Back at the end of May,
I volunteered for Phoenix Comicon, as I have done for the past four years. I am
a Photo Booth Coordinator which means I assist with ensuring the celebrity
photo booths run smoothly during the convention. It's hard at times and a bit
stressful, but I love it. I've had many great experiences over the years.
You may be asking
yourself, but that was over a month ago. Why are you only writing about it now?
Excellent question. My excuse: Work. It's been incredibly busy and demanding,
to the point that most evenings I would be too mentally exhausted for much else
than sinking into a vegetative state in front of the TV. I've been
binge-watching so much Property Brothers, I've started adapting their lingo and
pointing out design features in stores. Good knowledge to have, if I ever
decide to renovate a house. But I digress...
Phoenix Comicon has in
the past few years found itself on a list among the best comicons in the
country. It's grown in size dramatically since it's inception with record
shattering attendance year after year. Two years ago, we were around 55,000
attendees (possibly a bit more, I don't recall the exact figure). Last year, we
hit an amazing 77,000 attendees, by far the highest count in Phoenix Comicon
history. This year, 75,501 attendees. While this was a bit of a drop in
attendance, it has been named the most successful year by our leadership. This
is of course a great thing to hear, knowing that I was a part of its success.
Phoenix Comicon takes
place in the downtown Phoenix Convention Center and this year it took up all
four levels of two buildings along with programming in a few surrounding
hotels. It is usually held Memorial Day Weekend at the end of May, but it has
flip flop a bit the last couple years, due to availability of the convention
center. This year it was held the weekend after Memorial Day and next year we
will be the first weekend in June. It's already very hot at this time, so
having most of the programming and entertainment indoors helps a great deal.
There is a connection between the two buildings underground as well as a
sky-walk connecting above. You add plenty of escalators and elevators and it
makes for a layout that is easy to navigate.
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View
from the 3rd floor of the North Building, overlooking 3rd St. and the West
Building with the Hyatt behind it.
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We had a great group of
actors that were invited out this year. Ron Perlman, Edward James Olmos, Jason
Isaacs, Alison Hannigan, Alexis Denisoff, Charisma Carpenter, Christopher
Lloyd, Jim Beaver, Karl Urban...to name some. There were a few I was excited to
meet from the moment they were announced, then there were others that surprised
me and left me glad to have met them afterwards.
Thursday (May 28th) was
the official first day of the convention. But things started for me on
Wednesday when I arrived at the convention center around midday to help with
setup. We setup all the equipment, hung signage and prepared things for the
weekend ahead, then finished up around 5-ish. I went home for the last time. On
Thursday, we had our full blown dress rehearsal with the photographers and
volunteers. No photos are scheduled on Thursday and it gives us additional time
to test the equipment and the setup. This also included training for any of our
volunteers that were able to attend. We finished up at around 6:00pm and I met
up with some friends for a Comicon Kick-off Dinner at My Big Fat Greek
Restaurant. A couple of my friends were Phoenix Comicon virgins and
out-of-towners, so we discussed their first day and other things--topics that a
large diverse group of fangirls are prone to discuss when gathered together.
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The
Photo Booth area prior to setup on Wednesday.
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After dinner, we took
turns seated behind the wheel of a gorgeous '67 Chevy Impala. If you are a fan
of the CW TV show Supernatural, or just a fan of classic cars, you get it. An
hour and a myriad of pictures later, after inhaling enough of that old exhaust
smell, we finally parted ways. The Impala went back home to Vegas and the rest
of us returned to our hotel rooms or home (I live about 10-15 minutes from
downtown but it's still so much more convenient to get a hotel room). I split a
room with three friends and fellow Phoenix Comicon volunteers every year which
makes three nights in a hotel downtown quite affordable. I always recommend to
anyone to make a similar arrangement when attending the convention (or any
convention for that matter). It's cost saving and leaves you never more than a
five minute walk from all the local goings-on.
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My
friends and I with the Impala.
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Yes,
that is my foot on the gas. Vroom vroom.
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Friday was Day One! The
first official full day of Phoenix Comicon and quite a light day for us at the
photo booth. This of course meant that this would be the day that we would
actually be able to see some of the convention. Saturday and Sunday would prove
to be incredibly busy and would leave no time to enjoy the con except for what
was directly on our floor. We shared the third floor with all the costuming
groups and the guests' signing tables. So not bad company by no means. But our
floor was just one spot and so very far from the Vendor Hall--shopping, food,
and artists oh my!
This year I was slotted
for the afternoon shift. But similar to previous years, I was there from early
in the morning to late in the evening all days. What can I say? I'm a work
horse (or a glutton for punishment), but it's worth it. Friday, we only had one
booth running and most of the guests hadn't arrived yet. So once I finished
helping with final preparations and stuck around to help train and place
volunteers, I decided to wander. I left behind my radio and told one of my
counterparts to text me if I was needed. Down I went, three different sets of
escalators until I hit the Vendor Hall floor. I wasn't there to shop, not that
I didn't want to, but when you decide to spend your money on photos, you tend
to be frugal with what you have left. It was my goal to spend an hour, maybe
two, finding and chatting with my comic book artist friends. I found all but
two (one was wondering around and the other hadn't arrived yet). Now, the
Vendor Hall is massive, I mean seriously huge, you could spend hours wandering
around looking at everything. Its where you'll find all the comic book artists,
authors, and vendors peddling their wares.
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Walking
through the crowd down in the Vendor Hall.
