REVIEW OF THE NC STATE FAIR 2025

15 MINUTE READ
WHEN:  Oct 2025
WHERE: Raleigh, NC
RATING: 5/10 💀

After looking at the NC State Fair website multiple times in the week preceding my visit, I found no information about NC State Fair parking, visiting, traveling, nor was I able to buy tickets in advance. We decided to go anyway, with a Senior Citizen (henceforth known as SC) who wanted to take advantage of Senior Citizen Day. Other younger adults were also present.

We got off the highway, and followed a sign for "FAIR PARKING <<<<", only to travel nearly 4 miles with no other signage to point us to where to go except for a "STAFF ONLY" lot. We turned around and approached the Fairgrounds from the other direction. Signs directed us to a lot miles from the Fairgrounds. I informed the staff at the gate that I had a ADA Placarded Senior Citizen with me, and they told me to drive to the front of the lot, or go directly to the Fairgrounds and drop them off. I was really surprised that there was no other ADA parking available, but nonetheless, I drove to the front of the lot (literally a field), and was parked not far from where the shuttles were loading. SC was really disappointed at having to ride in the shuttle - not that the younger, more able bodied parties involved were happy about it. We thought it was the only option.

Us younger adults all spent the time in the shuttle line (~20 minutes) and the subsequent bus ride (~12 minutes) trying to purchase tickets on their website, but every link that said "buy tickets now" just took us to a list of "advance purchase" prices and "day of" prices, with no link to actually buy them. I will say that there was an email address for customer service for ETix listed, though none of us attempted it, being that we were literally on the bus to the gate.

We rode the shuttle, and I think it's important to note a conversation with my seat buddy. Her staff were having a... I guess you'd call it a staff-comradery event? Team building? Event at the fair, but as they were all coming from their separate homes, all of them were directed to different lots and thus arriving at different Fairgrounds gates, even though they had a group-purchased-in-advance ticket bundle. She was nearly an hour late - literally just from trying to figure out how to get to the Fairgrounds, and was clearly distressed in trying to get all of her staff/coworkers to the same place to check in their group tickets and start their day.

Once off the bus, our small group was buffeted by the massive crowd from other shuttles into a parking lot - curious, considering it was nearly empty. We were shunted into a crowd of people, walking over gravel and under an underpass to Gate 8 of the Fairgrounds property. It was at least a mile of walking, which led SC to be very uncomfortable before we even got onto the Fairgrounds property.

After the underpass, there was a large banner-wrapped column with a QR code encouraging people to buy tickets in advance to skip the line at ticketing. We scanned it, and were referred to the same list of advance and at the gate prices, with no option, button, or link to purchase tickets online.

After security - which went pretty smoothly as only one of us had a bag and even that was quick - I was pleased (and a bit surprised) that the ticket booth did not require SC to show ID, or confirm their senior-citizen-ness to enter without a ticket. However, us younger adults (who could not get tickets in advance, despite trying for days and specifically, the last hour of travelling to the Fairgrounds) were double charged for our tickets due to staff error at the ticket booth. We have yet to approach the State Fair to get this resolved and refund the second charge.

After the line and confusion at the ticket booth, we approached the State Fair from Gate 8. There was a "mobility" booth offering strollers, wheelchairs, electric scooters, etc, but our SC refused to stop because only one scooter remained and it was blinking indicating it was still charging the battery. There were no wheelchairs visible. Nor were there any maps/schedules/programs left available at the designated stations that indicated to take one. I spotted a staff member sitting on a table next to a box of these maps/schedules/programs behind a yellow caution tape. Needless to say, I didn't go where I wasn't allowed to get one, though I did ask and was ignored.

Map-less, we crossed the bridge after Gate 8, where we were met with a "Free Hushpuppies" sign, which was confusingly and immediately followed by a "Hushpuppies $10" sign (which did not encourage any of us to look further). We came into the Fair in a location that represented the actual reason for being at the State Fair - blacksmiths, live folk music, agricultural organizations, flower displays, food trucks, community - but it only went downhill from there.

Not literally - the Fairgrounds property is extremely hard to travel, especially for a Senior Citizen, especially one with arthritic back and knees. The paths are very up and down - vertical inclines and sewer grates, potholes filled with mud, and the MASSIVE crowds of people going in all directions (stay to the right, who?), with little care for all the senior citizens struggling to walk up and down hill on Senior Citizen Day at the NC State Fair. 

It's one thing to almost be knocked over by overwhelmed parents with strollers, working people with carts and dollies - not to mention the oblivious people randomly stopping in the flow of traffic or just randomly swinging their arm to point at something and nearly close lining you, even as an able-bodied, younger person.

It's another thing entirely that there are million staff golf carts honking and scooting two feet at at ime through the crowds (WHY? there's so much "backstage" area of the Fairgrounds?), not to mention the costly tram rides attempting to drive through the crowds with no staff person to direct or separate the foot traffic. It's completely unsafe, and it would have been faster for all those people to just have walked rather than sit still in a golf cart or the tram while waiting for a break in the wall that is over 20,000 people at any given moment. 

