Convention Season:
Behind the Scenes
By Lys Fulda
August 2007

Summertime is convention season. To “civilians” conventions are fun and games, but when your hobby becomes your livelihood they turn into work. But it’s far from the usual office grind by a long shot. The accompanying photo of our fearless leader Mike (center), Tom (a former warehouse employee), and Bob (another former warehouse employee), taken at Origins in 2005, shows how it can get.

Once upon a time, there were three beautiful girls
who went to the police academy. . . .

The venues vary, and the same show can happen in different places. The GAMA trade show a few years ago happened over the Orleans Casino’s ice rink. Literally, over an ice rink. Even covered with carpet it was so cold that you could put a warm drink on the floor to chill it. Carpet, cold ice, people walking around on top — put it all together and you get vicious static electricity.

There are some Europeans who don’t only kiss you on both cheeks, they go for three kisses. Exhibitors cringed every time they came around. Most people were happy not to shake hands. At the end of the day you were ecstatic to leave the show floor.

At most shows you are on your feet all day being sociable with people and trying to be upbeat, but day-to-day living takes a beating. I have literally eaten at Barley’s in Columbus, Ohio, so often I have their menu memorized. But the more hysterical part is often the hotel or motel where you stay.

Let’s face it, we watch our pennies around here. More often than not, Motel 6 and similar places have gotten our business. They aren’t glamorous but they serve the purpose. Simply having to drink Gatorade continuously to stay hydrated on walks to and from your hotel can make conventions a rough time. But the Big Events can be even worse.

At Origins 2006 some of us were startled awake at about 2 A.M. with herds of cop cars and ambulances showing up at the little Mexican restaurant next door. We learned why the next morning. There had literally been a murder at the restaurant over karaoke. We refer to that as the year of the Mexican karaoke massacre. All joking aside, that’s a horrible thing for someone to lose a life over.

Even if everything goes right — as it had when the infamous Charlie’s Angels shot was taken — sheer goofiness can ensue. As our company is rather spread out, often a show is the first time staffers get to meet each other. Upon first meeting some of our warehouse guys one year, I sent them on an errand. They were to go pick up cakes so we could give away slices to celebrate the company’s 10th anniversary. They had to make their way through the pageantry of a gay-pride parade to do it.

These nice, sheltered young men came back tongue-tied and awed by what they had seen. One of them had never even seen footage of a pride parade on the news. I knew one of the guys was literally an Eagle Scout, but I had no idea that this was such a new event for them. And that was the first impression I made on them; I totally burst the bubble of the edges of their world.

The next time you see us at a show and we look a little shell-shocked, it may not be just the usual exhaustion or hunger!