First Timer and I'm Hosting Friends
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Hey everyone... this is gonna be my first year attending Anthrocon... and trust me, its been in the planning since pretty much last con... and i was looking for a little bit of advice or some ideas to help make things go all the smoother while i'm there this summer... i for one, already live in the area but did book a hotel (so i didn't have to treck daily from my house), but also so i could bring a couple friends down for their first con as well... We'll be staying from Thursday through Monday morning to get the most amount of fun in as possible... I'm not really too worried about finding the place or getting around down in Pittsburgh, i'm down in that area just about every friday night for the past few weeks (oh yesh... the clubs What's really starting to make me nervous though is the fact that i'll be hosting some friends who really have absolutely no knowledge of Pittsburgh or the con at all... all of them as well (so far) are under the age of 18 (but have or will be filling out the minor consent form)... so i'm looking for some help on the best ways for dealing with groups, keeping in touch (not all of us have cell phones), and most importantly having fun at the con without getting into any sort of trouble and such... Anyone got any ideas that could help me play "the admirable host" while at con this year? (as well as the opening time for first day registration... i'm sure a few of us will need to venture the long lines)... Thanks in Advance, |
) and i had the opportunity to walk around/under the convention center sometime early in January for some reason i don't even rightly remember... 
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Last year was my first year in Pittsburgh, and you really don't need any knowledge of the city to have a good time. A good sense of direction and you can wander around and find food very easily, and all of the con events are easy to find within the hotel and convention center.
Planning ahead can save you guys a lot of headaches; deciding on a place (like the hotel lobby) to meet and a time to meet at before heading off to meals will make things a lot easier than trying to herd everyone off to grab food while you're all off doing various things.
Speaking of which, you all will be doing various things. You can certainly plan ahead to attend major events/grab seats together, but chances are you folks will have different ideas of what constitutes a "good time" and you'll hare off in different directions fairly quickly, attending different panels and hanging out in the game rooms and zoo and such.
The best you can do in terms of playing host is taking the initiative to get your friends organized for the events you guys want to attend. There is not much else to "host."
I HIGHLY recommend that you get your friends pre-regged. There is still time left to do it, and it's cheaper if you do it before the con. Doing it at the con will only waste your time and money.
ETA: Use fewer ellipses in your posts. They make you look silly.
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permalinkLocation: Ardmore, PA
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We do not recommend meeting up in the lobby, as it can become really congested at times. :-/
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permalinkWebsite: [Link]
My apologies. I just picked a place at random as an example, but apparently it's a bad example.
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permalinkLocation: Ardmore, PA
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No problem.
It's not so much that the lobby is a bad place, but it seems to be the first choice of so many people to meet, which is what results in the congestion.
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permalinkLocation: Roseville, CA, USA
Well - perhaps it isn't the meeting up that is the problem; rather that so many furfen just plop down right there that makes the place fill up like a corral, that is the problem.
There _is_ a gathering place for furries, called The Zoo; while it is meant for mixing and relaxing and socialising and general hanging-out, it makes a good place to meet up, once the convention gets underway.
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permalinkI agree, and recommend everyone in your group make a point of learning where The Zoo is, early on. So long as you all can handle the stairs, please note the Westin's 2nd and 3rd floors will be where the function rooms (for the smaller events and seminars, the types that interest me) are, and the official AC locations are like Registration, the internet area, and the Zoo,
and they're all reachable by stairs.
Due to long lines and waits, I do not recommend using the
elevators for anything except getting to and from a hotel room, unless you're unable to use the stairs due to physical considerations. Even a slow saunter up the stairs will go fast compared to the line for the elevator.
My general advice for new congoers (which is mine and you can take or leave it) is in the thread "BlackJack's advice for new congoers", and can be found here...
http://www.anthrocon.org/node/545
There's also 2 stickies at the top of this forum, and an FAQ on the left-hand column. I recommend reading all of them, especially the FAQ. There's already a lot of good advice posted. (With 3 different threads prominently displayed offering advice to newbies, I once saw someone post a new thread practically between them, saying they were new and asking for advice. My general advice is to see what information's already up, or ask where to find it if you're lost.
)
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permalinkLocation: Pittsburgh, Pa
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sorry its taken so long to reply to all the advice given, i've been busy trying to fix my work schedule so i get more than 12-14 hours a week.
i have read most of the tips for beginners already and didn't really see too much help that i didn't already know. I was more or less just looking for a bit of ideas on how to coordinate things and it seems that you guys did have a few good ones.
Thanks for the advice to all who gave it... and i will be doing as much digging into the situation so that i know more about where things will be by the time con rolls around.
and kitwulfen: i do not mean to use elipses as much as i normally do, its become a habit and i don't really see it as making me seem silly... maybe a little unsure of what i really want to be saying, but definitly not silly. Ok... so it is a little silly, hehe
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permalinkLocation: Orlando, FL
The Zoo does make an excellent meeting point. It's near registration, right inside the hotel, and if you feel overwhelmed or tired, it's a safe place for you to rest up.
Some other things that could help:
Anthrocon will have a rather large message board. It'll be absolutely covered with messages, but if all of you agree on a general place on the baord for messages for your group...that may make things easy. One thing I've seen some folks do is bring colored paper and cut it into smaller squares. (Dividing it into quarters works.) If you post a message on a specific color of paper, and everyone in your group knows the color, it'll be easier to see.
There is a corridor on the Lobby level of the hotel between the convention center and the hotel. In this corridor are several places to eat including a Pizzeria Uno and a really great sandwich shop. (The sandwich shop absolutely LOVED us last year). If you decide to go to different panels, this could be an excellent place to meet for meals at designated times.
This may go without saying, but please WEAR COMFORTABLE SHOES.
We're in a really large facility and going from the Dealer's Room to the hotel will involve a bit of a walk.
Anthrocon's programming tends to run from morning until relatively late at night. Our main ballroom will be hosting dances until after Midnight, and there are some events like Cargo's Capsule Lounge that will run late as well. I'd look at the programming guide and schedule really early in the convention to determine what events you really want to go to, and build a schedule around that. It might be super frustrating to find out there was an event you'd have really liked to go to, but just didn't plan for it. (Some of the Guest of Honor panels are going to be around 10am on Saturday and Sunday mornings...due to the GoH's travel schedules. If you want to attend sessions by Rob Paulsen, you may want to plan to be up early.)
Keep your pocket program on you. There is a page in it that's blank. We do that for a reason. As you meet up with new friends, you may want to exchange room numbers, cell numbers, e-mail addersses, etc. You can jot them down on that page. Plus it'll help you remember anything that you want to do that day.
IF this is your first convention...please come to the "So this is your first con" panel. Kage, 2, and I will be hosting that...and we have lots of information (and we try to make it entertaining for you) so that you can get the most out of your convention experience.
Above all else, HAVE FUN!
KP
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permalinkLocation: Bronx, NY
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For keeping in contact with friends, if cell phones aren't do-able for everbody, FRS radios can sometimes work--just find a channel that isn't too heavily trafficked and work out a protocol amongst yourselves. Last year I was able to contact people in the dealer's room from halfway up in the Westin without too much difficulty, although earphones might be necessary in noisy areas if your group is especially chatty.
---PCJ
FurAffinity stuff -- VCL Stuff
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permalink2 way radios are great as long as you don't end up like Kage. He was getting a massage, and while laying on the table his microphone became engaged. All the pleasured sounds he uttered were broadcast to the entire con staff. Ask him about it sometime, he tells the story much better than I do.
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