We decided to venture toward food, none of us having eaten, and it was immediately apparent that nearly every food booth was repeated multiple times - literally copy-pasted: corndogs/hotdogs, French fries, fried [insert existing food here], cotton candy, etc. Occasionally dotting this landscape was local food trucks and small businesses - clearly the preference, for nearly all of them already had a 45+ minute line, even though it was 10 am. 

Forgive me (or don't), but I thought the whole point of an event like this was to celebrate our community and uplift small businesses? So to see the exact same repeated junk food was extremely disappointing. I do however realize that some of these booths - despite their copy-pasted exteriors - were probably franchised by local people. So I guess there's that, but it's also worth noting the excessive branding for the hired events company plastered everywhere. It's also worth pointing out that none of these booths (all carrying the exact same type of food) had any kind of line or wait compared to the unique small business squished between them. It's also, also, worth noting that getting a contract at the NC State Fair means giving up a significant portion of your profits to the Fairgrounds property, PLUS vendor fees to even be allowed to set up - so the small businesses are always at a disadvantage.

Eventually, I decided on a cool local stand and ordered a traditional Mexican street corn cob and a horchata latte (totaling $16), both of which were delicious, while my party settled on a $7 slice pizza each, for lack of any other affordable option (and because it looked better than the $12 slices of pizza at the previous four! pizza booths). Luckily the pizza place had a small table and seating area out back, which became increasingly rare as we wandered around. The pizza was pretty great.

We continued wandering. Lots of the same ring-toss games, copy-pasted food stalls, water-shooty games, multiple "mega slides", and at least two ferris wheels - not much to be excited about, especially with no seating to park SC at while we rode rides. Literally NO SEATING AREAS? Why!? I don't think I saw a single bench.

We decided to check out the Jim Graham building to see the big animals but it was empty - only two sheep being led around the gated area. The chicken area was so hard to get into, we didn't bother. The Expo center was sectioned off, so I have no idea what was or was supposed to be in there. The Arena apparently had craft brews (again, it was 11 am so we didn't feel the need), and I couldn't find any kind of "look at these cool vegetables and pies and jams" or "biggest pumpkin" type of programming. 

We ventured back toward where we started - stopping along the way at Another Food Truck—which surprisingly had no line, but their Hot Mac (mac & cheese + pickle brined fried chicken + tomatoes + ranch + pickles) was easily the best thing any of us had eaten all day. 

We found the coolest area of the NC State Fair - the Agricultural Extension area with garden displays, best in show squash, the Native NC Plants people, Butterfly Barn (a shack with only a few butterflies, but still kinda cool) and a lovely seating area. However, SC found it hard to navigate the drastically up-and-down terrain, so we stopped in a barn with award winning flowers and plants. The staff told us this whole area was about to be levelled to allow for the construction of the new Midway Expo Center, which is an incredible shame as it was the only part of the NC State Fair that felt like it was actually worth going to. 

We took a small pause to allow SC to sit down, only to find we were near the church? Why is there a church at a State Fair!? We took a break, and decided to brave the crowds again to see if there was literally anything else worth stopping at or doing before we left.

Back in the Midway, meanwhile, was full of horrible vendors and games. I can't count the number of times I saw politically polarizing tee shirts and hats - I guess the NC State Fair is Republican? 100 different stalls selling the same Charlie Kirk nonsense. Also, can't one of these games come up with some prize that's not already-dying goldfish in bags and plastic stuffed animals that will eventually just not-decay in landfills? 

Before you get mad at me, remember that the stalls selling custom stamped jewelry, henna tattoos, caricatures, custom airbrush art, and hand-crocheted, or handmade goods - all small businesses - were SWARMED with people, while these repeated shopping stalls (looking at you "Leon's Leather") with the exact same tee shirts, ponchos, and bucket hats as 50 other stalls were empty.

Perhaps the worst part of the NC State Fair, though, was trying to leave. We nearly got lost on the way back to Gate 8, but we finally made it, resolved to trekking out of the property, over the bridge, back through security, up the gravel slope, down the ramp, through the tunnel, up the hill, and into the Shuttle line. 

The Shuttle line was flanked by rows and rows and rows of cattle fencing, but we were directed to line up into the first section. Four buses were already there, but before we got into the "you're on the next bus" part of the line, all of them were gone. My cohort expected it to take us at least an hour to get from the end of the line where we started and onto a bus, but luckily it didn't take that long - but it should have given what happened while we were waiting.

As we waited in the line, we realized that the parking lot where we had unloaded was now very full - and we for the first time, noticed the signs for ADA parking at the NC State Fair. We could have parked in this lot to allow SC much less problems from the get go. The staff at the lot we parked in (off Reedy Creek Rd) should have absolutely informed us there was ADA parking so close to Gate 8, but clearly they didn't know any better. Too late now, so we waited for our shuttle.

About to board our shuttle, someone in line behind us collapsed and the very on-it, neon-vested staff yelled to their supervisor to call for help, while redirecting the rest of the line into one of the many cattle-fence pens for people waiting for the shuttles. We were on the bus at this point, and were pleased to see someone in a Sheriff's vest on the scene already - however. 

