Tips

Things you may want to remember / consider, in no particular order:

Staff, you want to be at the hotel the morning, not the afternoon or the evening, before the day the convention starts. Because there invariably will things you will have overlooked, or take three times as long as expected. If at all possible, try to have all the con packets supplies brought to the city the con is a week in advance, and the con packets all assembled two days before the con. Assembling packets devours time much like baby birds devour food.

Always have duct tape, a sharpie, a bic pen, and a pack of ibuprofen on your person. Or at least at the consuit and the registration table, so you know right where they are if you need them. And you will need them.

Sleep. This is an often overlooked item of vast importance. If you are running the con, this goes quadruple for you. Your brain and body need to be functional to do all kinds of things this weekend, and they won't be able to manage properly without rest.

Have markers and either a dry erase board or a large sheet of oaktag near the registration table to act as a message board for arriving attendees, so people who are looking for each other can leave messages.

Print out schedules for each room, by day, and post them on the room doors / have the hotel staff put them in those nifty stands some of them have on hand for just this.

Have bottled water available for the staff, and staffers, keep cash in pocket and don't be afraid to ask a gopher to go get you a sandwhich if you're too busy to leave the room. You need to eat to keep your strength up.

Have everyone- every staff member, that is- exchange cell phone numbers a week before the convention, if you haven't already. No better way to keep tabs on people. For that matter, everyone, make sure to bring your phone charger with you to the con, and plug it in every night.

Badge holders make a nifty place to stick your room keys, since you should be wearing them whenever you leave your room.

Compile a packet containing menus and maps to local restaurants at both the registration desk and in the consuite. Both staff and regular attendees should have access. You want to include the fast food restaurants in this, because the hotel's index of local food is likely to be geared towards nicer, fancier restaurants, not the cheap pancake houses that are open at 3am.

In conjunction with the above, have one of your local staffers put together a list of major highways and banks in the area.

And on a last note: If you are reading this as preparatory material for running a future Gathering of the Gargoyles...TRY TO CONVINCE GREG WEISMAN TO GET SOME FORM OF INSTANT MESSENGER!!! Trying to run staff chats in a room you need to constantly manually refresh is a pain, as is trying to save and archive copies of those conversations. Phone calls are even harder to archive and take notes during.

Aaron Wheeler's "THINGS I’D LIKE TO SEE AT FUTURE GATHERINGS" circa 2003.

(1) I’d like to see OtherCon continue, in spirit if not in name. More specifically, I’d like to see the Adult Art show to continue, since there were adult fic panels and mug-a-guests before 2003. There are a lot of really nifty artists in the fandom who can’t show a lot of their best work, and I’d like them to have the opportunity to showcase their talents. And I’d also like the opportunity to look at them. ; )

(2) I’d like to see Clan Wars, the Nerf battle, become an annual event. I can host, if Hudson’s not available.

(3) I’d like to see more people in retro-Gathering wear at cons. If you’ve got an old Gathering shirt just hanging in your closet, bring it along and wear it. Super mad props if you’ve got a shirt from G97.

(4) I’d like to see a Gathering Diary by Greg W. subtitled, “What I ate on my summer vacation.” ; )

(5) A voodoo message board, like A-kon has, so people who’re looking for each other can leave each other messages.

(6) This is the big one. I actually started this train of thought during my G2K1 diary, and then promptly forgot about it when I had an opportunity to implement it at G2K3. It’s about con virgins.

I remember how totally lost I was at my first Gathering, in Dallas in 99. I’d never been away from home on my own before then. I hadn’t been in the fandom long, and I didn’t really know anybody. Mara went back to her room the first day of G2K and cried, convinced that everybody hated her. Lynati was deathly afraid of talking to Greg Weisman at all in LA. Think back to your first con. What was losing your con virginity like for you?

One of the bonuses about how small the Gathering is, is how we all do kinda know each other. But when everybody seems to know everybody, and you don’t know anybody… It can be pretty intimidating.

The guests can be intimidating too. I mean, we all know what great guys Greg W, Thom, and everybody else who’s come to more than one Gathering are. But did you know that at your first Gathering?

I’m just afraid that for everyone who finds some people to latch onto, to guide them through their first Gathering, there’s another fan that spends the whole con in their hotel room, having a panic attack.

Goliath116 and I were talking about this in New York, and we decided that we need some kind of fandom orientation for the con virgins. We need someone to play Hagrid, gather up all the “Firs’ years” give them some practical grounding in the fandom, and, more importantly, make them feel like they belong.

I think this, more than anything else we can do, will ensure the continued health and growth of the fandom, and, as such, out of all this ramble, it’s the part I’d most like feedback on.

Things the newbies need to know.

(1) General overview of the con: What events (opening ceremonies, masquerade, etc.) consist of. What goes on during a Gathering. How to read your schedule. This is where the con suite is. Things like that.

(2) Practical advice on surviving the con. Drink plenty of fluids, get some sleep, don’t go out of the hotel by yourself, etc.

(3) If you have a problem, ask somebody with a Staff ribbon on their badge. They can help you.

(4) If you can’t find a Staff member, ask one of those guys (or girls) in the black trenchcoats. I know they look scary. That’s because they’re security. They’re scary for the same reason gargoyles look scary, so they can protect others. They’re all really great people, and they *will* help you.
Last, but in no way least: For those of you who take on the awesome burden of being in charge of a Gathering: At some point during the con, you will totally lose it, break down, and start to cry uncontrollably. There’s no shame in it.

Remember, weird shit happens whenever we get together. Expect the unexpected. Terrible, random things that happen to attendees are not your fault. But try to keep tabs on them anyway.