Has Anyone Heard Anything About 2007?

[Nancy]

It would be too bad if there was not an event this year on the east coast.  This year marks the 40th anniversary of the introduction of Barnabas.  Could have a Barnabash!!!!!


Nancy

[Mary]

The 40th anniversary had something like 1200 people and that's been one of the lowest turnouts since the series went off SciFi.
It's amazing to me that the fests have continued given these realities in whatever capacity. I was shocked at how low the attendance at the 40th I guess only because I had expected more to come to celebrate that landmark but in hindsight it was silly of me to have expected it given the things I pointed out above.

Wow, I'm really surprised that 1200 is considered a low turnout.  I've been coming to the Fests since 1990 and I remember only a couple huge ones with like 5000 people and that was really too many -- it was wall-to-wall people, you couldn't hardly move!  I remember several that were less than 1000, and it seemed like anything over 1000 was considered a well-attended Fest.  I also remember the one Fest a few years ago when JP declared Saturday sold out in advance, and I doubt if there were multi-thousands of people there that day.  I also remember the announcement a few years ago that there would be no more Fests, and then the sudden back-pedalling on that when a new group, Fan Fair, wanted to take over and have the get-togethers.

As there has not been any announcement about an upcoming fest, it is fair to assume that either something else is in the works or there is a struggle behind the scenes to figure out what to do so there isn't any going into a hole financially. The festivals are a part of the publicity arm of DCP and if there is nothing to publicize, it doesn;t make much sense to have them at all. However, I think some smaller scale event could happen. We'll see.

All my opinion of course.

It seems to me that that has been the regular pattern for several years now not to announce the dates of the next Fest until like March or something.  Not that I'm thrilled with the idea of having to wait that long for an announcement, but it doesn't seem to me like the fact that there's been no announcement yet means that there won't be a Fest.  I certainly hope they've got something in the works, I'd hate to have to miss a whole year of having an opportunity to get together with all the Fest friends I've made over the years and make new ones!  Yikes!

[ProfStokes]

It would be too bad if there was not an event this year on the east coast. 

It would be too bad if there was not an event this year on the West Coast  considering that the latest Festival was in the East. The one-weeknight-only Halloween party hardly measures up.

A Barnabash!  How cute!

ProfStokes

[Annie]

Hi all i was wondering if anyone has heard any news on a upcoming DS FEST for next yr...  I'm hoping that it will
be in New York City next yr ( i guess cause it's only a four trip for me )....   But if we have on the West Coast
thats okay by me...                      Happy New Yr To all
                                                 Love Anne

[Mysterious Benefactor]

there is the notion that anyone who enjoyed DS would be getting ShadowGram, participate on the lists and boards and that's simply not true.  Look at the membership on this board and note how many people actually participate.  The same is true with yahoo DS lists.  You can have hundreds of members but just the same group of twenty or so people who reguarly participate.

Just a slight clarification that participation on any forum isn't necessarily an indication of how wide an audience that forum is reaching. I can't speak for other online DS venues but at least three times as many registered members visit this forum every day than actually post (some may just be shy - others may have nothing to contribute to the current discussions  ). And when one factors in guests, the discrepancy between lurkers vs. posters becomes even greater because our host's stats show that in 2006 the forum has attracted an average of slightly over 1900 unique visitors monthly (August and September each attracted well over 2000). (And on average the vast majority of those visitors have spent between 15 minutes to an hour plus per visit (this month alone at least 60% of the forum's visitors have spent more than an hour per visit)). 

There is an interest but not that kind of interest where it comes to be active in fandom as a regular convention-goer.

But the main point here is an extremely valid one because it's most certainly true that by no means will everyone who visits/reads a forum also post there - nor, similarly, will they attend a DS Fest. Some people simply like to keep abreast of the latest news about their favorite shows, but they have no inclination to interact with other fans. And as much as we might welcome their particpation on fan boards or their attendance at Fests, it's certainly well within their purview to simply keep to themselves.

[jimbo]

Oh yes you were counting one chair at a time lol. Anything to win an argument. What have we become?

LOL!  After working alongside MB for years, I'd probably create an algorithm to analyze the capacity of the ballroom before I'd count the chairs.  

I have to assume that my request for a recount of those chairs and any remaining hanging chads will be in vain; although I would love to see the algorithm analysis you performed on this hotly contested issue. lol

General comment:
This has been an informative and entertaining topic. I am left with the impression that there will not be a Fest in 2007 unless the classic series is brought back to television and/or there is a new DS project that will put the franchise back in the spotlight.

Wishing everyone here a Happy New Year and that 2007 brings new life to the Dark Shadows franchise.

[adamsgirl]

i doubt any of us became aquainted with this event through mainstream media outlets.we are an extremely devoted(dare i say obsessive)fan base who keeps abreast of show related activities via online forums like this one,printed newsletters like the "shadowgram",announcements from mpi,big finish and so on.