As the bus pulled away, we saw EMTs sitting in a golf cart in the parking lot, looking unfazed and clearly not responding to the scene. I hope whoever fell/collapsed received help in a timely manner, especially considering the nearly 12 police and emergency vehicles we passed as the shuttle pulled away.

Needless to say, I was horribly disappointed in this NC State Fair review for 2025. It was a bit cathartic to write, but so disappointing as an experience. I realize the tickets are cheap, and I know from experience how much work goes into the logistics of shuttles and organizing that many attendees/vendors/staff and preparing for line/crowd management and all that - but DAMN, ya'll - where was the agriculture? Where was the community? Where was the sense of uplifting NC families and citizens? Probably at the bottom of whatever bucket is holding the profits of $9 for a grocery store hot dog.

5 MINUTE READ
WHEN:  Sept 2024
WHERE: COLUMBIA, SC
RATING: 7/10 💀

I was surprised by the heart of this show - I don’t know much about the programming (panels or entertainment) because it was difficult to find, but the vendors cared a lot, were unique, and offered unique shopping experiences.

Most of the celebrity guests I had met previously at other conventions and shows, so I didn’t bother, but I really enjoyed shopping at this show, which I think was unique to the area. 

I was a little put off when one of the tee-shirt-on-demand vendors informed me that their tee shirt designs were AI-generated, so I decided to cancel my order with them and instead spend my funds with a local artist. 

I think this show has a lot of potential, and can offer a lot to shoppers. As far as celebrity guests, I really hope they up their game and book celebrities that we’re not seeing in neighboring cities on the regular.

5 MINUTE READ
WHEN:  Sept 2023/Sept 2024
WHERE: HAMPTON, VA
RATING: 3/10 👎

I honestly don’t know how this show can afford to exist.

It has to cost them more to rent the venue than vendors are paying/customers are paying/celebrity guests are making. Every one of these celebrity guests have been at multiple shows in the 2-3 hour radius within the last few years, so I don’t know how this convention can even afford to put on their event.

In speaking with vendors, the lack of traffic has been abysmal, and not one even made enough money/traffic to afford the cost of traveling there and setting up their booth.

From the standpoint of an attendee, their most exciting offering was their “haunted house” which consisted of props from Spirit Halloween stores and black plastic walls/ceiling.

I can’t really explain what would drive traffic to this show, and judging by attendance, I’m not the only one confused. From what I’ve heard from vendors and celebrity guests, it was very much lacking. Hopefully they learn from their mistakes and put on a con that actually drives attendance to sustain it in 2025.

10 MINUTE READ
WHEN:  May 2024
WHERE: Raleigh, NC
RATING: 9/10 💀

This show has so much heart - clearly the people who put it on care about their programming, celebs, and general con atmosphere. I’m surprised that a show like this can easily host people in the genre - like David Arquette and Costas Mandylor. 

This con is in the largest building at the NC State Fairgrounds - free parking! - which is easy to attend, and offers a ton of space for super weird and unique shopping. We saw oddities, weird and horror themed art, candles, all kinds of collectibles, tattoos, and more random stuff - mostly that which centered around horror, the paranormal, the occult, and generally weird vibes. 

We didn’t get a chance to jump into their horror film fest, but other panels and programming ranged from the paranormal, to horror movie interests, to classes and workshops, to “how to” guides on movies, podcasts, and writing. It seemed like their panel rooms were running non-stop. 

This was easily a con that could take days to explore. Will be returning for 2025.

10 MINUTE READ
WHEN: Mar 2020
WHERE: BOSTON, MA
RATING: 7/10 🤙

Being a huge gamer nerd, I was super excited to go to PAX East. Unfortunately, the size of the convention didn't allow for much actual *doing*.  The convention center was huge, with escalators, bridges, and different levels that made it kind of confusing to navigate at first.

The show's panels and events were so packed, it was nearly impossible to get into any of them unless you waited outside the door in advance, which further reduced your ability to do things around the event. As I'm not much to attend panels or discussions, I was fine with this. If there had been a panel I wanted to see, I would have made sure to arrive early and get an actual seat.

The gaming area was ample, offering both tabletop areas, board games to "check out" from the library, as well as PCs. I didn't notice any kind of console area, but I'm sure there was one.

The main show floor:  50% of the space was taken up by brands, 30% by game companies of all sizes, and about 20% by actual vendors. In 2022, it seemed like most of the show floor was taken up by Intel - fine, ya gotta have sponsors - and a few other major brands like Discord, Razor, and more PC parts brands. The show floor was definitely MUCH smaller post-2020, and this could be simply because it was their first year back after the pandamonium.

I really would have enjoyed seeing more vendors, but I imagine smaller businesses and artists probably couldn't afford the booth fees. 

