Why Azkatraz will be my last Harry Potter convention...

[mijan]

I just got back from Arisia. It's a lovely small-to-mid-size convention (approximately 2600 attendees) in Boston. It's sci-fi, fantasy, gaming, anime, costuming, LARPing, and more... all rolled into one gigantic geek fest. I know a lot of people there, and I got to hang out with so many friends I miss. I ran into some of my Potter fandom friends. I attended a costume prom, a steampunk ball, a live stage show of Rocky Horror, and a random dance that actually had some real action on the dance floor. I even got to witness a dance floor full of geeks dancing, synchronously, to "Numa Numa." I didn't just costume as Harry Potter. I went to a panel called "i can has panel." It was an absolute, all-out geek fest. I loved it.

My highlights:

Friday night, I dressed as Yuuri from Kyou Kara Maoh. It was my first time doing cosplay as an anime character. Not my favourite, but it was definitely fun. Picture:


We even got my mother into the costuming action as a LotR elf:


Yes!  My mother came to a convention!  And she wants to come to more conventions!  In costume!  And I might even get to drag her into Masquerade competition next year!  She just can't believe she didn't do this sooner.  :)

Then, we went to Rocky Horror Picture Show, with the movie and stage show combo. On the way to the show, I ran into Batman in the hallway:


If I could get a larger copy of the picture to upload without going fuzzy, you'd be able to see the Sonic Screwdriver embedded in the corset between my breasts. And yes, that's a whip I'm wrapping around Batman's shoulders.

Saturday, I broke out my Frodo costume for the first time. I think I make a better Frodo than Harry:



(I've got better pictures of this costume, but I don't have them.  Kriken, if you're reading this, do you know if Jaime can send me those pictures he took on Monday?)

Saturday night, stormsdotter and I entered the Masquerade competition as "Harry Potter and the Fangirl of Doom." Total spoof-satire skit. It was a lot of fun to perform. We didn't go in with the intent (or even the hope) that we'd get any awards. We were doing it for the lolz. Apparently, it went better than anticipated. We got Best-in-Class both for craftsmanship and for presentation (the costumes and the performance). Here's a picture from the pre-competition photo shoot:

And the stage during the awards:

You can find a photo set of the whole performance here:
Photographer's website with all the Masquerade photos.
Our pics are halfway down that page, and continue onto the next. Here's the skit, in words:

Mary Sue (MS) drags Harry Potter (HP) onto the stage. MS is looking
both smug and excited. HP is looking both excited and a bit confused.
MS is wearing Ravenclaw robes with a pink, sparkley sweater and
outrageous shoes. Harry is out of breath, and in his Quidditch gear.

HP: "Why does Cho want to see me now? The match starts in twenty
minutes! I need to get my broom and get down to the Quidditch Pitch
now."

MS: "Cho can't resist you in your Quidditch gear. It shows off your
legendary Quidditch-toned thighs."

HP: *sounding very uncertain* "Er… right."
*looks around* "Why are we stopping here? Actually, where are we?"

MS: *flick a wand*
*sound of a door shutting*

HP: "Mary, where's Cho? Is she coming?"

MS: *clicks her tongue and looks Harry up and down*
"You know, you're shorter in person."

HP: *sounding a bit nervous* "Er, where's Cho?"
*Looks back over his shoulder at the door, then around the room*

MS: *sounding whiny*
"She only wants you because you're the Chosen One."

HP: *sounding sarcastic*
"But I AM the Chosen One."
*pause for audience laughing*
"Really, Mary, you said Cho wanted to see me. Does she?"

MS: *pouting* "Well, yes…"
*hesitates, then bursts out * "But she's not good enough for you! I AM."
*begins taking slow steps forward with every sentence*
I'm half-Veela! I'm a unicorn animagus! Grandpa Dumbledore let me
transfer here from America to be with you!"

HP: *had been slowly backing up as MS walks towards him*
"Oh no!" *tries to run*

MS: *grabs HP by the arm and tries to hold him in place*
"But I'm Mary Sue! You're supposed to love ME!!!"

HP: ARRRRGH!!! *escapes*

MS: "Oh pooh." * stamps foot *
"OH WAIT!!! HARRY! COULD YOU INTRODUCE ME TO EDWARD? I MEAN, CEDRIC?"
*runs off after him*


So, that was the skit, and based on the reports from various people in the audience (and the judges), it was the best to watch. No complaints here!

On Sunday morning, I did an impromptu Pastafarian Revival in the atrium.