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I sped-walked up and
down the aisles, I was on a mission. My mission (there was no choosing
necessary or exploding messages) was to locate my friends and acquaintances in
the comic book field. I met most of them through my former manager from Barnes
and Noble. He's making his way through the world of comic book creation and has
worked on a few projects. But also sells his artwork in addition to taking
commissions. He currently lives in San Diego where his fiance goes to school.
One of the comic book creators/artists I stopped to chat to was actually a
former high school teacher of my sister's. I bought his newest comic for her.
After that mission
was complete I hunted down the Cazador Productions booth run by Mike Flores
(the booth and the company). I met Mike at the Salute to Supernatural
Convention in February, along with the hosts (Thomas Cowley and Ryan Denton) of
the Supernatural the Crossroads radio show he produces. We discussed the season
finale of Supernatural, as fans do and he asked me about my volunteer role at
Phoenix Comicon. The Crossroads boys do a great show, I binge listened their
entire back catalog (60+ hours of audio) in a little over a week. If you're
interested in episode reviews and interesting as well as entertaining
discussions, check them out www.supernaturalthecrossroads.com.
When I returned to the
booth, I got back to work but took a moment to have a photo with two friends
(and SPNFamily) and Jim Beaver (Bobby from Supernatural). He was very nice and
great with his fans. On Saturday, I had him in my booth and at the end of the
photo op he gave us the greatest compliment, even though the beginning nearly
gave me a heart attack. He started off, "I hate these things." Cue
holding my breath. "These things are usually so impersonal. This was
quick, but I still had time to shake everyone's hand and say hello. It didn't
feel rushed. This was great, good job." I started breathing again. I
thanked him and showed him out of the booth. That was super cool.
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My
friend Amber, Jim Beaver, Me, and my friend Shannon.
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The rest of Saturday was
madness. Yes...that's all that need be said about Saturday. Just kidding...but
there was a lot going on. I did not make it away from the photo booth and I was
there from morning until night. I left exhausted, at the end, but not as
exhausted as last year. I call that a win in my book. Saturday is the busiest
day for obvious reasons: people don't have work, big day for families, all the
guests are there. There were some great experiences that day. I was surprised
by a couple of the actors--really cool individuals. None of the actors that
attended this year were returning guests, so I had not met any of them before
and you never know what to expect. Great examples: Jason Isaacs and Edward
James Olmos. Jason--who you might know from Harry Potter, The Patriot and Black
Hawk Down--was great with his fans. He even set up his phone during his photo
op to record a time lapse video of the entire thing, which he then shared with
us and the photographer. I could kick myself for not getting a photo with him,
but I didn't have any money left to spend after the photos I had already paid
for. Jason also complimented us on our photo booth.
Jason Isaac's time-lapse video.
Edward James Olmos was
awesome, every time he showed up for his photo op, he would spend time taking
photos with all of the staff. Normally, we're required to politely decline
photos with the guests, because it's against our policy, but there was no refusing
him. He would point at volunteers in a 'hey you, come over here" fashion
and pull them in for a photo. He didn't leave until he had accomplished his
task to have photos with everyone, including me. I let all my volunteers go
first and then I was the last one, before he went on his way back to his
signing table. On Sunday, I believe, we were running behind in one of the photo
booths. Edward stood in the middle of the booths nearly in our printing area,
playing with his grandson. It was adorable. We had asked him if he wouldn't be
more comfortable sitting inside one of the booths while he waited and he
politely declined, he didn't mind waiting right there.
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Me
and Edward James Olmos.
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Sunday was Back to the
Future! Yes, I and a friend got our photo with Doc Brown himself, Christopher
Lloyd. Sunday in general, was not as crazy as Saturday and everything ran very
smooth. It always winds up being the case on Sunday, all the kinks with the
equipment have been worked out and we're running like a well oiled machine.
Speaking of machines, we also had the Delorian onsite for attendees to get
photos with both Christopher Lloyd and his iconic time traveling car. It was a
popular photo op, as was his solo op in our photo booth (both of his photo ops
were in my booth). Another actor that was really cool to meet was Alexis
Denisof, husband to Alyson Hannigan and most notably known for Angel, Joss
Whedon's Much Ado About Nothing, and Grimm. At the end of his last photo op on
Sunday, we had just sent through the last attendee and he was hanging out just
in case there were any stragglers. He asked if any of us wanted a photo. I
politely declined, and he asked if we were sure. I told him we were required to
politely decline unless he insisted. He said he thought that was the case and
then insisted that we all take photos with him. Great guy.
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The
Delorian, Sunday after the con closed.
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My
friend Shannon and I with Christopher Lloyd.
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So, that's a good chuck
of what happened through out the entire weekend of Phoenix Comicon. It was
crazy, but fun and awesome. I can hardly wait until next year. Meetings won't
start until January of 2016, which seems such a long time off. But at least, I have
Fan Fest to hold me over. Fan Fest is a smaller convention that Phoenix Comicon
premiered last year. We hold it at the University of Phoenix Stadium in
Glendale. It's much smaller than the main convention, more relaxed atmosphere
and it's held in December, so the weather is a stark contrast to what it is in
the summer. We have guests that come out and vendors, but there will be just
one photo booth running the entire weekend. I wasn't able to attend last year,
as it was the same weekend as my mom's birthday, but this year I'm good as it's
the weekend before. I'm really looking forward to Fan Fest this year. Hope to
see some of you local folks there!