I think your enjoyment of PAX East depends on what you want to do while you're there:

• if you're going to access a huge library of board games, you'll have a great time - there's tons of space, that side of the event is quieter to allow for comfortable play

• if you're going to play in a tournament of some kind, sign up as early as you can

• if you're going to shop, perhaps check out the vendor list or try to find some kind of preview as most of the shopping is high end products like PCs, and stuff does sell out

• if you're going to try out new games with indie brands, expect to have a hard time accessing any of them - you just have to be in the right place at the right time to find a machine or demo that's got space for you

REVIEW OF GALAXY CON RICHMOND

15 MINUTE READ
WHEN: Mar 2022
WHERE: RICHMOND, VA
RATING: 2/10 🤬

Wow, this was an absolutely clusterf**k. 

It started BEFORE arriving - we booked a photo op of a duo. One of the duo canceled, it was refunded, so we booked another duo. One of the duo canceled, it was refunded, so we booked another duo. It was also canceled, so we just booked an op with the individual celeb.

Arriving - from a hotel only 10 minutes from the convention center - it took us over an hour and a half to get there and park. The mess was not only from con traffic, but also because of heavy construction around the venue. You’d think the city would avoid seemingly un-essential construction during such a large weekend event, but perhaps it was necessary.

That, combined with lacking parking in the area, did not set us up for a positive morning. In fairness, this is not the convention’s fault, but it's worth noting if you choose to visit.

Finally parked, it took us AGES to get into the venue - mind you, we had finally gotten in the main doors around 11:20, and the event had been open, starting at 10 (and earlier for VIPs, apparently), and this was a Saturday, so already a day into the event - seems like plenty of time to work out logistics. But no, the lobby of the venue was an absolute MADHOUSE.

There was no queue or semblance of a line, just a mass of people trying to figure out how to check in and/or get into the event. Finally I realized there were sort-of-lines facing tables on the back wall, with banners above, but they weren’t really visible behind columns and the overhanging balcony of the next floor up. They didn’t help much, because they said things like “VIP”, “MERCH”, and “FAQ” - no suggestion they were check-in for standard attendees.

Eventually an extremely smart volunteer came into the mass of people and started directing traffic - loudly and effectively. We found and got in line, and it took us about 15 minutes to check in and find the flow of traffic into the venue - a single 5 foot opening in some rope armed with 6 volunteers who apparently couldn’t or didn’t know how to help this situation aside from check badges.

By the time we got on the show floor, it was nearly noon, nearing the time of our first photo op. We did a quick lap, then went to the photo op area. Surprise, it was a madhouse - this time with absolutely NO cell phone service.

A mass of people, waiting to be directed or have some idea what they should do. The photo op queue was a chute system consisting of 7-12 lines taped on the floor, enclosed in a short pipe-and-drape wall. An extremely unhelpful TV stood nearby, simply stating the next photo op and the time it would occur.

The volunteer (clearly frazzled, bless them), was losing their voice trying to inform a lot of people at once that they would be queuing people for the very popular photo op nearer to the time slot. At this point, this was less than five minutes away, and the crowd was so large that it was blocking vendor booths halfway down the neighboring aisles.  Why the photo op area was smack dab in the middle of the vendor floor, with stuff behind it, I’ll never know. 

Finally we were put into our chute. We waited a good 20 minutes before a volunteer came through and pulled out all the VIPs from every chute, and into a shiny *new* line. Fair enough, they paid more to be there… but that also means they have more time at the event… so… more time to shop with vendors… see panels… spend money with celebs… unlike us single-dayers… I digress.

Next, three day passholders were pulled from all the queues. Then two day passholders. Then one by one, each row was called into another line. It seemed like it would have been a lot simpler to just queue those passholders separately from the lowly single day ticket holders like us, but maybe they were stalling for time, or trying to make us feel like we weren’t just waiting with no progress.

We finally got the photo op, the entire process taking nearly 2 hours for a 45 second interaction with the celeb we paid $200 to get the photo with. Neat!

My colleague had another photo op, and since it took so long, they cycled back into line immediately after. Someone had the good sense to actually inform the volunteer at the photo op queue entrance how it worked, and gave them a mic, so it was still a madhouse, but at least better for the volunteer. This photo op was less popular, and much shorter. I waited outside, and overheard that they were STILL doing the photo op we had just completed - nearing 3 hours of photos, and that celeb’s actual table on the show floor was capped because they oversold his photos.

I went to peek, and found that not only was that celeb’s line the length of half the building, plus the taped-off, five row queue directly in front of the table, but there were THREE other celebs who had similar line situations. They had to break the lines up and run them down aisles with a volunteer at the back and front of each section - they really had a lot of good volunteers to put up with all this, I’ll give them that.

Unfortunately the aisles that held these lines were completely blocked - you couldn’t get through the wall of people to stop off at a vendor booth or visit one of the less-popular celebs. 

I wandered around a bit, overheard a lot of vendors complaining that the traffic was too much, scheduling a mess, they couldn’t take cards because the cell and wifi weren’t working, and they weren’t making their booth space despite how many people were there because it was so hard to get around the venue.

It was shoulder-to-shoulder-people everywhere. To get food, you had to leave the show floor, go up an escalator, cross a bridge, go up another escalator, then get in a line that stretched - I kid you not - across the street, via a sky walk. 

