the SLCG will be providing the newbie ribbons
> for the foreseeable future. We will entertain the idea of other
> sponsorships in the future – perhaps a breakfast. Not only is this good PR,
> but it’s another way of increasing the membership in the ICG, and
> consequently, growing the costuming community.
>
> Bruce
>
> Another issue that merits some discussion is the cost to attend Costume-Con.
> At least in the past, one of the things that have put off some new people
> was the membership (fee). There has been a trend, maybe, the turn of the
> century, that more people are waiting until shortly before the convention,
> or even pay at the door to purchase their memberships. Anime cons have
> typically been cheaper because they draw more attendees, and thus command
> better deals with the hotels. However in more recent years, even
> memberships at anime cons are slowly creeping up, as Dawn pointed out on the
> forum.
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>

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

I wish I had a better sense of what they were expecting and how it differed from what they experienced.

Byron

On Jun 3, 2011, at 6:15 AM, Nora & Bruce Mai wrote:

> Now that CC29 over, we’re left with the usual analysis of how to improve
> the con-goer’s experience next time – especially in a new location for the
> next three years. Reading the comments on the Cosplay.com forum, the major
> observation that has come out of the discussion is that the future
> committees (and veterans) need to concentrate on not just making new people
> feel welcome – they need to build a sense of being a part of our community.
>
> After 5-6 years of (sometimes) haphazard promotion, attempting to attract a
> significant number of newcomers from the anime cons, they’re starting to
> attend in noticeable numbers, and when they come – they feel like outsiders.
> Most of that comes from misconceptions as a result of a lack of information.
>
> Even though there are descriptions of the events on both the main CC site,
> potential newbies want more specific explanations and a better understanding
> of what they will experience. There is a sense of irony here, as I’ve
> mentioned how there is sometimes a problem with individual staff operating
> on the assumption that running a CC is the same as a general SF con. On
> the flip side, concoms have operated on the assumption that anyone coming
> from outside of a CC will easily adapt to the format. This is apparently
> not the case, entirely.
>
> The consensus is that the best first step is to update the Costume-Con.Com
> site. There should be an FAQ that will answer people’s questions they might
> have before making the decision to spend a fairly significant amount of
> money on a convention they are unfamiliar with. I’m working to create that
> FAQ, now, based on their first-time experiences.
>
> The next step involves working to helping new people fit in as quickly as
> possible. Some first-timers “get” CC immediately, without help. For
> others, we need to help new people make connections with those who have been
> going for years. By doing so, it will make them want to come back again
> and again, even if it means having to travel from their home region.
>
> There are already some good ideas in the works for CC30. One is to revive
> the ribbons CC16 & 25 passed out for first-timers to identify themselves so
> that veterans could talk to them. Another is a “meet and greet” in the Con
> Suite. One thing we need to continue is to have the F & SF or FFS MC have
> all the newcomers in the audience stand up, so that they can be applauded.
> (Finally, the “Costume-Con Virgins” panel could be better focused by making
> it more like the FAQ)
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>

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

On Jun 3, 2011, at 3:24 AM, Nora & Bruce Mai wrote:

> Another issue that merits some discussion is the cost to attend Costume-Con.
> At least in the past, one of the things that have put off some new people
> was the membership (fee). There has been a trend, maybe, the turn of the
> century, that more people are waiting until shortly before the convention,
> or even pay at the door to purchase their memberships. Anime cons have
> typically been cheaper because they draw more attendees, and thus command
> better deals with the hotels. However in more recent years, even
> memberships at anime cons are slowly creeping up, as Dawn pointed out on the
> forum.

At-the-door registration patterns are interesting when looking at “new” convention fandoms.

In some cases, people have been trained to buy at the door because large volumes of pre-registered attendees and broken badge-pick-up processes make it quicker to buy at the door. I’ve seen this at some furry conventions and some (infamous) anime conventions. If you’re in the neighborhood of a convention with an awful registration process, it’s difficult to convince people who attend it you’re going to be different.

That said, we totally stole our local anime convention’s pre-reg incentive model for CC26. Of course, they have a reasonable pick-up process. The whole “here’s a code, it’s good for a month, it’s an extra $10 off the prereg rate” idea is something that Fanime has been doing for years.

The significant pre-reg discount may not be a great incentive, but an ***extra*** ***10*** ***dollars*** excites people. Go fig. Maybe Ron Popeil was right. But wait. There’s more!

It drives pre-registration for them (so don’t tell me the “anime kids” don’t preregister) and provides useful data about where spending money promoting provides the greatest returns (not so useful for our event with a new venue every year, but useful to them). They know what pre-reg numbers were like in prior years and aggressively work to make sure that each month’s preregistration goals are met to satisfy their desired growth rate.

andy

There was no bitterness or anger about it! It was just a hoax bid.