It was... entertaining. Apparently, the people who made it there found it highly entertaining. I'm going to do it in a more planned and organized way next year. I already had someone offer to be the Pastafarian equivalent of an altar boy. :D

There was, of course, lots more stuff at the convention. And yes, it was great. In fact, there were LOTS of reasons why it was great. How about a summary:

- The registration was $60 at the door (less in advance).  Yes, $60 at the door.  I think I paid $40.  For the whole weekend.  Four days.
- The hotel staff was AMAZING to us, catered to us, WANTED us there, worked with us, and seemed to authentically enjoy our presence.
- We had the whole hotel to ourselves.
- The hotel!  Free 24-hr gym and pool.  Gorgeous views.  Multi-purpose ballroom.  The big, multi-story central "courtyard" had a huge window overlooking the Charles River in Boston:
  Another angle of the atrium, looking up:
- They have what they call a "con suite."  The con suite is a room where the convention staff provides food and socialization space from the beginning to the end of the convention.  It's not fancy food, but there's coffee, tea, cookies, crackers, endless platters of cheese cubes and veggies, occasional sandwiches, bagels, meatballs, and someone even brought in Chinese food one afternoon.  In other words, if you're running from panel to panel, you can just grab a quick munchie.  Or if you're trying to pull that all-nighter, there's enough coffee to wake the dead.  Oh, and yes, it's INCLUDED. Yep, after you pay for basic registration, con suite is FREE.
- If you do 12 hours of volunteer work, you get FREE registration for the following year.  
- The cost of all the dances/balls (four of them) was included.  Yep, there's that word again - FREE.
- The hotel liaisons from the convention knew how to negotiate properly with the hotel, and we got amazing rates on the rooms, arranged for free internet throughout the hotel JUST for the convention, amazing parking rates ($7 per day instead of $35), and they even negotiated a special rate for the buffet restaurant (and had a couple of excellent themed dinners).
- The organizers hold TWO feedback sessions - one on the second day, and one at the end, so that they can get immediate feedback and make adjustments.  They're also totally open to feedback from people at any time, and go out of their way to make things better.
- The organizers not only know about the after-hours parties, but they actively SUPPORT them and have a posted schedule of the open room parties.  The hotel is okay with it, too.
- Dealer's Row.  An entire floor of hotel rooms converted into shops and boutiques.

So, yes, I personally had fun, but I am also utterly enthralled with this style of convention.  On a shoestring budget, they make ALL THIS happen. 

I'm also getting really interested in hardcore costuming and masquerade competition.  So is Fi.  This is not an anti-HP-convention thing.  I still love all my fandom friends within the HP fandom, and I still want to have meetups and get-togethers.  This is simply the recognition of the fact that we've found something better.  Not just Arisia... but a lot of these types of conventions.  And I also have some very close friends in the costuming community, and eventually I want to go to things like WorldCon and CostumeCon to do higher level costume competition.  I just feel like I have no further interest in the same stale patterns of the HP conventions.  Azkatraz will be fun... but then, I think, it will be on to other things.  I'm not going to Florida in 2010.  I'll miss you guys, but I can't afford to go to everything (and as you can figure based on the prices of for HP conventions, money is an issue), and it's time for something new. 

I hope some of you might come to some of the conventions in the midwest region.  ConQuest is here in Kansas City in a few months.  We'll be there.  It doesn't seem quite as big as Arisia, but it's a new adventure.  We'll take pictures. 


♥

Comments

[shadowpryde.livejournal.com]

Alright ... if you enjoyed this convention, let me tempt you to coming to several different shows in Denver!

Opus Fantasy Festival is one of the smaller shows in Denver, but it's also newer and growing. (I work the vendors hall here.) It's in March!

Starfest has been around since 1977 and is more of a media based convention. It's the only major convention in Denver that I attend and won't work. This is THE party convention. It's in April!

MileHiCon has been around even longer and is one of the steadiest shows in Denver. It's a literary based convention, but there's all sorts of goodies to see and do here, too. I run the Volunteers department for this show and I love it. It's in October.

Denver is only about 8 hours drive away from KC. {tempts} {tempts}

-DL-

[mijan.livejournal.com]

Hmmm... tempting conventions are... tempting.

I'll have to see what I can do. I mean, I like the absolute variety available in Arisia. It's got something for everyone. I'm not a heavy partier, but I go to an occasional one. I like to costume, AND I like panels, AND I like... everything.

I'll check them out! Thanks!

[coconut-ice22.livejournal.com]

Ahh! Awesome photos! Yuuri so FTW! Did you find any Wolframs? Or Saras, man, that guy is so underrated.

