Donna Barr: 2013 Clallam Bay Comicon Report

Now you see, this is what I keep writing about. A convention report with photos. This one is by Donna Barr and concerns her Clallam Bay Comicon. Be inspired!

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Oh, you missed it? Not next year, huh? In the meantime, get ready for the 2014 Comicon (links on this page).

The Gang at the Clallam Bay Inn..

Dara Korra’ti started the show by – really – by moving the con to the Clallam Bay Inn, for the fish-n-chips by Cara she’d been hungering for all year.

Fish-n-chips – NOM.

The owner gave us Cara again, who did not disappoint! The addition of another beer on tap, a crisp clean Manny’s, was a lovely surprise.

Dara decided to produce the convention newsletter with a stamp kit. She got the B’s in CBCBC (Clallam Bay Comic Book Con) backwards, and we insist this will now be the official printing from now on.

Opening Ceremonies – on the be

Dara ALSO set up the wi-fi so we could all use credit cards! And threatened to bring in a music festival next year. YES, everybody has to pay their $25 vending fees – UP FRONT – from now on. But Dara will probably be doing enough for the con to always get her vendor’s access gratis. Come on – how many sales would we have missed without her help?

After dinner, we reparked the cars (those of us who didn’t decide to stroll) to the park, and crossed the bridge to hold the Opening Ceremonies on the beach. Yes, I live down there, on the point.

Roberta Gregory (Marcus and lady in the back) at the room party.

Then we had a room party over at the Bay Motel. Yes, indeedy, the comicon had everything the usual conventions had. I think it was Roberta who said, “Room party! This is a room party!” And we all started laughing. We are simple people – and easily amused.

Saturday morning, and the Fun Days Grand Parade!

Niall Townley, the Fire Piper, leads the way on stilts, playing flaming bagpipes, awwwing an amazed audience – who all pointed out the tiny glittery baby shoes protecting his stilt feet. Niall won the Fun Days Grand Prize Blue Ribbon (“I dinna know where you been, my laddie, but I seen you won 1st prize”). They even gave us comiconers a 3rd prize ribbon – which of course had us falling over ourselves laughing. Thank you, Clallam Bay, for treating him and his fellow cosplayers so nicely. He says he can’t wait for next year! Yay! And yes, please, more cosplay – we can’t get too much of you fancy people.

Donna Barr in her Ka-Blam tshirt – at th

And here we are in the Lion’s club hall, Saturday morning! We pause here to thank Ka-Blam for so much of their printing help. And yes, I get $10 printing fees every time I wear their shirt to a convention. Me so happy. Oh, and the other advantage we get for running our own con is we get vendor’s space #1. Well, we do.

The hall was lovely – clean, spacious, with a nice kitchen and bathroom. Dogs allowed, thank you, if I have anything to do with it. Or your pet monkey or cat, if they’re as well-behaved as Cedar and his buddy, here. YES, we cleaned it up very carefully when we left (although I think I left my jar of kelp pickles in their ‘fridge).

Those of you with Lion’s Clubs in small towns – they may not have a hall, but they can find you space. And since most people in Lion’s Clubs joined in the ’50′s, they’re fading. We decided it would be perfect to hook up comicons with Lion’s Clubs in every rural area in America. Yes, they thought we were a bit weird at first – I think we scared them – but they’re converts now. I was told they’d expand for us – going to go to a meeting and nail that down, if I can – and spread the word. Hey – fun, charity and a positive outlook – isn’t it what comicons AND Lion’s Clubs are about? They’re a perfect match. I was calling this method of conventionioneering the Dragon Model – maybe I should call it the Lion Model. I’m a Leo, too, after all.

The official Clallam Bay Comicon charity.

Speaking of charity – here’s our official convention charity – the lovely Hannah Larrachea and her Cooking for the Cure, a senior class project for the American Cancer Society! The numbers were thinner than we’d hoped – and townsfolks were scared by a door, evidently thinking they’d HAVE to buy. So, because Hannah didn’t sell as she’d expected, the vendors and participants all threw $5 apiece into the jar, bought the whole spread, and put up the sign, “Free cookies and cakes!”  Share the wealth. How sweet.

Marcus Evanstar, of Steve Jackson Games, had plenty of space out on the porch to help a few local kids play. It’s a gorgeous sunny day, and most people are either putting themselves into water or trying to pull salmon out of it. And it’s hard for our people to get out here. But the Photosynthesis folks (their festival is next weekend in Neah Bay) bring their audience here. This is only our second year, and I’m very happy with our future potential – and yes, the person who posted about this on Facebook – it WAS “ridiculously fun.” And evidently uplifting to tired spirits.

Remember I said the Lion’s Club was scared of us at first? Not when the guys running in and out to get Lion’s Club barbecue supplies get a convention tshirt and a cupcake! Nice people, nice show, and we’re doing it again next year.

A post-con party at the By-The Bay restaurant in Sekiu. They were handling the monster overflow from the Breakwater restaurant’s hot-water breakdown, and then our remnants walk in and take half the tables. The town only has ’50′s diner food, but maybe next year…. Vietnamese? (The Three Sisters of Clallam Art Gallery is working on that, with the help of Thu Tran, who runs the haircut and nails parlor and who keeps feasting the whole town. Next year – spring rolls and Thai Tea?)

Now… how do we keep the fireworks, but don’t overload the town, trying to deal with Fun Days? Simple – change the paradigm! Everybody get up here Saturday for the parade, fireworks and fun – then we sell and trade and panel Sunday and Monday. We always figure out how to get that extra Friday – why not that extra Monday? Anything you know about a convention, how to run one, and how to attend – throw it right out the window. We’ll always have no stinking badges, and $25 vendor fees. See you in 2014!

Roberta and me – Dead Dog time!

And now – the end-of-con report. We had a Dead Dog party, but as they kept happening, we renamed them the Zombie Dog parties. And yes, most of them were on the beach.

(c)2013 Donna Barr