So the Be Excellent Festival of Games happened on Saturday. How did it go?
Well…it was quiet for the first half of the day. It didn’t pick up until the second half. In talking with the other vendors, it made me wonder what the staff’s strategy was to get the word out about this event. This wasn’t the first show I visited that lacked attendees but charged $80 per vendor table.
For context, Genghis Con in Cleveland opened for applications and happens in December this year. They’re charging $70 for a full table and regularly turn out 4 to 5 times the attendance that Be Excellent Does.
Now, I know this is Be Excellent’s second year as a convention. And this is “post-pandemic.” But it does make me wonder about the longevity of some shows, especially local ones.
So there’s the issue of smaller attendance numbers. But there’s also my body.
The day after Be Excellent, I lost my voice for half of the day and was too worn out to do much of anything. This is very different from before. I used to be able to do three or four conventions in a month and, while rough, I still was ok.
Now? I’m pooped after one event that had no customers until 3 hours into the show.
I think it’s time I start to phase out of doing conventions.
Whether that means taking up a “day job,” or putting more eggs in online sales, commissions, gallery shows, etc – I need to stop doing conventions. It’s funny because pre-pandemic, I had serious thoughts of retiring from cons. Now, I think it’s time to start acting on that plan.
I’m going to be sad about this for a bit. Because conventions were a big part of how I made an income pre-pandemic. But the world has changed, so I need to do the same.
I’m still going to the Ann Arbor Comic Arts Fest and the Free RPG Day event. And if I get into Genghis Con, I will honor that. But I need to respect my body more.
Speaking of Ann Arbor, you can find me this upcoming weekend – June 15 and 16 – at the Ann Arbor Comic Arts Festival! I still have Caticorn prints and lots of stickers and books available, so be sure to stop by my table.
I still had fun at the Be Excellent Festival! It helped that my roommate and buddy Alex was with me. And also I saw a lot of friends and hung out with some very cool neighboring vendors. Would I do it again next year? Probably not. I need to be kinder to my energy.
That’s all for now. Thank you for reading.
You. Are. Awesome.
