Stress, Frustration, and Margaret Cho: My Unthrocon Experience
Unthrocon is done! Okay, it was actually done on 9/1, but I'm just now getting around to posting about it. (I've been enjoying my time off, so sue me!) All I have to say about actually running a convention is...holy crap, that was a lot of work. I knew it was going to be a lot of work, I just wasn't prepared for how much work I would be doing. Perhaps the best way to phrase how I'm feeling about the total amount of work I had to do is to say that I was wearing too many different hats. I was the hotel liaison, the volunteer coordinator, over security, in charge of the headless lounge and the fursuiting events, in charge of the video game section of our game room (which meant getting televisions and systems, and organizing games for the game room), in charge of the dances, and ran the big events of the convention (fursuit Olympics, fursuit twister, and the Super Smash Bros. tournament.) Plus, outside of the con, I managed the Unthrocon Facebook group, as well as fielded questions and provided information on the local furry Facebook groups. I'm not much of a fan of Facebook, but it's a necessary evil at this point, since the majority of our attendees got to our page and saw the information about the con through Facebook. So...yeah, I feel like I did a lot.
The convention was fairly successful, in my opinion, and we made back the money for the event space, plus a little extra that will be split up to pay us back for what we personally put into the convention (my total contributions were close to $1,400.00, and I'll be getting back a little under $300.) On the first day of the con, I loaded up my car with various things for the con and headed out to pick up the projector and PA system. I was the first one there and proceeded to unload things and get it moved up to the convention space. Everyone else came about 45 min later with their cars backed full with the rest of the materials, and we unleaded everything and got all the event spaces set up. We had some hiccups with registration, but Jason and the guy in charge of registration got it worked out, and things went smoothly for that area for the rest of the con. Since I was in charge of staff and security, I spent a lot of Friday watching doors for rooms and running around to the dealers den, the headless lounge, the game rooms to make sure things were comfortable and how everyone wanted them. I wish I had a radio to the front desk because I ran up and down the main stairway to the desk so often that I didn't sit down once until I had dinner around 8 PM. A couple of the other directors did opening ceremonies while I tended to my various responsibilities, and then it was time to get things set up for the dance. But, before I could get to it, a few of the other directors had been talking and wanted to get a section of the ballroom to use during the con, since it was vacant. It fell to me to try and get us a good deal for the space, which I managed to procure for a total of $400 for the entire con (normally that section of the ballroom would have been $600/night). That matter being dealt with, I set up for the dance and then got back to watching rooms and other spaces. The con officially closed up at midnight, and I stayed down to ensure that everything got locked up properly. Once done, I headed up to my room and went right to bed.
Saturday was the big day for our con, since we had most of the big activities scheduled that day, and with my feet being sore from the previous day, I got up early so I could get home and grab a better pair of shoes. I got breakfast on the run, and got back in time to have the hotel open up the rooms at 8:30 so that I could have all them all set up and running for when we opened at 9. None of the other directors or staff members were there yet, but I figured they'd be along shortly. Boy was I wrong. I moved all the registration stuff from the panel room we had stored it in back to the registration desk, and then got the panel room ready for the panel we had scheduled at 9 AM. One of the early risers asked me "All by yourself this morning?" But, I got everything squared away, with a few minutes to spare, so I just watched the area as people began to head into the room. It's an early panel, so we weren't expecting much, but by the time 9 AM rolled around we had about 5 people present for Intro to Writing. The only problem is, the person running the panel isn't here. Now, someone else was supposed to be in charge of making sure the panels are starting on time and running smoothly, but that person was staying at home and wasn't at the hotel yet. So, it fell to me to find out what was going on. Fortunately I knew the guy giving the panel, and he was even rooming with the other two directors. I gave him a call and was a little bit surprised to find out that we was just finishing up breakfast...with one of the directors. I told him that people were waiting for his panel and that I needed him here. It took a few minutes for them to pay and get out of the hotel restaurant, and I ushered him right into the room when he got there. We'll just say that I was a tad miffed with the other director, and told him that we need to be down before the con officially opens so that we can have the space ready for people. He responded that the panel rooms and registration wasn't his responsibility, and that the person in charge of registration wasn't due to open the desk for another hour or so. And that, in a nutshell, was how a lot of the con went for me. Something became my responsibility, on top of the large list I already had, because no one else felt it was their duty.