Byron

On Jun 3, 2011, at 8:55 PM, Aurora Celeste wrote:

> Might be n00b of me, but can’t we just let Baptisttown die? It seems to me
> like it was a turf-war full of bitterness and anger (perhaps I have gotten
> the wrong impression from wrong explanations), and that’s not exactly
> something we need to explain to new people, or even at all. Bitter jokes
> should die gracefully.
>
> ~Aurora
>
> On Fri, Jun 3, 2011 at 8:39 PM, Elaine Mami <ecmami@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> >
> > Now if we only had a copy of toni’s original Baptistown bid
> > flyer…………
> > Some things are only explained by show-&-tell.
> >
> > Elaine
> > Nil significat nisi oscillat!
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > To: runacc@yahoogroups.com
> > From: von_drago@yahoo.com
> > Date: Fri, 3 Jun 2011 21:50:19 +0000
> > Subject: [runacc] Re: Post CC info for committees – suggestions for
> > newcomer inclusion
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Curmudgeon! LOL!
> >
> > I’m not partial to in-jokes cause they’re generally used to exclude people
> > instead of include, which is of course not what we want.
> > But so long as they’re explained, as in “we think this is funny & think you
> > will too, here’s what’s meant”, it doesn’t have to be a bad thing.
> >
> > Nora
> >
> > — In runacc@yahoogroups.com, Gravely MacCabre <gravelymac@…> wrote:
> > > In-jokes:
> > >
> > > now that I go to anime cons a lot, there are millions of in jokes they
> > all have
> > > that I dont get, and when I seem puzzled, I am blown off as too old, or,
> > its
> > > there con, so its my problem to catch up, and get on track
> > > so part of me� realizes that we need this positive outreach and need to
> > be
> > > inclusive, there is, in all honesty a part of me that thinks,
> > >
> > > shut up and grow a pair, you’re spoiled and want it all handed to you
> > before we
> > > even know your name.
> > >
> > > okay just venting on this list not in open forum.
> > > all done now LOL
> > > Ricky
> >
> >
> >
> >
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>

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

Aurora, nope, the original baptistown  stuff, was a successful silly attempt at
difusing a bad costume apa situation, by ghaving a mysterious ladoes league
basically tell people to play nice, or else.

that alas has been lost.
but in 1986 it was the sick pups at thgier finest
Gravely MacCabre
http://www.castleblood.com
http://facebook.com/gravelymaccabre
http://etsy.com/shops/gravelymaccabre

tv show clip samples at
http://www.veoh.com/channels/castleblood

________________________________
From: Aurora Celeste <auroraceleste@gmail.com>
To: runacc@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Fri, June 3, 2011 8:55:48 PM
Subject: Re: [runacc] Re: Post CC info for committees – suggestions for newcomer
inclusion

Might be n00b of me, but can’t we just let Baptisttown die? It seems to me
like it was a turf-war full of bitterness and anger (perhaps I have gotten
the wrong impression from wrong explanations), and that’s not exactly
something we need to explain to new people, or even at all. Bitter jokes
should die gracefully.

~Aurora

On Fri, Jun 3, 2011 at 8:39 PM, Elaine Mami <ecmami@hotmail.com> wrote:

>
> Now if we only had a copy of toni’s original Baptistown bid
> flyer…………
> Some things are only explained by show-&-tell.
>
> Elaine
> Nil significat nisi oscillat!
>
>
>
>
>
> To: runacc@yahoogroups.com
> From: von_drago@yahoo.com
> Date: Fri, 3 Jun 2011 21:50:19 +0000
> Subject: [runacc] Re: Post CC info for committees – suggestions for
> newcomer inclusion
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Curmudgeon! LOL!
>
> I’m not partial to in-jokes cause they’re generally used to exclude people
> instead of include, which is of course not what we want.
> But so long as they’re explained, as in “we think this is funny & think you
> will too, here’s what’s meant”, it doesn’t have to be a bad thing.
>
> Nora
>
> — In runacc@yahoogroups.com, Gravely MacCabre <gravelymac@…> wrote:
> > In-jokes:
> >
> > now that I go to anime cons a lot, there are millions of in jokes they
> all have
> > that I dont get, and when I seem puzzled, I am blown off as too old, or,
> its
> > there con, so its my problem to catch up, and get on track
> > so part of me realizes that we need this positive outreach and need to
> be
> > inclusive, there is, in all honesty a part of me that thinks,
> >
> > shut up and grow a pair, you’re spoiled and want it all handed to you
> before we
> > even know your name.
> >
> > okay just venting on this list not in open forum.
> > all done now LOL
> > Ricky
>
>
>
>

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

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

We’ve discussed that, but there’s never any guarantee the person might be
someone who has a body of work that justifies it, plus we can’t count on
there always being a projection screen.

