Air City Expedition Review

This review is for Air City Expedition 2013.

We, the Secret Swan Society, had an AMAZING time at Air City. The people were nice, the panels were small and laid back, the events didn't seem too rough. There was an awesome Game Room where such amazing-ness like a huge Apple to Apples game took place as well as the biggest Muchkin Cthulhu Game I have ever seen took place. The Movie Room had a ton of movies and showed a lot on screen.

Following is a Scorp-Review on the event we stole from Lt Flint!


Con Review:
Hotel/Entertainment/Vendors/Staff/Biased

The Hotel was GREAT. Fan-tastic! 9/10 (and it really should be a 10).

The Panels were awesome. From stuff we did (Steampunk in the Community) and our Members (Any of Lt Flint's Stuff) there was also panels from the MISFITS and the Citizens of Antiford as well as musical guests. It was awesome! Entertainment/Panels? 10/10. There may not have been any "Heavy Hitters" however I felt the newer, smaller groups really made a more comfortable and down-to-earth environment.  Although I would love to see the more defined groups and bigger groups next year... I would never want to replace the groups or performers who got to share the limelight that weekend.

The Vendor room seemed really small, and even though I did not recognize many of the Shops, they still had Triple A con prices. I felt they really missed their audience with this one. However, getting to talk with many of the vendors and hearing about many of these vendors, they were some of the nicest people ever at a convention. I would really love to see these vendors again and hopefully have money for some of their wares. Again, even though we missed out on some "Heavy Hitters" in this category  I do not feel it destroyed the feel of the convention, and I would by NO MEANS trade out any of the vendors who went for one who didn't go. 8/10

And with that come the Staff. The staff were few and far between. The line between who were volunteers and who were staff was blurred. They often said they considered anyone vending/paneling/performing staff but refused to give out info needed BY Staff. Alot of people were told they were staff, but admitted to not having the power or information to really be helpful. In the end any true staff decisions NEEDED to be filtered to one of three people, with any crisis or true decisions being made by only one. Now, we would LOVE to bash them for this... HOWEVER!!! Please remember that they had FIVE WEEKS to do this and, for the most part, 4-6 real "Staff" members (being generous). The fact that any and all who were even slightly considered staff were incredibly nice and helpful. Staff made sure panelists and vendors alike had what they needed when they needed it quickly and orderly. They had many things IN-PLACE like code of conduct. It is for that reason that I give them a stunning 8/10 for their staffing. However, they will not get similar lee-ways next year. So... heads up guys ;)

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And now it is time I get to step back and be as biased as I can be. I was weary at first. The staff was tense, information was little, and many groups took a leap of faith backing this event because we KNEW those behind it. Knew? Well... let us use that word lightly. Amy was fresh into Steampunk and we "Knew" very little.

HOWEVER!! My Gosh, if half way through Friday if all those worries and fears just went RIGHT OUT the door. Friendly Staff, great events, good friends. Everyone was just so.... freakin' NICE! I mean... I don't know how to describe it. And it wasn't just me!!! I'm hearing similar things from close friends and some of them (You KNOW who you are) are VERY critical, specially when it comes to con quality.

I... I don't know... I can rego through the review all biased... but.... why should I? They deserve every bit of my Bias ism. And they gave me a good break! I had a good many Panels to run and attend to and they took a leap of faith on alot of vendors, performers, and panelists to do their jobs, be entertaining, and not give them a bad name. So... YEAH! I think it's no surprise they get a stunning 11/11 from ME!!!
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FINAL TOTAL
46
51
In the end, Air City Expedition 2013 was a hit. At an astounding 90.5%, it hit every major thing it needed to hit to be up there with the big boys of Conventions. Sure, we gave them some major leeway and my bias was positive, but you need to understand that what they did in only Five weeks time was not a five week con that was pretty good. No, it was a REAL Convention, a year convention, that did very well. That says alot for this convention and those running it and all who helped make it happen.

If you invested time, money, raffle items, promises, or even a like or a share on this convention, your investment was not ill-spent. And if you are one of the underdogs who got their chance in the light because of this convention, do not forget it. This was a great con and a great bunch of people who attended it.

---- SECOND THOUGHTS----
You know the rules. Second thoughts is the Devil's advocate of all of this.

The Hotel was fantastically nice and clean, but rumor has it the maids may have been a little too curious in certain rooms and stuff may have been damaged. Still, rumors aside... it was great. 9/10.

The Panels were few and far between in addition to sum cons, many didn't look like they were ready for the one hour time slot (others looking like they needed more). Many of the names on the schedule (HAHAHAHA.... Schedule...) were no-names. And even with some diamonds in the rough they are missing some "uh....duh" guests on their roster. Veterans of other Steampunk Cons may have felt bored or felt like their money would've been better spent hanging out in the rooms rather then at the cons. However, that doesn't mean those panelists without fame were all too bad. The Panels were well rounded and there was something for everyone to be found.   8/10

Vendors was sad. A Tiny vendor room and some familiar faces didn't cover up that some vendors seemed slightly upset. Sometimes the room was empty, and the vendors looked like they would've had a better time in the pool! Expensive doesn't cut it, we all know how bad con prices are. As well as the performers alot of "uh-duh" Vendors were missing from the equation. Better luck next year... unless you spent the time to "get to know them" the vendors were of no interest to you.  3/10

Staff was few and far between. Three people were considered staff, and only one of them had any power. If you barely saw them, you probably assumed they were the damned wizard of OZ! It seemed a few people took it upon themselves to be the go-to people between guests and Staff. 4/10

Biased is the same as above. I cannot bias a devil's advocate approach. To keep it fair, biases are the same. 11/11

35
51 Again, many people of second thoughts would've nit-picked this con down... but in the end the scores would've still been right up there. Even going against the big boys this cons darker sides were few and far between and the score is still something to be proud of. Your personal biased can change this, but I don't think many attendees have much to complain about.

---End Second Thoughts---

All in all, this con gets an average low of 40.1. I think the entire community can be proud of it, and it really shown bright as a star in its very first year. We can expect the SKY out of this con, though. With an entire year to prepare, Air City part TWO will take such cons as Teslacon as well as Dragon con, Comic-Con, and Anime cons to the baker. I can only imagine how awesome it will be. If you missed out on this amazing con then you probably missed out on, BAR NONE, the best first-year con that has ever happened.

And as I keep suggesting for Air City to adopt officially, I suggest you take the Air City Challenge. Think you can do better? We'll be kind. We shall give you Six or Seven Weeks... make a con, right out of your butt!! Do Better. Do better then Air City. Make a friendly environment. Keep face under extreme stress, and try to plan around all the other events that have had a year to more then a year to prepare. ;) And I shall review your event under the same scrutiny.

~Lieutenant Nathaniel Flint of the Landship Scorpios

In Case you missed it:
46 out of 51 Points. SUPER POSITIVE. Air City is a Con not to miss.