Steel and Stone
May. 25th, 2004 04:02 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
norcumiI'be been bugged by this waking dream for awhile. I am obsessed with Gargoyles. I know it. But you see, what I keep thinking rather wistfully about is the possibility of having the Gathering here in Pittsburgh. Of running the damn thing.
I've read the stuff put out by former con staff (Lynati's is here, and Aaron's is here). I am very well aware that it's a hell of a lot of work. It requires mondo care and attention and it lasts for at least a year.
And that's the problem. When I think on it, I realize I don't have the time, effort, or energy to do it. I'm not in touch enough with the fandom to figure out what sort of panels would be appropriate or guests would really bring in people (aside from the obvious, and the obvious is damned expensive). I certainly don't have the charisma or force of personality that would be needed to kick start a staff, and I'm too controlling to likely step back and not take charge of things, which I'd most likely fluff. And all of that ignores the whole reality of I don't have enough time to do much of anything in my normal life, and while school is gone, a job will be replacing that.
And yet....
I believe there's a nice hotel downtown about two, maybe three blocks from the bus and train station, and there's a major airport hub a half hour away. No idea how bad it is to get to downtown from there, though. I have a small mental list of local stores that might like to be vendors - everything from the game store up the street to the anime place around the corner.
I love this city. I can never quite get over the thrill of coming out of the Fort Pitt tunnel and seeing downtown. The crazy little suburbs that actually make up the whole city, and aren't just the outskirts. And I quietly giggle to myself that this would be a perfect home for gargoyles. Back before the cleanup there'd be busy factories and lots of clouds and smog to hide in. This was a hub back in the day, and it ain't doing so bad right now, for that matter.
And I keep thinking how a clan would love it here. Every time I ride the Incline I think of how a garg could hitch a ride up to get out over the rivers. They'd play around the top of the fountain at the Point, roost near PPG or maybe the Cathedral... only to scare the night classes of college students. The bus system is more than good enough to get anyone anywhere fairly quickly and easily, and part of me is amused at putting "catch the 61C ACROSS from the McDonalds around the corner to get to the Cathedral, Carnegie museum, etc." into con packets. Whole reams of bus directions and restaurants. (::snickers:: Now that's my dream for a good con - it's not OtherCon, it's not Clan Olympics, it's letting people loose into the city!) Anyway. Back to reality, such as it is. As for other factors, there's at least one popular amusement part nearby, which fits into that unofficial tradition. This... does seem to be an ideal location...
but ye gods, that's a terrifying amount of work.
I've read the stuff put out by former con staff (Lynati's is here, and Aaron's is here). I am very well aware that it's a hell of a lot of work. It requires mondo care and attention and it lasts for at least a year.
And that's the problem. When I think on it, I realize I don't have the time, effort, or energy to do it. I'm not in touch enough with the fandom to figure out what sort of panels would be appropriate or guests would really bring in people (aside from the obvious, and the obvious is damned expensive). I certainly don't have the charisma or force of personality that would be needed to kick start a staff, and I'm too controlling to likely step back and not take charge of things, which I'd most likely fluff. And all of that ignores the whole reality of I don't have enough time to do much of anything in my normal life, and while school is gone, a job will be replacing that.
And yet....
I believe there's a nice hotel downtown about two, maybe three blocks from the bus and train station, and there's a major airport hub a half hour away. No idea how bad it is to get to downtown from there, though. I have a small mental list of local stores that might like to be vendors - everything from the game store up the street to the anime place around the corner.
I love this city. I can never quite get over the thrill of coming out of the Fort Pitt tunnel and seeing downtown. The crazy little suburbs that actually make up the whole city, and aren't just the outskirts. And I quietly giggle to myself that this would be a perfect home for gargoyles. Back before the cleanup there'd be busy factories and lots of clouds and smog to hide in. This was a hub back in the day, and it ain't doing so bad right now, for that matter.
And I keep thinking how a clan would love it here. Every time I ride the Incline I think of how a garg could hitch a ride up to get out over the rivers. They'd play around the top of the fountain at the Point, roost near PPG or maybe the Cathedral... only to scare the night classes of college students. The bus system is more than good enough to get anyone anywhere fairly quickly and easily, and part of me is amused at putting "catch the 61C ACROSS from the McDonalds around the corner to get to the Cathedral, Carnegie museum, etc." into con packets. Whole reams of bus directions and restaurants. (::snickers:: Now that's my dream for a good con - it's not OtherCon, it's not Clan Olympics, it's letting people loose into the city!) Anyway. Back to reality, such as it is. As for other factors, there's at least one popular amusement part nearby, which fits into that unofficial tradition. This... does seem to be an ideal location...
but ye gods, that's a terrifying amount of work.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
response...of doom!