I only managed to buy a few pins and a small bag. I met one other celeb who was a must-see, and one that had little to no line, but was never able to get my photo op autographed. I didn’t get to see the second favorite celeb attending at all because of their line. I didn’t get to see a panel. I saw no stages or entertainment. I couldn’t even find three friends who I KNEW were at that event at the same time - it would have been Where’s Waldo extreme edition, especially because there was no phone service.

I also didn’t get to eat, which left me in a rather foul mood before I finally gave up around 6 pm with a 2 hour drive ahead for my next event, the next day. Unfortunately, navigating Richmond continued to prove difficult, and finding food near the venue impossible. Everything was closed (at dinner time!?), or so packed there was an hours wait.

Anyway, the show was chaos. I will probably not attend again unless I’m somehow magically a VIP (but those sell out so fast, and are SO expensive). It really wasn’t worth the cost of the ticket, hotel, and the photo op for how little we were actually able to do.

REVIEW OF GALAXY CON RALEIGH

2 MINUTE READ
WHEN: Mar 2022
WHERE: RALEIGH, NC
RATING: 6/10 🤬

Much like Galaxy Con Richmond, this event was insanely busy. The venue is terrible for conventions but it’s one of the only options for Raleigh - a lot of up and down stairs and escalators and packed elevators. 

At least food was more accessible here than in Richmond.

There were stages set up outside with extremely loud music and a few food trucks that couldn’t hear your order over the music.

The queues were flawed, again, with little nothing offered in how anything worked. Wait times were excessive everywhere.

A REVIEW OF CREATIONENT SUPERNATURAL CON

16 MINUTE READ
WHEN: Nov 2021
WHERE: CHARLOTTE, NC
RATING: 3/10 👎

Let me preface this by saying I understand the COVID concerns, rules, and regulations of running any event, especially one of a larger scale. I happily oblige for the health and safety of all guests, fellow fans, and staff. As much as I would have preferred no plexiglass wall between me and the celebs, I totally understand and planned around it. I should also say that I have run conventions, have photographed conventions, and been a photographer for scheduled photo ops.

To me, a convention experience at its core should be a celebration of a mutual love of story — be it TV, like Supernatural, a comic book, series, a genre, whatever. It should be the people that created that story and/or brought it to life coming together with those that adore it. It’s about a connection with people on the both sides of the screen, page, whatever, for a mutual love and appreciation.

I found that experience of fans brought together in cons of all shapes and sizes — genre specific ones, fandom specific ones, small hometown ones, big, internationally-known cons in major cities. The feel of it — excitement and passion and being surrounded by your people — is so crucial to it. Everyone is your friend, because you already have a common passion.

As the weekend of the Supernatural convention progressed, excitement and passion dissipated from my fellow fans- and more and more it became crying, complaining, and distress.

Creation Entertainment’s Supernatural Con is not about the fans, not about the stars, not about the fandom, and not about the story that enamored us all. This entire convention is about money. Creation Entertainment only cares about squeezing fans for more and more and more money.

Let me walk you through the experience.

We arrived midday on Friday, got our COVID tests checked (36 hours from time of check-in, by the way, not 36 hours from con-start-time, as a few poor fans had to find out the hard way from vague instructions). We registered, then double checked our registration and tickets, and walked inside.

We saw a few vendors as we walked in, and browsed a bit, passed a few more tables, and reached a wall. We turned around, looking in doorways and re-browsing the few vendors we saw. We reached the entrance sign and registration again.

The “vendor floor” was a hallway with about 6 tables. It did, to be fair, have a floor. Creation Entertainment themselves had 4 tables, two of which were photos. They were reasonably priced at $6 each, but you’d think the hundreds of dollars we spent on the autograph would include the ~$.50 photo print, especially since most people bring their own thing to get signed (which would save them the photo, if the photo was included). We didn’t need to have a badge or wristband to access the “vendor floor”. We walked in circles three times looking for the rest of the vendors before we realized that was literally the entire “vendor floor” (as its billed on their website, which also says “ALL TICKETS ARE NON-REFUNDABLE AND NON-EXCHANGEABLE” on every single page).

Side note, we had considered doing a booth, but the Creation Entertainment vendor application was aggressive when noting that no Supernatural merchandise of any kind, handmade or not, was permitted at all, no exceptions. The first vendor I talked to had warded boxes, jewelry named after the characters, and tee shirts with actual logos/symbols from the show, and I asked how they managed to get here with “not-Supernatural-but-still-totally-Supernatural” merchandise and the response was hostile. I apologized profusely as I hadn’t meant to offend them, but they completely closed me out, despite the fact that I was prepared to spend upwards of $100 at their booth. I just sat my items down and walked away.

The other vendors were much kinder, and two of the others had similar not-Supernatural-but-still-totally-Supernatural merchandise. I don’t know if they just knew someone, or got lucky with the application, or what.