That's very true. The first I ever heard of the Fests was from reading a blurb in USA Today - but that was back in 1986, when the Fests were only 3 years old, and before I became reimmersed in fandom. These days media attention might alert a few more potential attendees to the Fests' existence, but, as you say, the majority of attendees, especially those who are active in online fandom, are well aware of them because they read SG, the fanzines, and/or the various online Web sites, lists and boards.

A friend of mine, who lives in Wisconsin, sent me an article from her local paper which was all about the 40th Anniversary Festival in Brooklyn. This leads me to believe SOMETHING was done media-wise. However, from what I know, it's up to the editor of the particular paper whether or not he/she feels space should be devoted to such an item. In this case, the column was actually written by a staff writer who did an in-depth piece about the whole Dark Shadows experience.

[adamsgirl]

One other observation here: I've read through all the posts, and I have to say I disagree with the feeling that the fest wasn't well-attended. Had there been even more people than there were, it would have been chaos. I don't believe that hotel could have accommodated anything larger. If the powers-that-be wanted a much higher turnout, the venue should have been chosen differently. As it was, too, and is always the case, fans who didn't book their rooms far enough in advance had to spill over to the other hotels provided for that.

My feeling? The same people have been running this festival for decades. Maybe they've just had enough, which is perfectly understandable from a human point of view. However, as the years were passing, it might have been (and still is) a good idea to pass the baton, as it were, to others who would be willing to take over all the planning, etc. It's NOT a fun job, but I believe there are enough devoted fans who would gladly do it.

[BuzzH]

As it was, too, and is always the case, fans who didn't book their rooms far enough in advance had to spill over to the other hotels provided for that.

Very true Adamsgirl.  In fact, the hotel WAS booked solid months before the Fest even 'officially' announced the date, hence the spillover into I *believe* 2 hotels in lower Manhattan wasn't it?

The same people have been running this festival for decades...it might have been (and still is) a good idea to pass the baton, as it were, to others who would be willing to take over all the planning, etc.

This was actually suggested.  I have a friend who was willing to take it over, but he was shot down upon suggesting it.  And suddenly, 'miraculously', we had the birth of the "Dark Shadows Weekend" in Tarrytown in 2004!  Not sure why they wanted to stop them after Brooklyn 2003, nor why they decided afterwards to continue them, albeit under a new name, but me thinks the stars calling Jim onstage in Brooklyn 3 years ago and letting him know in no uncertain terms they wanted them to continue, followed by uproarious applause from the fans, had a lot to do with it.

[adamsgirl]

Well, Buzz -- let's hope it happens again. I know KLS is very staunch about it. She always says something along those lines at the end of the fests I've attended. I'm keeping my fingers crossed here.

[Midnite]

For this past Fest, I heard from a lot of people-- many more than usual-- who made their hotel reservations early to insure they would have a room at the event hotel, only to cancel them later.  The Marriott has explained that it's their policy that once the block(s) of rooms reserved for the Fest sell out, they do not again offer the rooms that represent canceled reservations at the Festival rate.  So unless a lot of the fans who made their reservations after the last room was reserved in the block agreed to pay the higher rate (which I seriously doubt), I'm sure that many of the rooms in the Brooklyn Bridge hotel's "sold out" block went unused by Festival goers.

[Brandon Collins]

We reserved ours in April, I believe, which, depending on the actual date, is about 4 months ahead of time. I'm not sure if the dates had been announced by then, but I'm fairly certain they had, otherwise we wouldn't have made those reservations. And I was under the impression that they still had a number of rooms left when ours were reserved.

And a note to any future fest goers: Make sure you get the hotel the fest is AT, because I heard the overflow hotel was really awful. We spoke with a cute older couple while standing in line one evening who said that they were at the overflow hotel, which was in lower Manhattan (in a bad part of town) and that they were afraid to go out after dark, so they had to leave before it got dark and get back to their hotel.

[Nancy]

I imderstamd why you have come to that conclusion but the festival has become a publicity arm for DCP - a business, if you will. It has nothiung to do with anyone being tired and only one person orchestrates the festival.

At any rate, the one thing I would love is to be wrong about my feelings about all this.  I hope I am.

Nancy

My feeling? The same people have been running this festival for decades. Maybe they've just had enough, which is perfectly understandable from a human point of view. However, as the years were passing, it might have been (and still is) a good idea to pass the baton, as it were, to others who would be willing to take over all the planning, etc. It's NOT a fun job, but I believe there are enough devoted fans who would gladly do it.

[Nancy]

Journalist Frank Borzellieri just emailed me links to stories he wrote about the 2006 Fest.  So here they are for your enjoyment!

http://www.queensledger.com/StoryDisplay.asp?NewsStoryID=4309



http://www.queensledger.com/StoryDisplay.asp?NewsStoryID=4339

[jennifer]

all right any plans to bring the show back? how long has it been off?
i'd love to see a Maine or Newprt reunion great places ny was too  high
out of my budget last summer as i planned a two week vacaction at newseabury
that i'm still playin for
oh well one can hope

jennifer i'm going backwards i'm 49