Date: 2004-05-25 03:00 pm (UTC)http://lynativerse.artchicks.org/Fic/Con_Planning_101.htm
two...and this is something I've decided to go back in an edit soon- go for a cheaper (costing) hotel. 2002 at the Holiday Inn was just FINE. people -including myself- bitched over the cost of 2001's LA rooms, and you reeeeeeaaaaaaalllllly don't want to know what NY did to personal costs to the staff. As long as the place is nice, and has enough convention rooms to support a con without squishing people, go for it. (what hotel are you looking at, btw?)
This is tied into the fact that you don't *need* a packed schedule, and fewer events happening (at the same time) require fewer con rooms.
As for the work load- *THAT* is what having a staff is for. Plus, it's not nearly as bad when you know what needs to be done, and how to do it. As for panels, there are good stand-bys; I did all the event organizing for 2003 (see above paragraph for the lesson learned about that) and for the rest, you can always poll the forums : "What would you like to see at a con?"
As for guests, well, get Greg W. and Thom and pick a third; maybe a foruth. It doesn't have to be anyone "fancy" ; people will still come.
People don't come to the gatherings solely for the guests- they come to see eachother. The guests are a nice bonus, but they aren't most attendees main reason for going.
And remember- if you don't win the bid one year, you can always try again the next. Hee, maybe you should play with the idea for Pittsburgh 2007. It would certainly give you enough time to put things together... ; )
-Lynati
no subject
Date: 2004-06-06 04:28 pm (UTC)I got your e-mail and then wound up needing to format my hard drive, so I lost it...:( Could you resend it to me?
On the bright side, the hard drive is all taken care of now, so the computer shouldn't go BLURF again...
no subject
Date: 2004-06-07 09:11 am (UTC)Ahem. Hi! ::grins:: Resent, and good to see you!
::hands over chocolate for the formatted hard drive:: Here's hoping the computer behaves now.
hiiii!!!!
Date: 2004-06-07 05:12 am (UTC)One is saying:
That's pretty cool....
No, that's REALLY cool!
Another one is saying:
HOLY GOD THE WORKLOAD!!!
DON'T tell her to host the con, because that's just a really mean thing to do to a person!!
Yet another part of my brain just asked for chocolate, but it's always doing that, so I've learnt to ignore it.
Seriously, advice wise, ignore the babbling chocoholic, and listen to the people who've been there. Or perhaps get involved in the next con, maybe not on core staff (they've probably got those positions filled), but as a general Helping Hand or whatever. Get some contacts and experience and all those other useful things. THEN decide.
Although if you DO host, you'll have at least one attendee - Pittsburgh may have to get in extra supplies of chocolate ;)
Fleur
FLEUR!!!!
Date: 2004-06-07 09:19 am (UTC)Amen to the "Cool!" voice, whimpering and massive nodding to the "Workload" voice, and much giggling to the "Chocolate" voice.
And I would so want to kidnap - well, pretty much the whole !@#$% forum if I did it. By this point I'm fairly comfortable saying "not this year." I then whimper at the realization that Pittsburgh should host a Gathering... and that I'm still plotting for it. The list of things to think of literally keeps growing (slowly, thank the gods!). ::poings:: So you would come? Could we kidnap you for an extra
monthweek, say, after it? ::grins brightly and just a weeeee bit manically::And to round out the strangeness, I feel obligated to giggle and share that I started music on shuffle when starting to reply to comments. I swear, without any interference from me, the results: The garg theme, Wonderful, They're Coming to Take Me Away, and Not The Cheapest Kind. I think Someone is trying to tell me something. ;)
Re: FLEUR!!!!
Date: 2004-06-09 04:28 am (UTC)*thinks for half a nanosecond* HELL YEAH!! :)
>Could we kidnap you for an extra month week, say, after it? ::grins brightly and just a weeeee bit manically::<
After it, before it, during it! *poings* I should warn you though, there's a very good chance the creativity daemons will arrange some sort of counter-kidnap. Not that I'd help, of course *whistles innocently and tries to hide the person-sized suitcase*
Um, on a completely different note - would you mind telling me how I could get my own LJ? I resisted for a while, mostly because I knew I'd inevitably let loose some horrible rant and offend everybody, but now... eh, I conceed defeat. But when I tried to figure out how to register, computer (dis)ability ended up having a bit of an episode and had to lie down in a quiet area of my brain for a while.
Re: FLEUR!!!!
Date: 2004-06-09 10:31 am (UTC)As for getting a LJ: go to livejournal.com . Right there on the main page, there's a bold link to "Create!" a lj. From there it's filling out the boxes and lots and lots of use of the FAQ page (::sighs:: or at least, that's how I get by. Someone else might be able to get you more useful info. Sorry. ) Hope that helps!
opps!
Date: 2004-06-10 05:29 am (UTC)In other words: I have a new toy. :D This has just tipped the balance of my day from Horrendous to Kinda Nifty.
*scampers off to press check boxes and press buttons, just to see what happens*