(For future reference, I FINALLY figured out how to add photos to blog posts for reviews..yeah, Iâm a tumblr newb >3< )
OVERALL RATING: 3/5
Location: McHenry Event Center in Modesto, CA
Artist table cost: $25
Hotel: Clarion $72/night
Attendance: No official numbers yet, but felt not more than 1K. Most people were there with weekend badges so not a lot of new faces on Sunday.Â
Hours: Sat 10-6, Sun 10-5, but we were required to be there an hour early for VIPÂ
Venue: McHenry Event CenterÂ
The venue was more of a banquet hall, suited for wedding reception and quinceneras. It didnât make a lot of sense for the type of multi-fandom event this event was trying to be.Â
Free parking.
PRE-CON:
The event sent out a packet which included google map printouts to the event center and event hotel, along with convention policies and a parking pass. Nothing on where to setup/load/unload, and that information wasnât online either. The artist/vendor map was posted online prior to the show. But the event center is small, so it was easy to figure out. Friday pre-con set up was only between 2PM -5PM which makes it a bit difficult if you work a 9-5.
DAY 1:
Saturday setup is 7AM but we were standing outside until about 7:20 before we were let in to set up so everyone had less than two hours to get their set-up complete. Upon entering, it was chaos. No one knew what was going on, and it was hard trying to pin someone down, although once you did, the volunteers did their best to help. I found out that they had given my table location away to someone else, and that they didnât even have me listed anywhere. I had to find somebody and demand a space. Eventually they placed me in the back corner with the vendors (which worked out okay eventually because I had amazing neighbors, was right by the exit (but also was the back loading zone so there were people coming in and out as I was setting up), had access to electricity and had more space behind my table). I was lucky that I did not end up outside in the uncovered patios. Unfortunately, there were artists that were placed outside and not advised when they purchased their tables that they would be outside. Not only was it cold, it was also windy and peopleâs displays were being knocked over. Sales wise, by mid afternoon I was able to make back costs, but most vendors and artists I spoke to were having a hard time making back their table/booth. They kept the room well air conditioned. Volunteers made rounds to check on us throughout the weekend. The hotel was a short drive away and there was an In-n-Out right next to it plus various other restaurants within a short drive. The hotel also had free breakfast.
Day 2:
We were told to be there by 9 AM for VIP guests to get in early. Traffic today was a LOT slower than Saturday. There were a lot of repeat attendees that kept making rounds. There wasnât much else going on since the bulk of the celebrities had left already. There were still some around but there werenât as many events going on. Sales were half of yesterdays and some people made last minute buys. By the time the event came to a close, it was pretty dead an easy to pack up. Since I was right by the exit door and parked across the street, it was easy for me to leave.Â
CONCLUSION:Â
If youâre local, it may be something to look into if you donât have anything else going on. Itâs definitely not something that I would advise out of town artist and vendors to travel to as the foot traffic and the sales will not be what you are expecting for an event of this size. My overall rating is 3/5. itâs not an event I will consider coming back to until some organization issues are addressed and they change the venue to something that is a bit less awkward. I had a lot of fun making new friends, seeing old faces and talking about my art. Because it was slow, it allowed me more time than normal to walk around and check things out, but I was able to walk everything in five minutes.Â
10/5/2016 UPDATE:
I just found out the Classic Con will be expanding to a three day convention next year, with artist tables going up to $50 for outside patio area (at least theyâre telling you this ahead of time) and $125 for inside. This is a HUGE increase and for the size of this event, as an artist who has attended and sold at a decent amount of conventions, big and small, I would advise caution. The table price is more than SacAnime, almost as much as Fanime, and almost as much as more many more established comic and anime conventions with attendees numbering in the 10k+. A lot of smaller and newer conventions make the mistake of expanding too soon. This yearsâs event was two days and by the end of the second day, there wasnât much going on. Iâm not sure that immediately expanding to three days in an event hall that is more suited for banquets than an actual convention is best foot forward.Â
12/5/2016 UPDATE:Â
Early bird AA tables are $50 and they have moved venues to the Modesto Convention center. The event for 2017 is three days and tickets per day are going down in pricing overall. This feels like a smart move for the convention if it wants to grow. I may or may not try it out again, depending on if I have any overlapping events or not. It being on Halloween may overlap with Kumoricon in the PNW.Â