Why ARE the HP cons so exensive? I just don't understand that. They're not massive compared to some, but they're definitely not as small as some of the ones I've seen... and yet, massive prices. For all the money spent it seems like we could have all rented out a small village in Romania for a month.

And the weird thing is that they always have to be at peak season, just to make the journey all that much more "fun" and expensive. I know nothing about the inner politics of the group who puts these things on, and mean not to insult them, but I don't get why they make some of the choices they do.

[mijan.livejournal.com]

You see, that's something I can't understand either. Why ARE they so expensive? We're told that the shoddy "banquets" we get are worth $40, but I call bullshit. If that's what the hotel is charging, then the convention is getting ripped off. And why must we be at THE most expensive hotels? Obviously, if we're all trying to squish as many human beings into hotel rooms as humanly possible (how many fangirls can we fit on a hotel room floor?), then the prices are outrageously high. I'm fully employed, and even I think the hotel prices are way too much. We don't need the most extravagant hotels. Hell, those are usually a problem! Look at how the Hilton in Chicago treated Terminus attendees. A high-quality but not top-tier hotel would be better.

But yeah, look at how much the Arisia people managed to do for so little money... with many attendees coming for free by working as volunteers for 12 hours. I love the people of the Potter fandom, including many of the people who run the conventions, but the costs are insane, and we get comparatively nothing for the price.

And... Yay! I'm glad you liked the Yuuri costume! No, there were no Wolframs. In fact, almost nobody recognized the fandom, much less the character. It's not an anime convention, and KKM is somewhat obscure.

[coconut-ice22.livejournal.com]

I do a lot of activist type stuff in my free time, when we have gatherings for that you get like 400 people sleeping on the floor of some gym at a university somewhere for three days. Everyone brings a sleeping bag, they have BBQs, generally for it all you pay about £22 I think for the last one I went to. No one sleeps amazingly well, everyone looks rough by the end but it's still so much fun just to enjoy yourself.

high-quality but not top-tier hotel would be better. totally agreed. Hilton hotels have a reputation for being good, but I had a friend who worked at one for years and some of the stories I heard, yeesh. She told me once the one she worked at attracted a lot of guys who were bringing hookers back. I also heard stories of rats as big as small dogs. All seems very plausable.

the shoddy "banquets" we get are worth $40 no freaking way that's $40 worth! that was terrible! I rather objected to the quiz thing being an additional expense at Terminus. Also, it just seemed like for our registration fee, and what the hotel made off of us, they might have done a bit better than some ice water and telling the kind souls like you who ran events off whenever there was more people in the room then there needed to be.

KKM is somewhat obscure heh, possible, I'm a bit blinkered when it comes to that. Every single slasher I know in the HP fandom who also likes anime is into KKM.

[lunalovegoddess.livejournal.com]

I didn't realize that it was actually... affordable. Wow, I wish I'd had the cash flow to attend, because it sounds like everyone that has reported back had such a great time. I must go next year. By hook or by crook, I'll be there. I'll leave the kids with my mom for the weekend and go play with the adults for a change.(I'll be the bespectacled Girl Genius, Agatha Heterodyne.)

(And Fi, feel free to smack me,)... but DAMN! That picture with Batman. You've got nice legs. Fi's a lucky gal, that's for sure.

*finds the name ConQuest immeasurably funny after midnight, especially after listening to The White Stripes*

[mijan.livejournal.com]

Re KKM: Yeah, HP slashers are aware of it, but that's because we're all Harry/Draco shippers, and it doesn't take any stretching of the imagination to see H/D crackfic played out in KKM with Yuuri and Wolfram.

[mijan.livejournal.com]

I hope you can make it next year! It's really VERY affordable. :)

And... haha! It's funny when people who are accustomed to seeing me dressed as a teenage boy suddenly see me dressed like a seductive woman. There's a REASON why I exercise regularly, and there it is! :D

one more thing before I sign off

[lunalovegoddess.livejournal.com]

Wish that I could bring Ringo with me... Do you think I can claim my corgi as a hearing assistance dog? *smirk*

Did you hear about the Cowboy Bebop live-action movie with Keanu Reeves? I'm intrigued, but mainly because of Ein, the corgi.

[lunalovegoddess.livejournal.com]

And all that exercise has certainly paid off... with interest, I'd wager. Mine haven't looked that good since before my daughter was born, but I'm noticing a lot more toning going on since I've incorporated my dance warm-ups into my work-outs. Factor in the amount of shoveling and heavy lifting, and my arms are starting to look better, too.

