It's sad news, but not particularly unexpected, I think. As Nancy has commented, organising conventions is generally a thankless task, and the economics over the past couple of years haven't made things any easier.
I suspect that this announcement probably marks the end of organised Dark Shadows fandom, and without regular sustainance of a headline event, I question what future the show has as a viable entertainment property.
My regards for Dark Shadows and the fandom following is not centered around the fest. Yes, the fest represents the "official" fandom, but heck, what do we care about that?
Other fandoms continue on and on, and are muchly enjoyed without any official representation. Fans enjoy each other, the stories, song videos, meeting in different cities, and talking up a storm. The stars never show up, ever. Case in point is the Starsky and Hutch fandom, still going strong after 20 years. They meet every year in Chicago, and the CAP on this particular gathering is 300 people. You have to have a reservation to get in. The thing is run by a fan and it is run like CLOCKWORK. There are panel discussion about stories, and art, and songvideos, a video room where you can watch Starsky and Hutch ALL day long, there are discussions about ideas, for example, what if Starsky and Hutch met the guys from the Man From Uncle. There is an art auction, a banquet, where everyone is welcome and everyone sits with everyone. There are no lines, there are no restrictions (except for a cap on the total number of attendees), and it is such a relaxing time that you come away feeling as if you'd been at a spa for a week. And I don't know about you, but that a weekend at a DS fest feels like I've been beaten for two days, spent three days in the desert, and run uphill in Januray. It takes me a week to recover from that. Now I ask you, is that fun?
Fandom doesn't normally center around the actors who played the roles. Sure, the S and H fandom keep tabs on their guys, but they don't expect the actors to entertain them each year.
I know this might be kinda weird, because the DS fandom is very actor based. But I always felt that it disallowed the fans to focus on themselves with regard to the fandom. It was all actor, actor, actor, and very very hard to go to a panel discussion about a story that someone wrote, or the trend in themes in stories, or the new artist that had produced something wonderful, or whether or not you would want to bring Starsky or Hutch home to meet your parents, when KLS and LP, and DS and JK et all are only a ROOM away. It's like having the TV on all the time! You can't read or write but are drawn to the tv in spite of yourself.
So, perhaps this is a good change for all of us. Sure, there'll be smaller (and in my mind, nicer) fan events springing up, as they will, NOT controlled by the "central commitee" and which more meet the needs of the fans concerned. I mean, I don't need to listen to KLS tell us one more bunny story, but I sure as heck woudn't mind watching DS read some poetry. The actors themselves seem up to doing these smaller conventions, there's no law against asking them, eh?
Anyway, that's my two cents.
Maine Girl