Bruce

> The Lifetime Achievement Award – this is probably more the responsibility
> of
> the sitting President of the ICG, but since the presentation is made at
> CC,
> it bears mentioning here. This is the highest honor the ICG bestows, yet,
> for the past 2 years, no real explanation was given about the details WHY
> the recipients deserved the award.

Here! Here! Well spoken, Bruce! Perhaps a video retrospective could be
prepared to help visualize the honor.

Henry

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

Not the worst idea I the world. And, I believe it was Byron(?) who
suggested perhaps that ALL the LAA recipients stand up and be recognized at
some point.

Bruce

From: runacc@yahoogroups.com [mailto:runacc@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of
Gravely MacCabre
Sent: Friday, June 03, 2011 11:44 AM
To: runacc@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [runacc] Post CC info for committees – suggestions for newcomer
inclusion

when I was asked to hand it out 2 years, i totally tried to give it some
sense
of stature, and context.

including at least reading off the list of past winners, or having all
attending
winners come up on stage to help hand it out/welcome the new person.
if it is our ‘hall of fame’ then the ceremony needs to reflect that. to
reflect
that it matters and is important

if attending, perhaps if you dont choose an mc to do it, maybe the person
that
nominated the winner could be asked to present it, as they obviously feel
the
deepest connection ti that winner

Ricky

6/03/11

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

Good info. Somehow, we need to work that in somewhere, as a comparison.
Although, admittedly, you probably do get more value from the anime cons
(depending on your involvement) because there’s a lot going on at them.
Maybe the anime costumers will come to understand how there is a different
value, but to the casual browser, I could see people being turned out.

I think where we can succeed is work very hard on the friendliness and
inclusion into the community thing.

Thank, Dawn.

Bruce

From: runacc@yahoogroups.com [mailto:runacc@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of
Kaijugal .
Sent: Friday, June 03, 2011 1:01 PM
To: runacc@yahoogroups.com
Subject: RE: [runacc] Post CC info for committees – Expense of Memberships

My response to the below issue that Bruce mentioned was this:

With good planning buying a Costume-Con
membership doesn’t have to be much/any more expensive than attending
one of top 10 Anime Cons or big sci-fi cons.

If you buy your CC32 membership right now, ($65), you’re paying less or
about the same as for any of the top 10 Anime Cons. (I’ve added Fanexpo
as #0 for comparison as it’s our big local DragconCon/Comicon type
behemoth and it’s relevant to any Canadians reading this…)

0.FANEXPO Canda 60,000+ ($75) USD

1.Anime Expo: 44,000 total ($75) USD

2.Otakon: 26,300 ($75) USD

3.New York Anime Festival 21,300 ($90) USD

4 Anime North: 16,800 ($55) CAD

5.Sakura-Con: 16,500 ($60)USD

6.A-Kon: 16,000 ($62) USD

7. Anime Central 15,400 estimated paid ($55) USD

8. FanimeCon: estimated 15,000 paid ($60) USD

9. Anime Weekend Atlanta: 11,700 ($45) USD

10 Anime Boston: 9,354 total ($55) USD

Bruce M wrote:

Another issue that merits some discussion is the cost to attend Costume-Con.

At least in the past, one of the things that have put off some new people

was the membership (fee). There has been a trend, maybe, the turn of the

century, that more people are waiting until shortly before the convention,

or even pay at the door to purchase their memberships. Anime cons have

typically been cheaper because they draw more attendees, and thus command

better deals with the hotels. However in more recent years, even

memberships at anime cons are slowly creeping up, as Dawn pointed out on the

forum.

[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: 10.0.1375 / Virus Database: 1511/3679 – Release Date: 06/03/11

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

Yeah, it was totally a gag. Even Nora and I came late to that gag, so it’s
been around a looooong time.

Toni Lay, being one of the usual suspects/Baptisttown reps, totally got her
come-uppance when, one year, it was announced they’d actually won the bid.
Talk about deer in the headlights!

So, see, Aurora, you’ve kinda illustrated the point of being out of the loop
on the in-joke – and apparently we didn’t know that this pre-dated CC.

Ricky makes a good point, though, supported by Nora – in-jokes are sort of
exclusionary, and everyone is guilty about that. Wish that had been brought
up on the Cosplay forum at the time.