Two other vendors had books for sale — one booth being fiction unrelated to the Supernatural fandom, and the other a book about Supernatural and the fandom it inspired, which looked interesting. The last vendor was Random Acts of Kindness. I really hope they got their booth spot for free, but from my experience at the con I really doubt it — and if they did, the Creation people probably considered that their act of kindness for the decade.

There were two to three celebs at a time in the vendor hallway — presumably because they don’t have contracts with Creation like the rest, so actually talking to them and getting selfies and autographs at a very standard $40–70 was easily the highlight of the weekend.

To the right off the hallway was the “theatre” which was a room full of chairs. We didn’t realize until the last day that these were lettered by row for gold and silver pass holders. We spent the whole weekend in those rows having no idea they were technically assigned, but even in the fullest panels, most of them were empty anyway. It was really hard to see the stage, and too bright in the room to see the screens.

This room was the only area of the con that checked wristbands, and aggressively so — the people at the door of the “theatre” would block you and hold their arms up in front of their scowling faces before letting you in — but I was still able to simply walk past on numerous occasions.

The schedule listed celeb names on the “theatre” column of the incredibly confusing and poorly-laid-out schedule****. These names turned out to be Q&A sessions. Generally at cons, I don’t bother with Q&As or panels at all because they’re usually live streamed during/after and I can just watch them later that evening — I’d rather spend my con-time on the vendor floor talking to makers and artists, or in the celeb area, doing interactive events, chatting with the celeb guests. This con didn’t have much else to do but wait, so I did catch a Q&A sessions over the three days I was there — they were amusing but brought nothing new to me since the questions are very repetitive to other years I’ve seen online.

**** seriously, look at this utter fustercluck of a schedule-this was page 2 of FOUR

We didn’t realize that first day that we didn’t have access to the “special events” of the con — the concert and the karaoke event. Since these were technically “after hours” as the vendor hallway closed at 6, we were able to stand outside and watch, since the staff had abandoned the area completely. Those events were seated — no dancing — I imagine for COVID reasons. From what other fans said, we didn’t miss anything, as the concert was exactly the same as previous Creation cons, which of course were available online.

During con hours, the theatre was also the location for the autographs. Tickets for autographs were hundreds of dollars, and some where included with the VIP, gold, or silver passes. “Lesser” celebs simply sat at tables in the room, while “bigger” celebs were hidden by banners. They called groups of autograph-ticket holders by pass level, then number. IE, VIP, then gold 1–50 and so on, silver 1–50 and so on, copper 1–50 and so, then a la carte tickets 1–50 and so on… Which meant there was a lot of confusion — IE, the person announcing these numbered batches were also saying things like “if you have this OTHER photo op or THIS other event, then you should go in line before number 34, otherwise, line up at the end of the line…”

I overheard some gold pass fans complaining that their autograph sessions were lack luster, having no interaction, not even a smile or a glance from the celeb they paid literally hundreds of dollars to stand near for 3 seconds. They signed it without looking up, busy talking about their first class flight to their assistant.

The only bigger ticket celeb I personally had an autograph for was Misha Collins, and his table was facing the wall and hidden by banners — so you couldn’t see him until it was your turn. We waited almost two hours for our group to be called — understandably given the sheer numbers of people who shelled out hundreds for the ‘experience’.

The autograph was handing off your autograph-ready photo to a staffer, who then passed it to another staffer, who then passed it to the celeb, who then handed it to a staffer, who then handed it back to the fan. I’m not sure why there was a chain reaction of people touching the item like that, because that seems very anti-COVID-safety, presumably all of those people sanitized often.

When I managed to say “Thank you for GISH”, Overlord Misha seemed utterly surprised to be spoken to — the only reason me and the friend behind me got a response is that we were together — there was just enough time to say this, and maybe a few more words, and get a few words in return. At least I got a smile. I really appreciated a response and his attention for a moment — even VIP, gold, and silver pass holders were disappointed at the lack of interaction.

In the meantime (during our 2 hour autograph wait) there was an auction in the theatre, in which a random Creation staffer auctioned off the vinyl banners from around the event with autographs/autograph tickets. They started at $20, went in increments of $20, then increments of $50. I think the highest I saw was a Jared/Jensen banner for $1800. Those two signed their autographs (personalization up to you) backstage, whereas the rest of the banners offered “front of line” autograph tickets — so only the VIPs got their autographs before you. It bothered me greatly that these auctions weren’t a charity donation — it was “while you’re waiting for the thing you spent hundreds for, spend thousands on this cheap vinyl banner and the thing you’re already waiting for!”

I would have actively participated in this auction if there had been any benefit to it besides getting faster autographs. I overheard a fan say that their auction banner signature didn’t mean they also got their photo signed — they had to wait in line a second time to get their actual, scheduled-and-paid-for photo signed. It saved them no time and cost them a buttload more money, they just happen to have a banner, now, too.

Literally the only on stage entertainment aside from the Q&As and auction was a cosplay contest. The dedication and creativity of fans, especially supernatural fans, never ceases to amaze me. The costumes ranged from “clothes from my closet” and self proclaimed “someone said they liked my cosplay but this was what I wore to work so I entered the contest” to incredibly expensive and time-consuming , even interactive costumes.

