LUCIDMEDIA

The Creation of a Con: Con-G Begins in Guelph

Written by Adam A. Donaldson Wednesday, 25 February 2009 10:00

Lindsay Pattillo, a recent University of Guelph grad that now works at the Ontario Veterinary College, says that her and her four fellow organizers realized the need last year while going the long haul to a convention in the pouring rain. “We were like, ‘Wouldn’t it be nice if we had a convention closer to Guelph?”’ she says.

Surprisingly, planning didn’t really get underway till October when most cons are planned out no less than a year in advanced. The five person organizing team of Caitlin Thompson, Christian Sandrock, Theresa Smith, Jo Daly and Pattillo were all members of the U of G’s FLASH Club; FLASH standing for Fantasy, Literature, Anime, Sci-fi and Horror. Even though some of them have graduated, they remain close because their mutual love of the art forms and genres they’re into.

Exploiting local relationships and networking with attendants and dealers at other cons, the five were able to put together their convention in short order. First and foremost, they needed a space in which to hold the event and the Ramada Inn and Convention Centre, across the road from the U of G, was the first and most obvious choice of venue. “That was the biggest thing,” says Pattillo about planning and budgeting for Con-G. “We said, how much can we afford to lose if this thing tanks? And anything under that number we will book the space.”

They booked the Ramada and went into heavy planning mode over the Halloween weekend. Pattillo and the team mapped out who and what they wanted at their con, including games, panels and screenings for attendees. For promotion, they hit every website they could for free advertising and bought an ad in the university paper. Still, the success of Con-G wasn’t a forgone conclusion, Pattillo says that the bar for success for the organizers was 150 people, but by midday Sunday over 350 people had registered for one day or weekend passes.

And attendees were treated to a full array of activities, including the usual con events like Name That Tune, the Masquerade Ball, screenings, a J-Pop Dance and trivia contest. Panels included the usual discussions about cosplay, fan fiction and creating your own props, but also offered tips on travelling in Japan and the creation of the 10 Anime Commandments, which actually turned into about 30. There was also a small dealer’s room and artists alley, with many fans later commenting that they enjoyed the more intimate atmosphere of these things at Con-G

One of the final panels of the weekend was a feedback portion to get tips from the fans about how to improve for next year, but even before then, Pattillo was already looking ahead. She says that on her wish list is to bring some more people in to the group of five to share organizing responsibilities, especially a volunteer co-ordinator. Suggestions offered later on the panel were mostly of the “nip and tuck” variety; little suggestions about how to improve on the things the con already offered in terms of dealer’s room hours, ATMs and the running of the Masquerade Ball.

Overall though, the weekend ran remarkably smooth for both a first year convention and a convention organized in a matter of months. Looking back Pattillo is exhausted but pleased, even last minute emergencies seem barely worth mentioning now. “We walked in here on Friday night and they were painting,” she says pointing to a nearby white wall and scaffolding in the corner. “I walked in and… I won’t lie, I kind of freaked out.” But sitting here two days later in a Digimon costume, she doesn’t show it.