The deets
Where: Villa Rica, GA
When: October 31
Table Cost: $86
Attendance: estimated 500
The space
The event was held outdoors at the Mill Amphitheatre. We were provided a 6-foot table and two chairs, but brought our own 10x10 tent. Renting one was an option at additional cost. There’s no staking on the grass due to the underground sprinkler system, so you have to have significant weights. We ended up using an additional 6’ table and 4’ table which we brought from home.
The market
The market was perfectly sized for the attendance of this event and everyone had different things. Curation was well done and there was little to no AI or the typical con slop or drop shipped items. There also were a good number of booths that were more for demos of games or just playing games in general, which was great cause it meant people hung around longer.
The audience
Predominately locals to the area, many had never been to con-like event before so were excited for the opportunity. Lots of folks in cosplay. Good number of youth and families, but also older folks of all ages.
The sales
We did really well at this event, making around 7x table cost.
For this 1-day con our time invested amounted to 7.5 hours of active vending and 2 hours of combined set-up and break-down time (total of 9.5 hours).
Most people paid with card rather than cash. Our larger ticket items did really well at this event. The breakdown of items sold at this event is as follows:
3 blankets
6 journals/sticker books
11 acrylic charms
24 stickers
7 prints (smalls and mediums only)
3 comics
1 lanyard
6 gatcha spins
The rest
This was such a good vibes little community focused event. The staff were very organized and communicated clearly in advance of the event (though it seems some folks’ load in emails got lost here and there). There were volunteers at the ready to help with load-in and load-out and the main organizers made sure to check in from time to time on how things were going.
There was a free concert and a very cute costume contest so attendees had more to do than just shop.
Pros
Great people who really care about their community and putting on a good event
Easy load in and load out
Free parking
Can do a bigger set-up if you have the means to fill out a 10×10 space
Cons
We had a few gusts that messed up our display but we were able to pivot and minimize damage. The weather held out for us for the most part.
Limited food options but we heard that there were supposed to be more food options but those folks bailed last minute