Bruce

From: runacc@yahoogroups.com [mailto:runacc@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of
Byron Connell
Sent: Friday, June 03, 2011 8:42 PM
To: runacc@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [runacc] Re: Post CC info for committees – suggestions for
newcomer inclusion

There was no bitterness or anger about it! It was just a hoax bid.

Byron

On Jun 3, 2011, at 8:55 PM, Aurora Celeste wrote:

> Might be n00b of me, but can’t we just let Baptisttown die? It seems to me
> like it was a turf-war full of bitterness and anger (perhaps I have gotten
> the wrong impression from wrong explanations), and that’s not exactly
> something we need to explain to new people, or even at all. Bitter jokes
> should die gracefully.
>
> ~Aurora
>
> On Fri, Jun 3, 2011 at 8:39 PM, Elaine Mami <ecmami@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> >
> > Now if we only had a copy of toni’s original Baptistown bid
> > flyer…………
> > Some things are only explained by show-&-tell.
> >
> > Elaine
> > Nil significat nisi oscillat!
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > To: runacc@yahoogroups.com
> > From: von_drago@yahoo.com
> > Date: Fri, 3 Jun 2011 21:50:19 +0000
> > Subject: [runacc] Re: Post CC info for committees – suggestions for
> > newcomer inclusion
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Curmudgeon! LOL!
> >
> > I’m not partial to in-jokes cause they’re generally used to exclude
people
> > instead of include, which is of course not what we want.
> > But so long as they’re explained, as in “we think this is funny & think
you
> > will too, here’s what’s meant”, it doesn’t have to be a bad thing.
> >
> > Nora
> >
> > — In runacc@yahoogroups.com, Gravely MacCabre <gravelymac@…> wrote:
> > > In-jokes:
> > >
> > > now that I go to anime cons a lot, there are millions of in jokes they
> > all have
> > > that I dont get, and when I seem puzzled, I am blown off as too old,
or,
> > its
> > > there con, so its my problem to catch up, and get on track
> > > so part of me realizes that we need this positive outreach and need
to
> > be
> > > inclusive, there is, in all honesty a part of me that thinks,
> > >
> > > shut up and grow a pair, you’re spoiled and want it all handed to you
> > before we
> > > even know your name.
> > >
> > > okay just venting on this list not in open forum.
> > > all done now LOL
> > > Ricky
> >
> >
> >
> >
>
> [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

_____

No virus found in this message.
Checked by AVG – www.avg.com
Version: 10.0.1375 / Virus Database: 1511/3679 – Release Date: 06/03/11

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

So – first question, kind of repeating what I said earlier in response to
Dawn: since the FFF will no longer be one of the major expenses the
committees have to worry about, will that allow them to somewhat lower
memberships? That may not be realistic. How do you promote the value of
CC, knowledge-wise, and single focus (all-costumes, all the time) to be
worth the cost?

Another perception that still seems to come up is that somehow the long-time
con-goers are “elitist”. This notion has also been a bane to the ICG over
the years. Some of this perception is the whole shyness thing of the vets,
where newcomers think no one wants to talk to them. Can we do anything
about that? Maybe the initiatives CC30 and 32 are working on might be the
answer.

Bruce

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

Ricky, there’s two parts to the whole thing, remember?
The Baptistown bid flyer was a creation of Toni Lay’s, and was wonderfully insane and Un-PC.
The presentation by the Pups in the CC con-suite was the response to the APA idiocy, perpetrated by one person against pretty much all of the rest of costuming.
I don’t know if the flyer exists anymore, but I know the video of our superbly silly presentation has been preserved on video, because Carl has shown it at Pups’ meetings in the past! Whether Carl has it or it is in the Archives is something I don’t know.
The in jokes in that video are almost impossible to explain at this point, and it should only be shown now to people who were part of it for just that reason.
However, The Baptistown Bid should never die!!

Elaine
Who was there, and part of it all, proudly!!

To: runacc@yahoogroups.com
From: gravelymac@yahoo.com
Date: Fri, 3 Jun 2011 21:01:09 -0700
Subject: Re: [runacc] Re: Post CC info for committees – suggestions for newcomer inclusion

Aurora, nope, the original baptistown stuff, was a successful silly attempt at
difusing a bad costume apa situation, by ghaving a mysterious ladoes league
basically tell people to play nice, or else.

that alas has been lost.
but in 1986 it was the sick pups at thgier finest
Gravely MacCabre
http://www.castleblood.com
http://facebook.com/gravelymaccabre
http://etsy.com/shops/gravelymaccabre

tv show clip samples at
http://www.veoh.com/channels/castleblood

________________________________
From: Aurora Celeste <auroraceleste@gmail.com>
To: runacc@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Fri, June 3, 2011 8:55:48 PM
Subject: Re: [runacc] Re: Post CC info for committees – suggestions for newcomer
inclusion

Might be n00b of me, but can’t we just let Baptisttown die? It seems to me
like it was a turf-war full of bitterness and anger (perhaps I have gotten
the wrong impression from wrong explanations), and that’s not exactly
something we need to explain to new people, or even at all. Bitter jokes
should die gracefully.