I wanted to say more, but I was on duty to watch the video game room door (all the consoles and half of the televisions in there belonged to me and Jason, after all) so I left it at that. I used my time there to get things prepped for the fursuit games I was running in the early afternoon. Time passed by quickly, mostly because I was running around to make sure the headless lounge was well stocked and clean, and taking care of random requirements people had from the hotel. But soon enough, it was time for the games. I had never run fursuit games before, but I had participated in enough to know what to avoid, Mainly, musical chairs. My goal was to have a set of games where people had fun, got frequent breaks, and no one damaged their suits or their bodies. I'm happy to report that I accomplished all of that! Plus, while I was expecting about 12 fursuiters to show up, I actually had 24...and I still managed to make the team games work. I am pretty proud of myself. On top of that, we had a surprise guest that showed up. Margaret Cho stopped by the con! (One of the people helping out on the con, Tugs, went to her show on Friday night, and he mentioned to her that there was a furry con happening in Salt Lake that weekend. I guess she likes furries because she said she'd show up. And much to my surprise, she was true to her word!) We had her lead Simon Says for the fursuiters, which everyone seemed to enjoy. Here's a link to a video she posted about the experience: http://youtu.be/kKC_TCDRFkY
Well, that was the bright spot of my con experience, now back to the reality of running a con. After the games, I was supposed to have a break for dinner, but the person who was supposed to be helping watch the board game room got called into work, so I hopped in to cover that...because no one else would (or because some of the extra staff and one of the directors had gone off to the liquor store because "he really needed a stiff drink after his busy day"...of which he had the shortest shift with the dealer's den...and had a dedicated helper the whole time watching it, so he was just wandering around most of the day. *grumbles*). I had Jimmy Johns deliver some sandwiches for me and Jason and watched the board game room while he ran a game. Before too long it was getting close to 9 PM, which meant the dance would be starting and that my Super Smash Bros. Tournament would need to start. I left the game room since Jason would be finished soon and headed off to see how the setup for the dance was coming along. It wasn't. So I headed over to the registration table to ask for some help, since registration was closed and two of the directors were sitting there chatting. One of them said he was too busy to help, and the other said "that guy is going for me" when a con attendee offered to help out. Once again, I was a little miffed. Fortunately it didn't take much to get set up for the dances, though my patience was short and I ended up being rude to one of the people who offered to help. But, we got it set up and I had to hurry to the video game room so I could run the Smash Bros. Tournament. The Tournament went well. Perhaps too well, because people were hanging around watching the matches even after they had been eliminated. This meant the dance was pretty bare, and one of the directors came in and started telling people to head out and go to the dance. Most stayed until the end, at which point I tried to encourage everyone to stop by the dance because we had an awesome DJ who wasn't getting any love. I hung around and got things put back together in the game room, then made my rounds to the headless lounge and the dance, and helped move the registration stuff back into one of the rooms for the night. The dance ended and I started closing up the rooms with security when I noticed some of the night staff were breaking down the ballroom we had gotten last minute on Friday night. Long story short, it hadn't been listed on the schedule that we had the room at all, so they were breaking it down thinking we were done. It took about an hour but I got them to set it back up and then got it locked up for the night. Exhausted, I headed to bed.
Sunday morning was such a relief because I knew we'd be done soon. I headed down and was surprised to find a few people there ready to help me. I guess if you complain enough someone is bound to listen. We got things opened and started getting the main room set up for Sunday Morning Cartoons. I went to open the headless lounge and was greeted with a nice stream of water pouring down from the AC vent, onto the floor. Fortunately none of our stuff was damaged, and they moved us to a slightly larger room for the last day, which was nice. The rest of Sunday went along pretty well, and several of the directors and staff members were more keen to help out. I hadn't expected to have any free time, but found that I was able to head off site to enjoy a lunch with some friends. When I got back I led a game of Fursuit Twister, and then it was time to get stuff ready for the Hiss and Purr. Feedback was good, people had fun, and everyone seemed excited to come back next year. We even had several people from out of state, some as far as Kentucky! So, everyone was happy, and the the only complaints were that people wanted more. I'd say that was a good thing. We had the Dead Dino dance that evening, ending around 9 PM, which was decently attended. We broke everything down and Jason and I loaded up our cars to get stuff moved back and unpacked, leaving the other directors and several members of staff to party at the hotel on a job well done.