It's funny, though. I don't dress up often. I seldom wear makeup. I'm most comfortable in t-shirt, jeans and men's work boots. Put me in costume, though, and suddenly I'm transformed into the busty barmaid. I had not noticed the weight loss or muscle definition until I pulled together my steampunk/pirate costume for Halloween. My skirt has two sets of hooks, because the year before, I'd let my 11 yr old daughter wear it for a Civil War outfit. I was very surprised that my waist and hers differ only by a few inches now, and that I'd had to move my row of hooks.
So, obviously, it's been paying off, but I'm still sort of taken aback when I look at myself all dolled up.

[vampireanneke.livejournal.com]

I go to anime conventions all the time. Reg. $40-$60, con suite, and everything. And people wonder why I have a hard time getting my friends to go to HP conventions.

[stitchesandlace.livejournal.com]

That all looks unbelievably fantastic. *makes plans to come next year*

[amanuensis1.livejournal.com]

I keep squeeing at you as YUUUUUUUURI! FROOOOOOODO!

(And, yeah, it's always blown my mind how much HP conventions cost. I've been going to SF cons for years and it only recently climbed above $25 for the whole weekend.)

[mijan.livejournal.com]

YAY! I'm happy that your efforts are paying off, too! :)

And... do you have pictures of your steampunk pirate costume from Halloween? I'd love to see.

[mijan.livejournal.com]

Yep, I understand perfectly.

[mijan.livejournal.com]

*grins* You like my new alter-egos? :D

And yeah, it makes me wonder why people keep going to the HP conventions without any sort of protest about the price. I mean, what are they using all that money FOR?

[mijan.livejournal.com]

Excellent! And we can have a HP fandom reunion there, too! You know there are quite a few HP fandom folks who attend.

[elizabeth-rice.livejournal.com]

You look so cute as Yuri and Frodo. :)

[regasssa.livejournal.com]

Hah! I should have known. Actually, I've been considering whether I should go to Azkatraz or just give in and stay with my cosplay conventions over here. It;s part of the reason I want to go to ComicCon at the same time, but in exchange for Azkatraz, my sister and I could both go to AyaCon, Amecon, MCM Expo twice a year -and- JapanEx, and be able to afford to breed my mare. That's a lot of events.

Masquerade is awesome. This year I'm hoping to do a masquerade too, and seriously can't wait. The problem is that I find myself far more excited by the idea of cosplay than I do flying off across the world which is just...yeah. Don't know what to do about that. If I don't go, I'll be disappointed when the time comes around, but at the same time... Also, the littlest conventions are the best. You'll probably have even more fun at ConQuest.

[acromantular.livejournal.com]

Sweet costumes! And the skit sounds lovely.

How do they manage to make it work for such a low cost, though? The prices you're quoting, while excellent, seem almost unfeasibly low.

[fiona-fawkes.livejournal.com]

I'm thinking the big one is that they hold the convention in the hotel industry's OFF season. Think about how full that hotel would have been if it wasn't hosting anything that weekend - not very. I'm sure that HPEF/Narrate has been going with summer cons so that more people can go, but I think that's holding us back.

Plus there were no massive meals and the food brought in for the con suite was bought in bulk at Cost Co. Food and beverage service is where hotels really make their money.

I think a big ace for Arisia is that it's been running for years by the same general body of volunteers taking the top committee posts as opposed to HPEF which takes bids from newly-formed groups to fill those top spots. The hotel liason for any con has GOT to be a pro at negotiating contracts so that the con is getting exactly what it needs without paying out the nose for anything that it doesn't.

Really, it feels like the HP cons have been trying to top last year's con with every new one. Something bigger and shinier to keep people coming back. It looks shiny, but we are so paying for it. I'm trying to get more involved in the sci-fi/fantasy cons that I'm going to in order to pick more brains on how they do it.

[mijan.livejournal.com]

Thankee! I need to make a Frodo icon now. :D

[mijan.livejournal.com]

Yeah, sad, but I think it's really time to look at other conventions. Now that I've seen what other conventions really offer, the HP ones just don't look as shiny. And Masquerade and costuming are so much fun!

[mijan.livejournal.com]

Yeah, Fi's right. They hold it in the off-season so the hotel is desperate to get warm bodies and full wallets through the door and give us a great deal. Otherwise, they'd be almost completely empty. And yes, the con suite food is bought at Costco, and volunteers staff it. Volunteers actually staff most everything. They don't go for the most expensive hotel in the area. Really, they make it work very well.

