As 2011 was beginning, my lovely wife and I had already decided that we should trim down our convention participation for about six to 18 months. It had gotten to the point where travelling to this gathering and that gathering was beginning to feel a bit more like a chore than an adventure. And when that starts to happen, a person needs to take a good look in the mirror and realise that he or she has reached a point where they're not going to be functioning at their best. It's time to apply a paring knife to the schedule and trim it all down to a more easily manageable size.
The question then became "What do I cut?"
This year's incarnation of MarCon provided me with my first answer.
The first thing I want to say about MarCon is that I have always had a great deal of respect for the event and for the people who organise it. MarCon was the very first SF&F convention that I ever attended. And that first adventure back in the spring of 1991, set the standard for what I've always expected from any similar gathering that plays host to somewhere between 1,000 and 5,000 attendees.
But the Achilles Heel for any fan run gathering is that it is managed by an ever changing group of volunteers. And in a world where the various hats of responsibility are constantly being shifted to new people, sometimes with little advance warning, there will occasionally be a year where the machine simply isn't functioning as efficiently as it should. That is what seems to have been happening with this season's MarCon.
In 2008, I was the special guest storyteller at the MarCon Masquerade. It was my job to help entertain the audience during the intermission, while the judges were comparing their scores and determining how to award the prizes. I received a great deal of positive feedback for the way that I entertained the audience and kept the downtime from turning into a thirty to forty-five minute dead space. Because of this, I was asked to serve as the Master of Ceremonies for the Masquerade in 2009. Once again, the feedback was very positive.
This past February, I was contacted by the current Masquerade Director and asked if I would serve as Master of Ceremonies for 2011. She had my response in less than 24 hours.
I would be happy to do that job and also serve on at least 2 panels in return for something along the lines of the following.
A free membership to the convention.
A modest amount of travel expenses.
At least 1 autograph session
My name listed on the Convention's web page as the M.C. for the Masquerade.
I also stressed that I would be willing to accept a reasonable counter offer. And then I heard nothing for a week. So I contacted her again and asked for an update. And what I received back was.
"I'm very sorry. But I haven't been feeling well so I haven't gotten anything done on that issue."
A week later, I asked again and received essentially the same response. So at the three week mark, I spoke to someone higher up. And his reply was that the convention was having problems getting any information out of this person in regards to what her plans were. He was going to try and cut through the inertia and have an answer for me within a few days.
Which became the four week mark.
And then the five week mark.
And at the six week mark ... I finally received an answer.
"At this late date ... Due to the fact that so many issues concerning the Masquerade have been left unsettled ... The Convention has decided to invite one of our already attending big name celebrities to be the M.C. for the Masquerade."
Which has made it very easy for me to decide that MarCon is one of the events that I'm going to remove from this year's Calendar. At the same time, I clearly understand that each year's incarnation has its own personality. So 2012 or 2013 might just be something that I'm interested in being at.
Only time will tell.
Travis
