Review: Fanworld 2017
Costume Worn: Steampunk Harley Quinn
It was definitely a mixed bag.
This is a very young con, in its second year. The growing pains are very apparent. The big one is the organization/communication.
I am not one to be upset over guest cancellations, that’s simply the nature of the beast, so Im not dinging that. However, prior to the con, they had asked about photographers attending for a sign up, but never did anything with it, much to the annoyance of DH.
For more practical matters, starting with the parking. The site states the lot across the street at the casino is free. It is not, it is for card holder. Yes, we have cards, but I don’t think most of the attendees do. There IS a free parking garage, but it’s further back. I’m wondering if this was a misunderstanding or a poor choice of wording.
The entrance for the con was at a specific door of the convention center. One side had signage letting you know where to go, the other side did not.
When asked questions, the team doing admissions had no idea.
The convention was supposed to start at 10 AM. There were not many people yet and even a few vendors had not arrived. The cosplay meetup, the reason I was there so early, had a written note on the white board stating it was cancelled.
I will admit that most cons Ive been to have been pretty steady from the get-go, so this threw me off.
Most of the rooms for the con were barely used. I don’t know if this was due to lack of volunteers to organize and run panels
The dealer room was 1/3 full. They should have moved the artists and crafters into the room to make it look fuller. I will say that they quality of vendors was very good for the small amount that was there. The jewelry makers all had beautiful wares, and there were a number of unique items along with local toy shops.
*pause to give Scooby Dee hugs. I haven’t properly hugged her all day and she’s very upset*
DH went home and I stayed with one of my besties, who came for her daughter and her daughter’s friend.
I saw my friend Will from Creative Zenith and met Prima Diana, who makes wonderful fandom backpacks and patches. I bought a Firefly one because, Shiny.
Bestie’s daughter and her friend had a wonderful time, meeting some personality that they admire and sitting in on his panel.
I would say 12:30-1 PM is when people started to really come in. I ran into a couple of folks that I have seen at the other local cons and met many more newer folks. For some, this was their first con and/or first cosplay.
There was a Starbucks nearby that I went to a couple of time. I got to have a little girl upset that I sent the Joker home and she couldn’t meet him (she loved me and couldn’t get why I didn’t have a Joker. I said I sent him home for being a grouch 😀 ) and also got to explain the convention and costuming to an interested couple.
I learned that I probably shouldn’t be in a corset for 10 hours. I was happy there was a cosplay lounge with privacy areas so I could take corset breaks LOL
I entered the craftsmanship portion of the cosplay contest. The judges all had very nice things to say about my costume and I ended up winning the Runner Up. I’m thrilled to finally get an accomplishment after all these years 😀
I think this convention has a LOT of great potential. I do not think at this time that it was worth $25 for one day. It was priced $30 for the weekend, which IS a good value, but a single day was $25 and that was a bit much. It was a very ambitious con, initially attempting to be on both sides of the border, but had to scale back when arrangements fell through. I think they should focus on the one side for now before spreading out. Im sure trying to coordinate that ate up a lot of time that could have been utilized elsewhere. I think getting in more panelists would be fantastic. They should also try to bring in local costume groups like The North Ridge or The Superhero Alliance. I heard about them by chance, as a friend had “shown interest” in on Facebook. Having musical guests, although not a decision maker for me to attend a con, was a nice touch.
I am unsure at this point if I would return. I had a decent time, I met a lot of nice people, but not until much later. If the Cosplay Meetup had gone on as planned, Im sure I would have felt differently. Im sure having it first thing in the morning was an attempt to get people in early that just didn’t work out. If it had not been on the schedule, I probably would have come later and stayed on to see the Harp Twins (I did meet them at their booth and they are extremely nice! I plan on catching them at Buffalo Comicon).
The facilities itself was spacious and provided water for everyone. It had a VERY relaxed atmosphere and everyone was very nice. It was mostly HS and college aged people, so I felt a little old HA HA, but they were all great. I did appreciate the VARIETY of costumes worn.
I would have been ok with it for a lower admission price, in the 15-20$ range.
I do want to say that OVERALL I enjoyed myself. I have a few concerns/recommendations that are easily addressed. Running an event like this is NOT easy by any means and I hope that this one continues to improve and grow!
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