Friday, 8 January 2016

Have You Tried Organising Your Own Comic Event? Donna Barr Has!

I have written this a number of times before now and I think that creative genius Donna Barr (Desert Peach, Stinz etc) has proven every time.  Comickers need to claim back comic events from the large corporations and greedy big event organisers.

Take a look at this from Donna's The Midnight Library page (worth visiting because there are links on how to buy all her books plus other items of interest):http://donnabarr.blogspot.co.uk/2015/07/2016-clallam-bay-comicon.html

2016 Clallam Bay Comicon

2016 Souvenir Sticker/Badge
July 9-10: During and after Clallam Bay/Sekiu Fun Days 10:00 am - 5 pm both Saturday and Sunday. 

EVERYONE WELCOMEIf it's pretty or they can eat it, bring it.

ADMISSION for public: free. 

Facebook Events Link HERE. Use to organize events and exchange information.

DEALER TABLES:  $25 (27.00 through Paypal). Contact at: donnabarr01 at gmail dot com.

PANELS AND EVENTS

Dealer and panelist contracts: THIS PAGE. Payment cancellation deadline is May 1, 2016. You are expected to know your professional and licensing obligations for food sales or use of fire. Parents, please note your obligations. Panels held at front of the hall in round-table format. Participants will clean and straighten hall after show closes Sunday; keep the Lion's club happy.

Special Guest Leanne Franson 

EXHIBITORS at the convention for 2016:

1: Donna Barr's A Fine Line Press AND Clallam Bay Comicon Central.

2. Page Birmingham

The newly renovated building - nice job, Lions!
WHERE:
90 Bogachiel Street
Clallam Bay, Olympic Peninsula, Washington State, United States 

AWARDS: Your fans are your award. We don't get to say.

Special guests: all we can offer you is a deductible beach vacation, at the kind of old-fashioned con where the author/fan/friend were - and are here - the first priority.

OFFICIAL CONVENTION B&B: Winter-Summer Inn Bed and Breakfast 360 963 2264 The 3 lower rooms are being held for the convention. The deadline is February 11. Tell Owner Sandy Tsiang you are with the comicon, or you may be turned away. The upper suite is available to anybody, and there is no deadline on reserving it.

OTHER ACCOMADATIONS. 

COMICON EATS: Dealers and panelists: we have a kitchen, with stove and refrigerator. You're welcome to use them. Keep it clean. Potlucks welcome.

HOW TO GET HERE:



Does that look over-complicated?  If I had a big enough garden I'd hold one there (but Bristol City Council forbid that kind of thing on its property....meh).

I do know that on the old CBO I posted about someone in Germany who actually held a one day comic event in their garden but whether they tried it again I have no idea. 

The problem in a city like Bristol, as I've noted a few times on CBO, is that no venues seem to want to have a comic event at their premises -why I have no idea.  Oh yeah, for around a thousand an hotel will welcome you but they ARE very pushy in getting you out -quite rudely in my experience. 

If you can book a large enough venue -Scout hall, Church hall or whatever for a day then you work out how many tables fit into the venue and divide the cost of each table so you at the very least get your money back.  Then its publicity and local TV, radio and newspapers are always looking for space fillers!  And you have the net, of course.

You could build on the first event -the first event, again from experience, can either be good or a bit of a let down- but always have in mind that it should be an event for comics of all types for fans and maybe the odd local creator.  It's about creating the meeting-talking comics for young and old alike.  Fun. NOT pushing the latest promo item whether action figures or tie-in.

Doesn't matter what country you are in, so long as you obey local regulations, you can organise an event.

Claim back comic events for fans!

3 comments:

  1. And if you hold your own Artist Con, go to the 2016 Clallam Bay Comicon on Facebook and advertise to us, there. And contact me, to send your press release to my huge press release email list. And tell Terry everything you're doing, because he's the Man.

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  2. Note: We hold our con in a Lion's Club. Those organizations are dying. They WANT people. They were scared of us at first - but now they love Geeks. Find some building that's going down the drain, if you have to. Use your basement. Some old gym. Try to connect it to some local festival or event. We're hooked up to Clallam Bay/Sekiu Fun Days - which means fireworks! And an event organizer that loves us, and makes sure we hold our event when they do.

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  3. Well, let me tell you, Donna. Same weekend each year there was the South Bristol Arts Trail where artists, ceramicists, quilters open up their houses and you follow the posted signs to get to each venue. LOTS of family groups going to that. Same weekend was the Bristol International Comic Expo BANG SMACK in South Bristol Art Trail and Comic event all in the same area. I contacted the Art Trail people who almost had a bowel prolapse when I suggested the events link together -good for the events and the local businesses. No. No. No. Comics.....please go away. I tried the comic expo to try to get them to approach the Art Trail people -"No. They aren't that interested". THREE YEARS I tried and tried (even with the art event organiser who was smiling and joking with me but when she asked "What do you do?" I replied "Comics" and her face dropped and she had to be anywhere else). Nothing. Olivier Cadic who owns Cinebook The 9th Art (and is French) was told this and I asked what they'd do if two such events were on the same weekend in France? "Connect both" Common sense. The Uk....ach!

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