I think it was a job well done. But, I'll be honest, with all the issues I had to endure throughout the months leading up to the con, and at the con itself, I am not eager to do it again. Or, to be more accurate, I would be happy to run the events and tournaments again, but I don't want to be a director or hotel liaison or head of security or staff or anything else. I'll let them find some other people to take over those responsibilities.
The moral of this story, if you're one of those people who hated group projects because you felt like you had to do most of the work because you couldn't fully rely on your partners, you probably don't want to help start up a first time con in your state. Just sayin'.
The convention was fairly successful, in my opinion, and we made back the money for the event space, plus a little extra that will be split up to pay us back for what we personally put into the convention (my total contributions were close to $1,400.00, and I'll be getting back a little under $300.) On the first day of the con, I loaded up my car with various things for the con and headed out to pick up the projector and PA system. I was the first one there and proceeded to unload things and get it moved up to the convention space. Everyone else came about 45 min later with their cars backed full with the rest of the materials, and we unleaded everything and got all the event spaces set up. We had some hiccups with registration, but Jason and the guy in charge of registration got it worked out, and things went smoothly for that area for the rest of the con. Since I was in charge of staff and security, I spent a lot of Friday watching doors for rooms and running around to the dealers den, the headless lounge, the game rooms to make sure things were comfortable and how everyone wanted them. I wish I had a radio to the front desk because I ran up and down the main stairway to the desk so often that I didn't sit down once until I had dinner around 8 PM. A couple of the other directors did opening ceremonies while I tended to my various responsibilities, and then it was time to get things set up for the dance. But, before I could get to it, a few of the other directors had been talking and wanted to get a section of the ballroom to use during the con, since it was vacant. It fell to me to try and get us a good deal for the space, which I managed to procure for a total of $400 for the entire con (normally that section of the ballroom would have been $600/night). That matter being dealt with, I set up for the dance and then got back to watching rooms and other spaces. The con officially closed up at midnight, and I stayed down to ensure that everything got locked up properly. Once done, I headed up to my room and went right to bed.
Saturday was the big day for our con, since we had most of the big activities scheduled that day, and with my feet being sore from the previous day, I got up early so I could get home and grab a better pair of shoes. I got breakfast on the run, and got back in time to have the hotel open up the rooms at 8:30 so that I could have all them all set up and running for when we opened at 9. None of the other directors or staff members were there yet, but I figured they'd be along shortly. Boy was I wrong. I moved all the registration stuff from the panel room we had stored it in back to the registration desk, and then got the panel room ready for the panel we had scheduled at 9 AM. One of the early risers asked me "All by yourself this morning?" But, I got everything squared away, with a few minutes to spare, so I just watched the area as people began to head into the room. It's an early panel, so we weren't expecting much, but by the time 9 AM rolled around we had about 5 people present for Intro to Writing. The only problem is, the person running the panel isn't here. Now, someone else was supposed to be in charge of making sure the panels are starting on time and running smoothly, but that person was staying at home and wasn't at the hotel yet. So, it fell to me to find out what was going on. Fortunately I knew the guy giving the panel, and he was even rooming with the other two directors. I gave him a call and was a little bit surprised to find out that we was just finishing up breakfast...with one of the directors. I told him that people were waiting for his panel and that I needed him here. It took a few minutes for them to pay and get out of the hotel restaurant, and I ushered him right into the room when he got there. We'll just say that I was a tad miffed with the other director, and told him that we need to be down before the con officially opens so that we can have the space ready for people. He responded that the panel rooms and registration wasn't his responsibility, and that the person in charge of registration wasn't due to open the desk for another hour or so. And that, in a nutshell, was how a lot of the con went for me. Something became my responsibility, on top of the large list I already had, because no one else felt it was their duty.
