Gridlock DC
I missed meeting up with azriona, which is the one big bummer of the day. Other than that, Gridlock was a nice solid one-day convention.
The fledgling concom were sensible - they went in knowing what they could afford and how many people they could wrangle. Like 221BCon, the original plan was for 75 people; like 221BCon interest was far higher than that, with the bulk of the people arriving at the last bit. (Gridlock sold every last at-the-door ticket.) Unlike 221BCon, they made the decision to not expand. Now - 221B did so so brilliantly that nobody knew until afterward that they were 6x the size they'd originally planned and that's to their credit.
But Gridlock decided "we can handle x people AND THEN WE STOP" and that's to their credit too. (Especially since as it was, one of the panels was brutally overpacked.) I don't know the exact number, but I know it's north of 200 but I don't think very much north. Numbers also dropped as the day went on and the older fans, not used to the gruelling pace of an SF-style con (multi tracks, no lunch break) tired out and went home. (Me, I had an entire picnic in my purse.)
Panels ran a very nice gamut, from the standard Canon 101 to The Psychology of Sherlock Holmes (with an actual psychologist on the panel), a forensics presentation by a local forensics professor, Sherlock Holmes and Star Trek, Women of Canon, AbundantlyQueer talking about colonialism and war history, and a closed-door, let-it-all-hang-out safe space panel where people could vent and talk about the kind of things that they want to say about fandom and Sherlock without being used for wank bait or being dogpiled. (There was discussion of an LJ for tumblr refugees, but it must be locked down tight; I would like to join but can't find it.)
There was also a dealer's room, almost 100% fan crafters (no books! It always throws me there are no booksellers at Sherlock conventions) and a social room. The Social room had some freebies, including coloring-book style sheets of Sherlock fan art and games on the table to help break the ice.
Yes, there was a round of Sherlock Fluxx. I think I need to tweak one of the cards.
All in all, a nice, solid, worthy, enjoyable day. I look forward to next year's con. Maybe then I can finally meet you face to face, azriona!
The fledgling concom were sensible - they went in knowing what they could afford and how many people they could wrangle. Like 221BCon, the original plan was for 75 people; like 221BCon interest was far higher than that, with the bulk of the people arriving at the last bit. (Gridlock sold every last at-the-door ticket.) Unlike 221BCon, they made the decision to not expand. Now - 221B did so so brilliantly that nobody knew until afterward that they were 6x the size they'd originally planned and that's to their credit.
But Gridlock decided "we can handle x people AND THEN WE STOP" and that's to their credit too. (Especially since as it was, one of the panels was brutally overpacked.) I don't know the exact number, but I know it's north of 200 but I don't think very much north. Numbers also dropped as the day went on and the older fans, not used to the gruelling pace of an SF-style con (multi tracks, no lunch break) tired out and went home. (Me, I had an entire picnic in my purse.)
Panels ran a very nice gamut, from the standard Canon 101 to The Psychology of Sherlock Holmes (with an actual psychologist on the panel), a forensics presentation by a local forensics professor, Sherlock Holmes and Star Trek, Women of Canon, AbundantlyQueer talking about colonialism and war history, and a closed-door, let-it-all-hang-out safe space panel where people could vent and talk about the kind of things that they want to say about fandom and Sherlock without being used for wank bait or being dogpiled. (There was discussion of an LJ for tumblr refugees, but it must be locked down tight; I would like to join but can't find it.)
There was also a dealer's room, almost 100% fan crafters (no books! It always throws me there are no booksellers at Sherlock conventions) and a social room. The Social room had some freebies, including coloring-book style sheets of Sherlock fan art and games on the table to help break the ice.
Yes, there was a round of Sherlock Fluxx. I think I need to tweak one of the cards.
All in all, a nice, solid, worthy, enjoyable day. I look forward to next year's con. Maybe then I can finally meet you face to face, azriona!