This con has nothing going for it. Their management sucks, (they still have yet to post the free pictures for cosplayers that they advertised. Over a month later) their website is horrid (couldn't buy online tickets because only 2 pages on the website worked (and they were outdated), the panels were a bit lackluster, and they recently have only been booking a couple A list VAs, only to have them bail out last minute.
This past year, I bought nothing from the artist alley (they also need to decrease the amount of dropshippers), tried to play some games, but they cut down the game area to about 7 machines, leaving an entire con floor virtually empty (would have been great to allow some of those artist on your waitlist in), there were no VAs bringing in large crowds (I got an autograph from one VA more out of pity... I was her only autograph for at least 2 hours.), and there were very few people to converse with because well- you could see the entire con in 5 minutes.
My only positive notes is the cosplay judges and hosts were absolute darlings. I competed and they did extremely well given the position they were put in. I do wish they would be more transparent about what prizes are offered, I placed and only received a ribbon, which is fine I suppose, but even just a free pass to the next year would have been something. They could benefit from advertising a cash prize or sponsored items.
TLDR: this con is a skip. They have a very small artist alley and vendor area, which have been the same vendors for all 7 years I've attended, their gaming room was laughable, they had very few VAs that people seemed interested in, the attendance was nonexistent, ticket prices are going up, panels are sparse with little variety, and while the cosplay contest was okay, they should offer prizes in the future.
Changes to implement:
-Work on your website and socials.
-If you're going to keep ticket prices so high, you better triple make sure you have at least 80% retention of VAs. And if you lose your selling point VA- you better have a backup.
-Try bringing in more pro cosplayers. Have them run panels and workshops
-be transparent about your cosplay contest prizes, it'll bring more interest.
-add a couple more contest while you're at it. (Like AMVs, or off season contest like "design our 202X mascot for free tickets and *other prize*")
-Add a year cool down every 3 years to vendors and artist. After a vendor has tabled for 3 years, make them take a year before reapplying. Keep a rotation.
-expand your artist alley. Perhaps move around the vendors, artists, gaming area, etc. You have a LOT of space, you can utilize it better.
-take community feedback. I guarantee if you were listening and implementing feedback, you wouldn't be on this steep of a decline.
-bag check or the likes could be nice. The lack of security is concerning.
It's frustrating seeing a con go downhill so fast when I know so many members of the community (including myself) would love to help.