~Aurora

On Fri, Jun 3, 2011 at 8:39 PM, Elaine Mami <ecmami@hotmail.com> wrote:

>
> Now if we only had a copy of toni’s original Baptistown bid
> flyer…………
> Some things are only explained by show-&-tell.
>
> Elaine
> Nil significat nisi oscillat!
>
>
>
>
>
> To: runacc@yahoogroups.com
> From: von_drago@yahoo.com
> Date: Fri, 3 Jun 2011 21:50:19 +0000
> Subject: [runacc] Re: Post CC info for committees – suggestions for
> newcomer inclusion
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Curmudgeon! LOL!
>
> I’m not partial to in-jokes cause they’re generally used to exclude people
> instead of include, which is of course not what we want.
> But so long as they’re explained, as in “we think this is funny & think you
> will too, here’s what’s meant”, it doesn’t have to be a bad thing.
>
> Nora
>
> — In runacc@yahoogroups.com, Gravely MacCabre <gravelymac@…> wrote:
> > In-jokes:
> >
> > now that I go to anime cons a lot, there are millions of in jokes they
> all have
> > that I dont get, and when I seem puzzled, I am blown off as too old, or,
> its
> > there con, so its my problem to catch up, and get on track
> > so part of me� realizes that we need this positive outreach and need to
> be
> > inclusive, there is, in all honesty a part of me that thinks,
> >
> > shut up and grow a pair, you’re spoiled and want it all handed to you
> before we
> > even know your name.
> >
> > okay just venting on this list not in open forum.
> > all done now LOL
> > Ricky
>
>
>
>

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

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

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

On 6/3/2011 9:30 PM, Nora & Bruce Mai wrote:

> So – first question, kind of repeating what I said earlier in response to
> Dawn: since the FFF will no longer be one of the major expenses the
> committees have to worry about, will that allow them to somewhat lower
> memberships? That may not be realistic. How do you promote the value of
> CC, knowledge-wise, and single focus (all-costumes, all the time) to be
> worth the cost?

Let’s get analytical on the Folio expense.

The print folio is a big expense, early in the con’s cycle when pre-reg
may be only half (or less) of the final attending membership. Shaky
membership numbers can make quoting and getting a good price on a
wild-ass guess quantity is risky. Order too few and your per-copy cost
may be high, order too many and it’s wasted copies. This can be
mitigated by negotiating for a re-order. Mailing costs are, well,
mailing costs and they’re not as cheap as they used to be.

Primary digital distribution changes things a bit.

It reduces the early outlay. Per-copy cost for print folios and mailing
may be astronomical compared to bulk printing, but if you only have to
print and mail a half-dozen copies, it’s a tiny piece of the budget.

If a committee still wants to distribute print copies at con, quantities
are much firmer, making quoting, delivery and waste more manageable. So
even with print copies at-con, it should reduce the con’s expenses. How
much? I don’t know. Only way to learn is to do it.

Not delivering print copies at-con but rather delivering digital copies
on CD to people who register at the door is dirt cheap, and reduces
expenses more.

Now I haven’t seen a CC in years where the money that could be saved by
economizing on the folio couldn’t be turned back into other areas of the
convention. But that’s a budget exercise.

> Another perception that still seems to come up is that somehow the long-time
> con-goers are “elitist”. This notion has also been a bane to the ICG over
> the years. Some of this perception is the whole shyness thing of the vets,
> where newcomers think no one wants to talk to them. Can we do anything
> about that? Maybe the initiatives CC30 and 32 are working on might be the
> answer.

It’s hard to break into a group that only sees everyone once a year.

Several gen SF conventions out here have done “first con” badge ribbons
for people who have never been there before. It’s a cheap expense, it’s
something people like, and helps break the ice. Other fun things could
be having ambassadorial sashes for people who want to take an active
role in welcoming new people. And I like the “newbies” panel early in
the weekend, it was actually successful at both 28 and 29. If a con is
going to offer ribbons to new attendees, perhaps also handing out a card
that say “come to this panel” with the room and time might get more
people who should be there to go.

I missed what 30 and 32 are talking about doing. I’m interested.

andy

Andy, I will have Marg put you and Kevin on the CC 30 list. Be patient, since she is having a really busy few weeks, work-wise.