[annulvapore.livejournal.com]

For the record, the things you have delineated are exactly why I haven't been to an HP con since 2005. =\

People keep trying to get me to go to Azkatraz because for them, too, it's their last one and EVERYBODY is going to be there... but I don't know, Michelle... it just isn't clicking in my mind to pay so much for so little when I can go to something like this for 1/3 the price and have 5 times the experience =\

[stitchesandlace.livejournal.com]

For sure - we should get more fandomy people to attend! I don't think I'm going to make it to Azkatraz this year after all anyway, because of the distance and the cost of travel and the con... We'll see though. Is this one always in Boston, or do they move around?

[silverlily81.livejournal.com]

Those are AWESOME pics!!!!

Y'know what's funny, I was just thinking last night that it might be time to back off from Potter Cons, but I needed something to fill the void. Cheap and multi-geeky = made of win!

Must go to Boston!

[who_la_hoop]

Yuuri! ♥

[miraba.livejournal.com]

For a bare-bones description, see the chart http://corp.arisia.org/sites/corp.arisia.org/files/mentor/Jun08Mentor.htm. Arisia 2008 is on the left, Arisia 2009 is on the right. Notice that the year-round expenses (storage, snail mail) are included, so the goal is to break even.

[serena-05.livejournal.com]

Sorry to hear that Azkatraz will be your last, I can completely understand why though. I just really hate that I wont be able to attend, hell I'll be extremely lucky to go to the one in Florida this year. So this con you just went to, when are they holding another one? I mean, after Terminus I would LOVE to go to a con where they treated me with an ounce of respect. Between the 'banquet' and the small 'fire hazard' rooms that couldn't fit more than ten people in it, my aunt and I are really liking the sound of Arisia. Oh, almost forgot! You looked great in the costumes, your Magenta looked gorgeous!

[mijan.livejournal.com]

LOL... I wasn't technically dressing as Magenta. I was just playing with what I had available. But you're right - it COULD be Magenta!

And Arisia happens every January in Boston. Check it out at Arisia.org. And yes, they actually treat people with respect. You'll love it. I remember the issue at the banquet (a misnomer if I've ever heard one) and the bullshit with the roundtable rooms. We need better than that.

[artistflop.livejournal.com]

Hmm... you've definitely given me something to think about. We're already planned for Infinitus, but after that, who knows.
Your description makes me more determined than ever to make it to Pure Speculation, my hometown's one and only geekfest (they in fact make a point of calling it a festival rather than a con, which appeals to me in and of itself!)

The organizers are saying they've got at least one guest confirmed for next year, although they're not saying who. I'm praying it's Fillion. He's local, so it wouldn't be the first time he's been roped into something like this (saw him in our theatre festival's improvised soap opera a couple of years back. Squee!)

[artistflop.livejournal.com]

... and now, replying to myself:
I'm apparently behind the times. I just checked Pure Spec's Facebook, and apparently they've got guests of honour: SPIDER AND JEANNE FREAKING ROBINSON!!! EEEEEeeeeeEeEeEeEeeeeee!!!!

[xdaemon.livejournal.com]

Hoping that my memory is correct and I was talking to you about the video of the masquerade (and you wanting one)...

I've seen it. The video production is complete, it was heading off to duplication as of earlier this week. It should be available in the next week or two.

[mijan.livejournal.com]

Oh YAY!!!!

Yes, I'm definitely one of the people who wants a copy of the masquerade video. If nothing else, I want a copy so that I can show other people what a masquerade looks like when it's done RIGHT. Not our skit, but the whole masquerade production. I saw a masquerade at a local convention here in Kansas City a couple of weeks ago, and it was really bad, but I was told that it was actually typical of masquerade or cosplay competitions. Yet another reason why Arisia is the best regional convention EVER.

[mijan.livejournal.com]

Eeep! I can't believe I didn't reply to this when you posted! I just got a comment here from someone else today, scrolled up an inch, and saw that I missed your comment altogether!

But yes, definitely go to as many conventions as you can attend and afford. They're so much fun. :)

[xdaemon.livejournal.com]

I'm going to disagree with the "EVER", but only because I work 3 that are comparable in many ways :-)

Masquerades in the northeast are all like that, and at many Worldcons and CostumeCons. I can't speak for elsewhere, I haven't been there to see it. Lunacon's (last weekend) was at least as good as Arisia's.

[mijan.livejournal.com]

Well, perhaps that's just because the Northeast is better and more competitive. I just need to go to more conventions and see how it's done!

[xdaemon.livejournal.com]

Yes, come to more cons! Heck, come up to the NE more often to visit ;-)

[mijan.livejournal.com]

I'll be in Boston in August.

I just do a lot of traveling to many places, and both time and money are limited. I wish I could live back in Boston, but right now, I'm okay where I am. But yeah, I want to visit the northeast more often.