However, the judging was based on audible audience volume, and it was very clear that the 2rd place winners didn’t actually win — not only to the people on the stage who had lost, but also the people in the rear of the auditorium waiting in line. We were confused as to how the 4th placers came in 3rd, and the should-have-been-3rd-place winner was completely left out. Perhaps the MC simply chose his favorites.

Our biggest excitement over the weekend was our Jared and Jensen duo photo op. On Saturday, we realized that our ticket listed separate Jared, then Jensen single photo ops. It took us three visits to the ticket sales counter to get it sorted — apparently because we didn’t buy super premium VIP blah blah special edition tickets (or whatever it was), the system defaulted us back to the individual ops. Since as far as we knew, we had a duo op instead of two singles, this wasn’t okay — especially since one of them would have been during our Misha autograph — we would have had to choose between the photo op or the autograph. (Remember, ALL TICKETS ARE NON-REFUNDABLE.)

We finally convinced them to give us a slot on the third day (Sunday) of the convention, so we could still do our second day (Saturday) Misha autograph.

Both this duo on Sunday, and the Misha photo op on Saturday were extremely rushed. You were in line, then in another line, then in another line with a table. You took off coats, bags, lanyards, etc, then turned a corner and took off your mask, and were literally, physically shepherded into the photo op. They told us somewhere in the second line that an attendant would have us describe our pose and relay it to the photographer/celebs so we could conveniently pose the way we wanted for our $300–500 photos.

This room was extremely loud. Music on full blast. No one could hear anyone talking, so if there was an attendant that would help us pose the celebs and ourselves, no one heard them at all. We did tell someone what we wanted, but she never made any attempt to tell the celebs what we told her, so I don’t know if we didn’t tell the right person, or if the “attendant” was a made-up thing. Either way, she physically forced us into our square, stepped on my shoe, which I reflexively went to fix. My photo op partner went into the pose we’d planned, which Jared mimicked. Jensen mimicked my movement, which was completely unplanned.

There was plexiglass, obviously, and every fan knew that in advance and planned based on it. Some of them used it to their advantage and worked with it to make amazing photos — how, in the three seconds allotted to each ticket, I have no idea. There was no “3, 2, 1”, no green light, no “look over here!”. Before I had even settled into my planned pose, we were being physically forced out of the set. When I say physically, I mean the staff had arms spread-eagle and were blocking us from going anywhere but out-of-the-way.

My photo op partner was pleased to have made eye contact, smile, wave, etc with Jared for a moment, but I didn’t even get a chance to look at either of the celebs. I was too focused on almost losing my shoe because the staff person twisted my ankle inside it and trying to smooth down my skirt so my naughty bits weren’t exposed. I immediately went to a staff member and said “No, that wasn’t good, we need to redo it, please,” and she responded with a non committal motion of indifference, already looking past me to usher out the next group who had already finished before we were off the set. I swore — which probably would have come across as anger, not that it matters, because with the insanely loud music volume she definitely didn’t hear me.

We immediately talked to a staff member to ask if we could simply take another photo since that one was botched, and they told us that the photographer decides in the moment if a retake is valid. Literally in the 3 seconds we’re in front of the camera, some dude decides if it’s a “good enough” or not.

I heard so many upset fans. I heard people saying they had stumbled, or something had reflected on the plexiglass (which of course had to be there and everyone was prepared for) so that the celeb’s face was hidden, or they had their pose request completely ignored, or that the photographer didn’t bother to center them in position (so their photo included the staff standing behind the backdrop), their sign was cut off, or parts of their costumes out of frame.

At the same time, inexplicably, fans delighted that their props were held by the celebs, or had stuff go under the plexiglass, or touched the plexiglass, or had the celebs do exactly the right facial expression for their photo’s idea. How they managed to convey the idea at all is beyond me, let alone how they convinced the staff to pass a prop or even mood to the celebs.

The photo op pick up room was full of unclaimed terrible photos. So many people tried to make hearts against the plexiglass to worse and worse results. Some just were in mid movement and were motion blurred, or had staff walking behind the backdrop, or were just generally a terrible photo of them getting settled into a pose. I really hope that those unclaimed photos were the ones that got redone, but having experienced the photo op process, I doubt it — as far as I know, after hearing at least two dozen fans upset and asking for a retake, not a single one got it.

As a professional photographer, I know there was also no way to attach the photo to the person — your ticket was ripped, but not scanned or attached to a number of any kind. The photos were simply “img_2345”, which was annoyingly printed on the bottom, but that had no attachment to your photo op ticket number.

As someone who’s able to move and crouch quickly, and bear loud music, my heart goes out to anyone who can’t. Those with different abilities, difficulty moving quickly, and sensitivity to loud noise had an even worse photo op experience.

At one point, before a photo op, a random fan asked me to take a reference photo of their planned pose. They asked some other fans to stand in for the celebs, and I took their adorable reference photo of them holding hands with each other, and their mock celebs holding hands with each other. In the photo op pick up room, I saw the photo of those same fans grimacing, their pose ruined, confusing hand-holding and confused expressions. I imagine they were devastated, though I never ran into them again to ask what had happened.