Elaine
CC 30 Comfy Chair

To: runacc@yahoogroups.com
From: attrembl@bovil.com
Date: Sat, 4 Jun 2011 14:06:15 -0700
Subject: Re: [runacc] Misperceptions and questions

On 6/3/2011 9:30 PM, Nora & Bruce Mai wrote:
> So – first question, kind of repeating what I said earlier in response to
> Dawn: since the FFF will no longer be one of the major expenses the
> committees have to worry about, will that allow them to somewhat lower
> memberships? That may not be realistic. How do you promote the value of
> CC, knowledge-wise, and single focus (all-costumes, all the time) to be
> worth the cost?

Let’s get analytical on the Folio expense.

The print folio is a big expense, early in the con’s cycle when pre-reg
may be only half (or less) of the final attending membership. Shaky
membership numbers can make quoting and getting a good price on a
wild-ass guess quantity is risky. Order too few and your per-copy cost
may be high, order too many and it’s wasted copies. This can be
mitigated by negotiating for a re-order. Mailing costs are, well,
mailing costs and they’re not as cheap as they used to be.

Primary digital distribution changes things a bit.

It reduces the early outlay. Per-copy cost for print folios and mailing
may be astronomical compared to bulk printing, but if you only have to
print and mail a half-dozen copies, it’s a tiny piece of the budget.

If a committee still wants to distribute print copies at con, quantities
are much firmer, making quoting, delivery and waste more manageable. So
even with print copies at-con, it should reduce the con’s expenses. How
much? I don’t know. Only way to learn is to do it.

Not delivering print copies at-con but rather delivering digital copies
on CD to people who register at the door is dirt cheap, and reduces
expenses more.

Now I haven’t seen a CC in years where the money that could be saved by
economizing on the folio couldn’t be turned back into other areas of the
convention. But that’s a budget exercise.

> Another perception that still seems to come up is that somehow the long-time
> con-goers are “elitist”. This notion has also been a bane to the ICG over
> the years. Some of this perception is the whole shyness thing of the vets,
> where newcomers think no one wants to talk to them. Can we do anything
> about that? Maybe the initiatives CC30 and 32 are working on might be the
> answer.

It’s hard to break into a group that only sees everyone once a year.

Several gen SF conventions out here have done “first con” badge ribbons
for people who have never been there before. It’s a cheap expense, it’s
something people like, and helps break the ice. Other fun things could
be having ambassadorial sashes for people who want to take an active
role in welcoming new people. And I like the “newbies” panel early in
the weekend, it was actually successful at both 28 and 29. If a con is
going to offer ribbons to new attendees, perhaps also handing out a card
that say “come to this panel” with the room and time might get more
people who should be there to go.

I missed what 30 and 32 are talking about doing. I’m interested.

andy

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

Briefly a couple of ideas that are being hashed out (and will happen because they’re going to be independently funded so the con doesn’t have to worry about the expense):

1. “My First Costume-Con” ribbons – definitely going to happen.
Bruce & I made the offer to fund these for CC32 initially & then extended the offer to CC30 & CC31. All three cons were happy to accept so we’ve got a plan to order copious amounts & hand them out at every CC ongoing.
And the SLCG has agreed to sponsor this instead of us personally (although it was going to happen regardless) with the only recognition of same being a “ribbons sponsored by” line in the Program book.

And since the ribbons can be the same for every year we can get a good deal on them – white, horizontal ribbons with black lettering.

2. Welcome Wagon – this one isn’t as finalized yet but basically it would consist of a team of Native Guides who would guide newbies around the con, explain things to them, look for lost souls, introduce the new folks to the vets, etc.

Haven’t got all the details together yet but the concept is to provide new people with some folks who can help them find where they need to be, explain jokes & references they don’t get, introduce them to folks with similar interests… just help them wherever they can.
Kind of like a wandering den mom – a “Con Mom”.

Nora

— In runacc@yahoogroups.com, Andrew Trembley <attrembl@…> wrote:
> It’s hard to break into a group that only sees everyone once a year.
>
> Several gen SF conventions out here have done “first con” badge ribbons
> for people who have never been there before. It’s a cheap expense, it’s
> something people like, and helps break the ice. Other fun things could
> be having ambassadorial sashes for people who want to take an active
> role in welcoming new people. And I like the “newbies” panel early in
> the weekend, it was actually successful at both 28 and 29. If a con is
> going to offer ribbons to new attendees, perhaps also handing out a card
> that say “come to this panel” with the room and time might get more
> people who should be there to go.
>
> I missed what 30 and 32 are talking about doing. I’m interested.
>
> andy
>

re standing up/past winner intros

everyone coming on stage was my idea and we did it first in ogden with that
beautiful stage.

