There comes a time in a colts life where he must become a stallion and make very difficult decisions affecting not only him, but the ones around him. Today is that day. We have had numerous talks in order to access the needs of the event, and the current budget projections which ultimately will lead to some not- so – popular decisions. Conventions cost a lot of money to operate and with everything that has happened this year inside the industry, it has slowed progress quite a bit. In lieu of what has happened, we never want to put any guest or fan in a similar situation. We will not repeat the mistakes of history. The budget does not look like it will be able to afford the expenses associated with the current guest list, and we are sad to announce that the following guests have been removed from the guest line-up. Vincent Tong, Kelly Metzger, Andrea Libman, Sam Vincent, Peter New, Maryke Hendrikse, and Brenda Crichlow.
We are very sorry to have to do this and we wish them and their agents the best of luck in their en devours.
What does this mean for Cutie Mark Con? In the mud is where our crew does its best work and we will continue to do everything we can in order to make this event memorable. We have shifted most of our crews over to event planning and execution side and there will be a lot of new content released on the site in the next week including a draft of the schedule in the next 2 weeks!
This convention will still be memorable, different and lively as possible!
More information: http://www.cutiemarkcon.com/sad-day-in-the-stable/
OPINION
There are several things that up and coming conventions (as well as the established players) can learn from the struggles faced by CMCon and several others this year. After speaking with some industry insiders, I've compiled a few tips for those of you who are running a convention or are likely to run one in the future!
- Check your dates! Make sure your event doesn't conflict with any other major events or is too close to another event in your region.
- Make a realistic budget and stick to it! It's okay to say no, especially if you can't afford it. Don't over-commit.
- Choose your staff wisely. Pick the best person for each job, not just your friends.
- And most important of all, communicate! Speak to other conventions, ask for advice when you need it, and offer it when you can. Keep your talent representatives in the loop. Keep your potential attendees informed. Work with the media outlets. And be honest.
