So, that convention down in Flordia, EliteCon, the one that everyone was saying would fail because it banned cosplay and wasn’t a “real convention” due to that, and not having other events? Yeah..
It was successful.
Wanted to extend a heartfelt thank you to all of our excellent vendors, devoted volunteer staff, and most of all, our fantastic attendees for making the 1st ever EliteCon a success. We will send surveys out in the coming days to gather thoughts and opinions on how we can improve the experience and make next year’s event even better. Thank you again for all your contributions and hard work!
~The EliteCon Facebook Page
How could this be? A convention without cosplay, there is no way one could succeed? (Warning, in case you can’t tell, this article contains a maximum level of snarky attitude.)
SEE PREVIOUS ARTICLES HERE:
EliteCon – A Follow Up
EliteCon – The Convention With No Cosplay!
Or, maybe, as I said previously, the event did exactly what it set out to be, and focused on what it was, and not focus on trying to be like every other convention out there, which basically means become a chaotic cluster of various events all happening at the same time with some haphazard theme between them, all having the same assortment of panels, the same dealers rooms, the same artists areas, and the same old congestion and photo-op filled hallways.
STANDARD DISCLAIMER HERE THAT I HAVE NO ISSUE WITH COSPLAY OR COSPLAYERS ON A WHOLE; ONLY SPECIFIC ISSUES RELATING TO THE HOBBY. THIS ARTICLE WILL STILL FOCUS ON THIS IN RELATION TO THE SUBJECT AT HAND, REGARDLESS.
I know this may blow some of your minds, but as I said in the previous article on EliteCon, Cosplay is not the be-all end-all for conventions. That simple. If that’s why you go, great, but not everyone goes for that. Hell, this might alarm some of you, but some people actually don’t like cosplay all that much. As I’ve said before, I’m neutral to it, but it does get somewhat old after a while to me personally, and I wouldn’t mind going to an event where it just isn’t a focus.
If you wouldn’t go to a no cosplay event, that’s fine. You don’t have to, no one is making you, and guess what? This is important now…
You aren’t the type of person EliteCon was made for.
It’s amazing I’ve had to say this 3 times and no one got it. EliteCon was a collectors event. It wasn’t a typical convention. That simple. Unless you wanted to go up there and buy, sell, or trade old comics or figures, you really had no business.
“..but I spend a lot of time and money on my cosplay and I need to show it off!” Then do it somewhere else. You can show it off online, or go to one of the literally hundreds of other conventions that happen each year all across the country and go show off all you want. EliteCon didn’t want any of that clogging up their space.
Still, that upset so many people because, well, they feel like their cosplay is the be-all end-all of the convention scene. Here’s a question: Who are you to decide what a convention should focus on? It seems that no one who complained about this was actually going to the convention, as per a post on the events Facebook page:
We want to thank you for the input and feedback from those of you who like our concept and those who don’t as well. It has been interesting to watch the lively debate unfold about what is and is not considered a con and if people prefer shows with or without cosplay. We have seen opinions posted from every angle. However, we do need to return our focus to our vendors and passholders from which we again have received no complaints thus far in regards to our policy. Please note we will soon be taking down posts that are related to the cosplay discussion as there are many other forums outside our page to continue the debate. We will create a new post for any current passholder to Elite Con if you have any questions or concerns or you can of course private message us directly. Thank you.
~EliteCon Facebook Page (Emphasis added by me)
That’s right, as I said in the previous articles, it seems no one who actually paid to go complained in the slightest. They were all fine with it.
So, tell me again, exactly who are you to determine what a convention should and shouldn’t do? Who are you to determine if an event will succeed or fail based on your own bias?
Also, worth covering before I close this out, the name… EliteCon.. con.. Convention.
So many people complained nonstop about it being called a “con” when it wasn’t what they thought a con should be. I already addressed in the previous article who determines what a con is (the answer is no one) but also this somehow being another point of contention for the event, talking about how small it is, and how it had nothing else going on but the dealers element. To treat it like it’s a con only if it has cosplay is, quite honestly, fucking elitist.
Let’s look at this carefully: This was a first year event. They obviously wanted to keep it small, cost effective, and focused on its core demographic. The event basically could only handle so many people, and they would want to keep the customer base focused on those people, which, guess what: isn’t people who show up just to cosplay and nothing else. Again, should be mentioned, if cosplay is the main reason you go to a convention, and seriously is enough of a factor to make you not want to go at all, then this event was never intended for you.
I can’t stress that enough. This event knew what it wanted to do, and it did just that. Just because it wasn’t what you think a con should be means absolutely nothing. End of story.
The only reason to focus on this as I did is the fact that so many people got so upset over it and made such a big deal over it. I wouldn’t have written the articles I did if it wasn’t for that fact. Seriously, see how many articles there are on a quick google search about this:
https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=elitecon+cosplay&*
An actual proper rebuttal to all the rather idiotic claims was necessary, and the hilarious thing about it all was, I was right. The convention went off without any issues, the people who went seemed to have a good time, and as far as the convention staff themselves feel, it was a success.
It didn’t fail because of it banning cosplay. You were wrong. The end.
The snark in this post isn’t directed at everyone who cosplays, no no, only those who seem to think a con should bow down and be what they want it to be, those who complained and whined nonstop about this for, well, whatever reason they had.
Now, I hope I never, at all, have to write about this again. If you don’t understand something I said hear, re-read. If you have a problem with what I wrote, I don’t care. The event is over and done, it succeeded, you were wrong, get over it. I normally don’t like to be that cut and dry bit this is one of those situations where all the drama can be rather trivially torn apart – the only reason the article is so long is to address every single nuance in as much detail as possible, to get the point across.
Thank you and have a good day.