byron was of course a part of it, and if he suggested it previously, that
wouldnt surprise me at all, with his understanding of history and ceremony

so I coulda heard it somewhere else for sure
Gravely MacCabre
http://www.castleblood.com
http://facebook.com/gravelymaccabre
http://etsy.com/shops/gravelymaccabre

tv show clip samples at
http://www.veoh.com/channels/castleblood

________________________________
From: Nora & Bruce Mai <casamai@sbcglobal.net>
To: runacc@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Sat, June 4, 2011 12:13:54 AM
Subject: [runacc] LAA (was: Post CC info for committees – suggestions for
newcomer inclusion)

Not the worst idea I the world. And, I believe it was Byron(?) who
suggested perhaps that ALL the LAA recipients stand up and be recognized at
some point.

Bruce

From: runacc@yahoogroups.com [mailto:runacc@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of
Gravely MacCabre
Sent: Friday, June 03, 2011 11:44 AM
To: runacc@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [runacc] Post CC info for committees – suggestions for newcomer
inclusion

when I was asked to hand it out 2 years, i totally tried to give it some
sense
of stature, and context.

including at least reading off the list of past winners, or having all
attending
winners come up on stage to help hand it out/welcome the new person.
if it is our ‘hall of fame’ then the ceremony needs to reflect that. to
reflect
that it matters and is important

if attending, perhaps if you dont choose an mc to do it, maybe the person
that
nominated the winner could be asked to present it, as they obviously feel
the
deepest connection ti that winner

Ricky

6/03/11

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

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

Actually, this one is also a definite for CC 30. The details are still being worked on, but look for some surprisingly obvious *suggestions* that This is A Person Who is Happy to Help You!

I really love these suggestions, and how my incredible team is rushing to embrace them! Thanks, all of you!!

Elaine

2. Welcome Wagon – this one isn’t as finalized yet but basically it would consist of a team of Native Guides who would guide newbies around the con, explain things to them, look for lost souls, introduce the new folks to the vets, etc.

Haven’t got all the details together yet but the concept is to provide new people with some folks who can help them find where they need to be, explain jokes & references they don’t get, introduce them to folks with similar interests… just help them wherever they can.
Kind of like a wandering den mom – a “Con Mom”.

Nora

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

Yeah, that’s what I meant. Just that we haven’t got all the details ironed
out. If it work well at CC30 (pioneers!) then we can offer the service to
future cons.

I think it will be fun for the Guides as well as helpful for the newbies.

Nora

From: runacc@yahoogroups.com [mailto:runacc@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of
Elaine Mami
Sent: Saturday, June 04, 2011 5:53 PM
To: Betsy D
Subject: RE: [runacc] Newbie stuff (Re: Misperceptions and questions)

Actually, this one is also a definite for CC 30. The details are still
being worked on, but look for some surprisingly obvious *suggestions* that
This is A Person Who is Happy to Help You!

I really love these suggestions, and how my incredible team is rushing to
embrace them! Thanks, all of you!!

Elaine

2. Welcome Wagon – this one isn’t as finalized yet but basically it would
consist of a team of Native Guides who would guide newbies around the con,
explain things to them, look for lost souls, introduce the new folks to the
vets, etc.

Haven’t got all the details together yet but the concept is to provide new
people with some folks who can help them find where they need to be, explain
jokes & references they don’t get, introduce them to folks with similar
interests… just help them wherever they can.
Kind of like a wandering den mom – a “Con Mom”.

Nora

[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: 10.0.1375 / Virus Database: 1511/3681 – Release Date: 06/04/11

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

To my recollection, yours was the first time we did that. It was a very good idea.

Byron

On Jun 4, 2011, at 6:46 PM, Gravely MacCabre wrote:

> re standing up/past winner intros
>
> everyone coming on stage was my idea and we did it first in ogden with that
> beautiful stage.
>
> byron was of course a part of it, and if he suggested it previously, that
> wouldnt surprise me at all, with his understanding of history and ceremony
>
> so I coulda heard it somewhere else for sure
> Gravely MacCabre
> http://www.castleblood.com
> http://facebook.com/gravelymaccabre
> http://etsy.com/shops/gravelymaccabre
>
> tv show clip samples at
> http://www.veoh.com/channels/castleblood
>
> ________________________________
> From: Nora & Bruce Mai <casamai@sbcglobal.net>
> To: runacc@yahoogroups.com
> Sent: Sat, June 4, 2011 12:13:54 AM
> Subject: [runacc] LAA (was: Post CC info for committees – suggestions for
> newcomer inclusion)
>
>
> Not the worst idea I the world. And, I believe it was Byron(?) who
> suggested perhaps that ALL the LAA recipients stand up and be recognized at
> some point.
>
> Bruce
>
> From: runacc@yahoogroups.com [mailto:runacc@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of
> Gravely MacCabre
> Sent: Friday, June 03, 2011 11:44 AM
> To: runacc@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: Re: [runacc] Post CC info for committees – suggestions for newcomer
> inclusion
>
> when I was asked to hand it out 2 years, i totally tried to give it some
> sense
> of stature, and context.
>
> including at least reading off the list of past winners, or having all
> attending
> winners come up on stage to help hand it out/welcome the new person.
> if it is our ‘hall of fame’ then the ceremony needs to reflect that. to
> reflect
> that it matters and is important
>
> if attending, perhaps if you dont choose an mc to do it, maybe the person
> that
> nominated the winner could be asked to present it, as they obviously feel
> the
> deepest connection ti that winner
>
> Ricky
>
> 6/03/11
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>

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

In a message dated 6/4/2011 5:41:07 PM Central Daylight Time,
von_drago@yahoo.com writes:

> 2. Welcome Wagon – this one isn’t as finalized yet but basically it would
> consist of a team of Native Guides who would guide newbies around the con,
> explain things to them, look for lost souls, introduce the new folks to
> the vets, etc.
>

I like this idea!

> Haven’t got all the details together yet but the concept is to provide
> new people with some folks who can help them find where they need to be,
> explain jokes &references they don’t get, introduce them to folks with similar
> interests… just help them wherever they can.
> Kind of like a wandering den mom – a “Con Mom”.

Good idea. Question: In this area, Con Mom is the person that is on staff
that makes sure other staffers are alright, as in have eaten, slept, gone to
the bathroom, etc. So, might another name be better, such as Friendly Native
Guide? Just a question and an idea.

Henry

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

At 01:31 PM 6/4/2011, you wrote:

I haven’t noticed it in the videos Carl has brought me, but I haven’t
been through everything yet. We should probably try to find it.

Pierre

>Ricky, there’s two parts to the whole thing, remember?
>The Baptistown bid flyer was a creation of Toni Lay’s, and was
>wonderfully insane and Un-PC.
>The presentation by the Pups in the CC con-suite was the response to
>the APA idiocy, perpetrated by one person against pretty much all of
>the rest of costuming.
>I don’t know if the flyer exists anymore, but I know the video of
>our superbly silly presentation has been preserved on video, because
>Carl has shown it at Pups’ meetings in the past! Whether Carl has
>it or it is in the Archives is something I don’t know.
>The in jokes in that video are almost impossible to explain at this
>point, and it should only be shown now to people who were part of it
>for just that reason.
>However, The Baptistown Bid should never die!!
>
>Elaine
>Who was there, and part of it all, proudly!!
>
>To: runacc@yahoogroups.com
>From: gravelymac@yahoo.com
>Date: Fri, 3 Jun 2011 21:01:09 -0700
>Subject: Re: [runacc] Re: Post CC info for committees – suggestions
>for newcomer inclusion
>
>Aurora, nope, the original baptistown stuff, was a successful silly
>attempt at
>difusing a bad costume apa situation, by ghaving a mysterious ladoes league
>basically tell people to play nice, or else.
>
>that alas has been lost.
>but in 1986 it was the sick pups at thgier finest
> Gravely MacCabre
>From: Aurora Celeste <auroraceleste@gmail.com>
>To: runacc@yahoogroups.com
>Sent: Fri, June 3, 2011 8:55:48 PM
>Subject: Re: [runacc] Re: Post CC info for committees – suggestions
>for newcomer
>inclusion
>
>
>Might be n00b of me, but can’t we just let Baptisttown die? It seems to me
>like it was a turf-war full of bitterness and anger (perhaps I have gotten
>the wrong impression from wrong explanations), and that’s not exactly
>something we need to explain to new people, or even at all. Bitter jokes
>should die gracefully.
>
>~Aurora

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

I have a totally vague recollection that Marty might have a copy if you
don’t, Pierre. Trouble is, I don’t recall whether I saw the presentation and
visualized it or saw it for real. Such a LONG time ago!

-b

On Sun, Jun 5, 2011 at 10:12 AM, Pierre & Sandy Pettinger <
costumrs@radiks.net> wrote:

>
>
> At 01:31 PM 6/4/2011, you wrote:
>
> I haven’t noticed it in the videos Carl has brought me, but I haven’t
> been through everything yet. We should probably try to find it.
>
> Pierre
>
> —

—
—
Betsy Marks Delaney

http://www.hawkeswood.com/

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