What I’m Listening to: “1999” by Prince
Had a wonderful time at the Reno Pop Culture Con, 3 days of costumes, celeb sightings, meet & greets, and panel moderation. This was my first fan con so a lot was new, but then I’ve done a lot of book trade shows, so many things were similar. The best part was meeting new readers!
I think the table turned out well. The new runner looks good, and the sparkly purple rocks got looks (the first time I have bought something from Michaels and it turned out the way I imagined). Of course I included chocolate – because who doesn’t need candy? But I really need a backdrop for the next con.
I didn’t go in costume on Day 1, and quickly realized this was a liability, even though people who were outselling me were not dressed up. But only had 3 books (4 if you counted The Self Publisher’s FAQ which I only offered on Day 1 in conjunction with my Self-Publishing panel). Definitely got more interactions once I did put on my “Hogwarts Substitute Teacher” outfit. It helped that I was sitting next to Jacci Turner‘s booth, where she was dressed up as a perfect Professor McGonagall.
Much to my surprise, I found myself right at the front door. On the map it looked like I was off in the corner. So I got to see everybody when they came in. Friday was a pretty good turn-put, Saturday was crazy busy, and Sunday was slow. I talked to one of the Volunteers (they have been doing the Pop Culture Con in Denver for 10 years, and brought their entire team to launch the 1st Reno one). He said the first year they did the show in Denver, the attendance was about 15,000, and Reno matched that. Currently, the Denver show gets 150,000 people. WOW. It was busy enough for me on Saturday!
The best booth was one I never did figure out what it was for:
Of course, it was all about the cosplay. Here are some samples:
They came in singles:
They came in pairs
Lots of fun! I hope to do it next year!