I understand that they sell hundreds of photo ops a weekend, I understand that it takes time to actually push through all those paying people. However, even at lower prices for more famous celebs, I’ve had multiple photos taken to chose from. I’ve had multiple poses in the same photo op. And always, always, the 3,2,1 countdown. The worst part is that they had a panel with those same celebs scheduled for an hour after the photo op — which means they planned for hundreds people to take photo ops in 65 minutes or less. With planning like that, it’s no wonder they had to force us through in mere seconds.

Here’s a video of the photo op at another Creation con, and this one was slower than my own, with less staff herding you: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DaFvQfrTMwQ

You’d think, given the quantity of photos taken and the fact that Creation apparently has a talented on-staff photographer, that they would have a live photo display (showing the people what the camera saw), or a yellow-light-green-light system when the shutter button was partially depressed. Or even, easiest of all, simply saying “3, 2, 1” before capture. I thought this was standard practice for photo ops in general, especially at this cost, but apparently not.

After waiting an hour for your photo — I get it, printing takes time — and they have the audacity to charge you for the jpeg (it costs less, and takes less mere seconds to fulfill a jpeg than to print a photo). The hour print wait means the celebs are completely done with photo ops and there’s literally no opportunity to retake photos. This is absolutely intentional.

After this experience, I’d have much rather had a table-side selfie than the photo op that cost hundreds of dollars and gets me a photo that makes me angry to look at just remembering how awful the moment was.

Overall, the weekend was emotional in all the wrong ways. I was angry and upset the entire weekend, spent most of it in a line and bored out of my mind. I’ve never browsed more of Instagram than when I was waiting around over the last few days. It was supposed to be a vacation, an experience like no other. I looked forward to it for actual years (thanks COVID), only to be so incredibly disappointed I came home and immediately started writing this article — not just for me, but for every single person who I heard complaining over the ~ 64 hours I spent around fellow fans.

One of my friends said that the celebs looked like “beaten dogs”, that every single one of them looked like they had no choice but to fulfill the obligation of being at the convention. Judging from the poorly laid out/designed schedule provided (at check-in and online a mere 12 hours before the con started), they didn’t get any breaks or time off between photo ops, autograph sessions, meet and greets, and panels. Only one or two of them seemed happy to be there.

Conventions are supposed to be about a shared love of fandom, not about a shared hate for the people that run the con.

With Supernatural in particular, whose fanbase calls each other family, it’s heart wrenching for me that my family is upset, and so many of them paid thousands for this — more than they normally would for anything outside of life essentials. A gold pass is more than the nation’s average rent. How Warner Brothers (who presumably rent out the Supernatural name for this convention) — and the celebs themselves — stand for this, I’ll never know.

“Family don’t end with blood”, or bankruptcy. (ALL TICKETS ARE NON-REFUNDABLE AND NON-EXCHANGEABLE.)

It’s been a few days, and my anger of this hasn’t abated, so I’ve done some research, and this is what I’ve found:

• Creation Entertainment has as far as I can tell never offered a refund, even in literal life or death situations. They encourage fans to sell their tickets, which is also against policy stated on every single page of their website.

• There’s dozens of BBB complaints against Creation for a lot of different things, most of which are listed here. I’ve seen this number go up and down and up and down, and I don’t know why that is, but I really doubt it’s because Creation’s making good.

• Creation Entertainment’s cost for tickets rises every year. One commenter said it costs more for a basic ticket and a photo op than it does to see Olympic figure skating for 2 people.

• Creation Entertainment’s staff actually insists to celebs not to make contact, talk too much, or interact with fans. How else would they sell meet and greets at upwards of $300?

• Reddit user’s overall opinion of Creation Entertainment cons is very much in line with my own — many suggesting you bring a book or something else to do, and is summed up nicely with the phrase “money gouging corporation”.

• I found an article from 2011 complaining of the exact same issues and poor management. Nothing’s changed in ten years, except COVID rules and the prices have gone up.

5 MINUTE READ
WHEN: Spring 2020
WHERE: ST. LOUIS, MI
RATING: 8/10

Honestly, my rating of this show might have to do with how glad I was to GO somewhere and get out of the house. It might not have been ideal, and it's important to note that nearly every attendee was masked, and actively keeping their distance.

It was nice to see the haunt, horror, and general holiday industry in their element given that most of their shows, events, and attractions couldn't be held during the pandemic.

I learned so much about specific things - like mold making, set design, lighting, etc -  that visiting this con was absolutely worth the effort despite the pandemic. 

I can't wait to go back and learn more about these and more topics.

COMING SOON

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WHEN:
WHERE: CHARLOTTE, NC
RATING: 

COMING SOON

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WHEN:
WHERE: CHARLOTTE, NC
RATING: 

COMING SOON

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WHEN:
WHERE:  UNIVERSAL STUDIOS, FL
RATING: 

COMING SOON

MINUTE READ
WHEN:
WHERE:  UNIVERSAL STUDIOS, FL
RATING: