Researching My Freak Nation
Some questions for all y'all my beloved gentle freaks: be you nerds/geeks of any stripe, gamers, Rennies, goths, steampunk, kinky, poly, Pagan or other "alternative" spirituality, trans, queer, bi/gay/les, burner, spinner...you get my drift
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1) Let's see, for larps, I always go to MA Intercon and usually out to Chicago for Whately or whatever else is running at Gail&Dig's. Other larps depend on what's running locally that I'm interested in; lately it's been zero, unfortunately. Cons, I go to Worldcon if it's somewhere I'm interested in visiting, Balticon unless I'm out of town for another event, and usually Darkover in Timonium (though I just go for a day to Balticon and Darkover nowadays, not overnight.) One pagan event in a typical year. I probably go to five or six concerts/comedy shows a year, and two or three theater shows. The Valentine's burlesque show at the Birchmere is probably the only one of those that's a regular event.
Do Space Shuttle launches count? :-) Also, the past couple of years I've gone to several NASA events, one of which involved travel. They were free except for travel expenses.
2) The events are all over the map, so there's no real average price, but I've gotten to the point where I'm not too concerned about cost. I don't pay for several-hundred-dollar VIP packages for concerts or shows, but I'm not willing to sit in the third balcony any more, so I'll pay what it costs. I do look for discounts and try to take advantage of advance prices, especially for events I regularly attend, but I don't generally trade volunteering for a lower rate, because I've found I don't particularly enjoy it. (I do work on stuff at some events, like the dance at Intercon, but I don't do it to save money.)
I generally don't spend much for vendors and add-ons any more, just because I don't want more stuff.
3) Hmm, I'm not sure. For concerts/theater, it is pretty much that looks cool/it's someone I've wanted to see, and the price isn't out of line with other events and I can afford it along with the travel, if any, and I don't have a conflict. For larps, cons, festivals and such, it helps if I'm familiar with the people running it, so I can count on them doing a good job. But really, there's a lot of chance involved -- do I stumble across it in time to get good seats, has it been a while since I've gone to something, etc.
4) The biggest factor is probably events that are badly run, or where the people running it are clearly more interested in whether their friends or regulars are having a good time than the other people who've paid to be there. For concerts/theater, finding only sucky seats available. Spaces that are overcrowded or where the layout is particularly unsuited to the event can make it less fun, as can venues where the organizers sacrificed too much to make the event inexpensive (there are some really nasty hotels out there.) And some venues are just bad -- I don't go to events at Rams Head Live in Baltimore, even though they get a lot of good acts, because it has no seats in the stage area, just two levels of concrete floors, so you either stand waiting for a long time, or you watch from the back of a crowd.
On the flip side, one thing I've learned from the NASA and space events I've attended is that if you're running repeating events, it is possible to use social media effectively to build a real community among your participants that connects them with each other and makes them more enthusiastic for what you're doing. NASA has gotten really good at this, and is worth checking out.
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