ShadowGram Update #233 - It is in Brooklyn

[Willie Loomis]

Hi again. I just put myself on the Shadowgram list.  Thanks. 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

sorry to ask so many questions

No problem. 

do you pay for autographs?

Nope.

also, the cover charge includes all the events?

All except the banquet with the stars on Sunday night.

sorry to be a pest, but i'd love to go to this.

You're not being a pest. And I really hope you do get to go. There's nothing like your first Fest.

I'd like to plan how much to put aside for the two days so I can spend without worrying too much.   

where can I get info on this?

How much you spend really depends on how much you're willing to spend. Beyond food, your expenses would be for whatever you might want to buy in the dealers room or at the auction. Depending on your self-control, you could spend anywhere from under $100 to over $1000. Though that latter number is if you really lose self-control! 

[borgosi]

I guess I really, really lost control at me first fest. What can I say, you only have one first fest.

[LdyAnne]

 I'd like to plan how much to put aside for the two days so I can spend without worrying too much.   

where can I get info on this?   

The stars do not charge for their autograph with the exception of Jerry Lacy (Rev. Trask) who charges $10 with the money going to animal
charities. Included in the fest fee is a fest book that includes a brief bio and pictures of the stars in attendance. Some folks use this to collect autographs or they buy photos from the stars or venders in the dealer’s room. The stars usually have things they sell (books, comics and T-shirts). Last year Selby had two books and this year no doubt KLS will have her new novel “Dark Passages” (DS meets Shadow of the Vampire).

In The Dealer Room the big players have been MPI who deals authorized DS trinkets (DS picture frames, boxers, cell phone lanyards etc) and Big Finish which has been producing original audio dramas on CDs based on the series and voiced by the original actors these are priced at $15 and the more you buy they will do discount or have in the past. There are usually smaller dealers that have DS memorabilia and other stuff like magazines and collectables from TV shows from 50-70s.

The Fest program starts around 11 and can run to 10 or 11 at night with no breaks for dinner. Newbies have been known to go in to the main room and not come out until the end.  So food wise by the time it ends the hotel restaurant will likely be closed but there are pubs within walking distance of the hotel.

Hope this helps

LdyAnne

[MsCriseyde]

Last year Selby had two books

Two new books.  He has written a total of seven, all of which are available at the Fests.

[LdyAnne]

Thanks for the correction MsCriseyde

[Miranda]

Actually, I thought the last print Shadowgram that just came out did have the fest prices, I thought it was 30 for the whole weekend, and 80(!!!!) dollars for the banquet, which I DO NOT recommend paying for unless you are perhaps a Fest newbie or wants JF's autograph as that is the only way to get it at the Fest, still you can get it cheaper from his website, and as others said, you can get it free in the autograph lines from most of the other stars.  I went to a banquet one time and had a good time but it was so crowded I said never again, and you know me, I would rarely if ever say anything negative about JF, but a friend of mine said someone bid several hundred dollars to sit at his table at the Burbank fest banquet last year and he left pretty early, but there may be more to that than I know, still, that poor girl was out a lot of money in addition to her banquet ticket...

[Teresa]

I have not attended a banquet for the last 4 or 5 fest and don't feel I've missed out on anything.  A newbie should do it for the experience and it's a good way to meet other fans but the expense and waiting in a ridiculous line to get a table is too much for me.  I wish they would  mix things up a bit and do either a cocktail party in the evening or just a dance where light food and drink were served.   

[Miranda]

Teresa, you make some great suggestions for alternatives for social gatherings to the banquet at the Fests, but suggestions have been made over the years in general and never taken up on, that is the problem, format wise the Fests are pretty much same old same old, I don't know if that is because dear Mr. Pierson has a lock on them or because it is too hard to find new volunteers to help organize them and come up with other activities, but there you have it, and it is certainly true that if new people cannot be found to come up with other ideas due perhaps to the daunting aspect of it, than I guess we should be grateful that we still have the Fests in whatever form, as certainly the basic registration fee has always been so very reasonable.

[LdyAnne]

but suggestions have been made over the years in general and never taken up on, 

This is true at least for the last 10 years I have been going the only change was the year Frid first cam back and it was changed to a two day event with Frid as the only Guest from what I understand this was at Frid's direction.

I don't know if that is because dear Mr. Pierson has a lock on them

Ya think? Mr Pierson, and his clip board, either has no imagination or is such a control freek/ egomaniac who can not accept any idea that has not come from his brain.  IMHO he secretly wants the fests to go away. This is based on the the

or because it is too hard to find new volunteers to help organize them and come up with other activities,

Not true there are many folks who would jump at the chance to do new things, this includeds folks that are on or have been the "committee" but who's suggestions are ignored

LdyAnne

[Midnite]

the only change was the year Frid first cam back and it was changed to a two day event with Frid as the only Guest from what I understand this was at Frid's direction.

You're referring to the 2-day '07 Fest that had Frid booked as a special guest, but the announcement also promised "several other DS stars in person" to be welcomed on Friday.  And in attendance that year were KLS, Lara Parker, Marie Wallace, Diana Millay, Betsy Durkin, and Henry Plimack.

this includeds folks that are on or have been the "committee" but who's suggestions are ignored

Yep, and as explained in the excerpt below by one of its members, the Festival committee is in name only:

There is no "committee". There were never any "committee meetings". At one point, in the program books, the term "committee" was changed to "staff". The Festival decisions are made by Jim Pierson and Ann Wilson alone.

[Midnite]

I've never been to one and like to get autographs and merchandise.

Bring cash.  Otherwise you might find yourself searching for an ATM to buy photos, books or dealers' goodies.  There are, of course, exceptions (including the auction and MPI tables), but do have some cash handy.

Hope you can make it to the Fest.  

[LdyAnne]

The Festival decisions are made by Jim Pierson and Ann Wilson alone.

I think it would be a stretch to say Ann makes any decisions

[Janet the Wicked]

suggestions have been made over the years in general and never taken up on, that is the problem, format wise the Fests are pretty much same old same old,

Same old, same old. That's pretty much why I have decided not to attend this year. The price of gas, hotel and food - I would rather do something different.
I suggested years ago that they decorate one of the banquet halls like the Blue Whale, have music - a sort of a cocktail party. Nothing ever came of it.

[KMR]

I have a hunch that eliminating the banquet would mean a significant increase in the registration price for the fest. Typically, hotels will provide meeting space for free if there is a substantial meal component in the contract. And the rates that hotels charge for meals are high. (Even snacks are expensive; I remember when I was on the board of a professional organization about 10 years ago, and we were being charged $12 per person for the afternoon break, which consisted of bottled soda and water and treats such as candy bars and crackers with peanut butter or cheese. And way back then, coffee service was $35 a gallon--good luck finding it anywhere near that today!)