I wanted to say more, but I was on duty to watch the video game room door (all the consoles and half of the televisions in there belonged to me and Jason, after all) so I left it at that. I used my time there to get things prepped for the fursuit games I was running in the early afternoon. Time passed by quickly, mostly because I was running around to make sure the headless lounge was well stocked and clean, and taking care of random requirements people had from the hotel. But soon enough, it was time for the games. I had never run fursuit games before, but I had participated in enough to know what to avoid, Mainly, musical chairs. My goal was to have a set of games where people had fun, got frequent breaks, and no one damaged their suits or their bodies. I'm happy to report that I accomplished all of that! Plus, while I was expecting about 12 fursuiters to show up, I actually had 24...and I still managed to make the team games work. I am pretty proud of myself. On top of that, we had a surprise guest that showed up. Margaret Cho stopped by the con! (One of the people helping out on the con, Tugs, went to her show on Friday night, and he mentioned to her that there was a furry con happening in Salt Lake that weekend. I guess she likes furries because she said she'd show up. And much to my surprise, she was true to her word!) We had her lead Simon Says for the fursuiters, which everyone seemed to enjoy. Here's a link to a video she posted about the experience: http://youtu.be/kKC_TCDRFkY
Well, that was the bright spot of my con experience, now back to the reality of running a con. After the games, I was supposed to have a break for dinner, but the person who was supposed to be helping watch the board game room got called into work, so I hopped in to cover that...because no one else would (or because some of the extra staff and one of the directors had gone off to the liquor store because "he really needed a stiff drink after his busy day"...of which he had the shortest shift with the dealer's den...and had a dedicated helper the whole time watching it, so he was just wandering around most of the day. *grumbles*). I had Jimmy Johns deliver some sandwiches for me and Jason and watched the board game room while he ran a game. Before too long it was getting close to 9 PM, which meant the dance would be starting and that my Super Smash Bros. Tournament would need to start. I left the game room since Jason would be finished soon and headed off to see how the setup for the dance was coming along. It wasn't. So I headed over to the registration table to ask for some help, since registration was closed and two of the directors were sitting there chatting. One of them said he was too busy to help, and the other said "that guy is going for me" when a con attendee offered to help out. Once again, I was a little miffed. Fortunately it didn't take much to get set up for the dances, though my patience was short and I ended up being rude to one of the people who offered to help. But, we got it set up and I had to hurry to the video game room so I could run the Smash Bros. Tournament. The Tournament went well. Perhaps too well, because people were hanging around watching the matches even after they had been eliminated. This meant the dance was pretty bare, and one of the directors came in and started telling people to head out and go to the dance. Most stayed until the end, at which point I tried to encourage everyone to stop by the dance because we had an awesome DJ who wasn't getting any love. I hung around and got things put back together in the game room, then made my rounds to the headless lounge and the dance, and helped move the registration stuff back into one of the rooms for the night. The dance ended and I started closing up the rooms with security when I noticed some of the night staff were breaking down the ballroom we had gotten last minute on Friday night. Long story short, it hadn't been listed on the schedule that we had the room at all, so they were breaking it down thinking we were done. It took about an hour but I got them to set it back up and then got it locked up for the night. Exhausted, I headed to bed.
Sunday morning was such a relief because I knew we'd be done soon. I headed down and was surprised to find a few people there ready to help me. I guess if you complain enough someone is bound to listen. We got things opened and started getting the main room set up for Sunday Morning Cartoons. I went to open the headless lounge and was greeted with a nice stream of water pouring down from the AC vent, onto the floor. Fortunately none of our stuff was damaged, and they moved us to a slightly larger room for the last day, which was nice. The rest of Sunday went along pretty well, and several of the directors and staff members were more keen to help out. I hadn't expected to have any free time, but found that I was able to head off site to enjoy a lunch with some friends. When I got back I led a game of Fursuit Twister, and then it was time to get stuff ready for the Hiss and Purr. Feedback was good, people had fun, and everyone seemed excited to come back next year. We even had several people from out of state, some as far as Kentucky! So, everyone was happy, and the the only complaints were that people wanted more. I'd say that was a good thing. We had the Dead Dino dance that evening, ending around 9 PM, which was decently attended. We broke everything down and Jason and I loaded up our cars to get stuff moved back and unpacked, leaving the other directors and several members of staff to party at the hotel on a job well done.
I think it was a job well done. But, I'll be honest, with all the issues I had to endure throughout the months leading up to the con, and at the con itself, I am not eager to do it again. Or, to be more accurate, I would be happy to run the events and tournaments again, but I don't want to be a director or hotel liaison or head of security or staff or anything else. I'll let them find some other people to take over those responsibilities.
The moral of this story, if you're one of those people who hated group projects because you felt like you had to do most of the work because you couldn't fully rely on your partners, you probably don't want to help start up a first time con in your state. Just sayin'.