"Extend Historicon?" Topic

Should Historicon be extended?

* no
* add 1 day
* add 2 days
* no opinion

No

no

No, the duration is fine as it is.

No!

No. Definitely not.

No

It has leaked into Wednesday already

No. Why?

No.

Sunday has become quieter, maybe due to the stretching into weds evening?

Hmmm..stretch it an extra day?…

Hey I got an idea!

Why not move it???

Oh wait…..

No.

no, it historicon and should always be Exactly the same every year.

No.

no

No

It is an interesting question, given that the board game/wargame equivalent convention is so much longer than Historicon. But, on the other hand, GenCon is still only a day longer than Historicon yet it dwarfs it in size and scope.

Yes.

NO, NOT YET….
Find a good venue, work on the quality of the show and then grow it if it needs it.

Make it year round and keep it at the Host. You can check in but never leave…

No

Sure why not.
Force the unpaid volunteers to work longer for little or no thanks so they can read grumpy old farts on tmp complain about inadequacies.

No

I don't see any reason why not. Make Wednesday a full day (without the dealer hall being open) and see how many people come. If it's enough, then make it permanent. If not, then it's an experiment in trying something new. I realize this goes against the normal human urge to insist that everybody else do exactly what they would do, but I see no harm at all in it.

And the "volunteers" are far from unpaid. What is the market value to the accommodation, food, vouchers, etc. they receive? I mean no disrespect whatsoever to those engaged in such activities, but we can at least be honest, can't we? I've never heard of any shortage of people willing to take the deal, so can we find a way to appreciate the efforts (and recognize that they are compensated) without acting like they're under pharaoh's lash building his pyramids?

Also, to the OP, was the "no opinion" option a joke? I've been around here a long time, and I've yet to see anything at all that everyone on here didn't have an opinion about.

It is my understanding that HMGS often struggles to find volunteers to fill those positions. I have worked some of those jobs. While it is nice to get some things as compensation (on site food vouchers – which is a mixed bag at best, and room nights), at least for me, I make more money at my real job, and of course volunteering impacts "my time" at a con too. Just saying people aren't lining up to fill these jobs.

Also, many attendees leave by Saturday evening, even less still there Sunday morning. So I'm not sure why offering earlier attendance (which might see them leaving earlier still), further stretching your volunteer workforce (and those are days off of work, not weekend days) would be a good idea. And an earlier starting con sure hasn't helped HCON.

HG,

I get the angst over the departure time creeping earlier. I agree that is not good, but I'm also inclined to think you can't force people to behave how you want them. Sunday is moribund, but Wednesday evening is energetic, with lots of people there already. If the attendees respond better to earlier times, perhaps a gaming day Wednesday would be a success, where decades of talk about Sunday has failed.

Then perhaps close it down Saturday night to relieve the need for staff and the extra time on the dealers. I agree that you can't force people to stay, or come early either. I know in the past CW has sometimes added an additional day, but I'm not sure that it helped.

Funny that attendees may be more willing to give up a week day than a weekend to attend a con. The attendance numbers for past Hcons should be readily available to see if the idea has legs. It would still require more volunteer hours which might be hard get.

GenCon is still only a day longer than Historicon yet it dwarfs it in size and scope.

GenCon has long since ceased to be a gaming convention. It is now a media convention that has some gaming programming. Note that the author guest of honor this year is Charlaine Harris – a romance writer. Yes, they're vampire themed romances, but they're still romances.

No, it is long enough.

No

Sure, let's extend it to two weeks like Oktoberfest and set up tents with tables and have bar maids with big steins of beer and have all of the men wear lederhosen.

Make it BIG!

GROW THE HOBBY!

Funny that attendees may be more willing to give up a week day than a weekend to attend a con.

Not really. Sunday is the 'get outta Dodge' day. And if you have a long trip ahead, the earlier, the better. In most cases, the traffic on Sunday morning is far easier to manage than later in the day (or, God forbid, Monday).

Actually, can we make it shorter? I'm not gettin any younger.

Funny that attendees may be more willing to give up a week day than a weekend to attend a con.

Charlie 12 nails it for me. I have a 14 hour drive home from Fredericksburg and want to start out early. Last year I made a short stop to check out the Manassas battlefield, and drove a little ways up on I-95. It's amazing how many cars are on that road early on a Sunday morning.

No.

I dunno if it'd be financially viable.

I don't see any reason not to try it. I'd wager the most energetic attendees are those there on Wednesday night. What harm is there in trying out the whole day? The dealer hall doesn't have to be open. Maybe have a free flea market session like on Sunday.

The fact that someone wouldn't want to go shouldn't be a reason they feel it shouldn't happen. Come whenever you want, and don't come when you don't want.

If it works, fine. If not, then it doesn't.

Sunday is the 'get outta Dodge' day.

Seems like Saturday after dinner is the get outta Dodge day for anyone living within a few hours of the con now.

"Seems like Saturday after dinner is the get outta Dodge day for anyone living within a few hours of the con now."

I agree.

In order to have a rational discussion this it would be helpful to see what the overall numbers are on the first day of the con this past year, and what they are on Saturday.