I had a chance to set up a booth and run a booth at a local con called Conapolooza here in Kingsport! I’ve been to DragonCon, GenCon, and GaryCon, but never one like this. A smaller, more intimate setting than those larger events I’d become accustomed to. I was nervous and didn’t know what to expect. There was a mixture of everything. Board games, role playing games, comics, video games, toys, artwork, crafts, and cosplay were all featured to some degree. I never knew we had so many local cosplayers, including a local branch of the 501st, before I got there.
I’ll admit to geeking out in every direction, but I was there to represent InnRoads. I wanted to let people know who we are and what we do. People would come to the booth to ask about what we do and take home some swag. I had some great discussions with those who stopped, and a good portion of them took our information with promises of getting in touch. Time will tell how big an impact that will have to help us expand our opportunities in the area with new gaming events. I even had a chance to chat with the staff after the convention was over to talk about opportunities to take part in another local event as well. There’s a good chance that we’ll be back again next year – perhaps in charge of the gaming library for the convention, though that has not been confirmed yet. We’re hopeful that we’ll be able to help the con expand on their tabletop gaming offerings as time goes on though.
When you cut your teeth on the larger conventions, it’s easy to feel like a local convention would be a disappointment by comparison. It made sense compared to the spectacle, but I was wrong. I liked the opportunity I had to really get to know a lot of the people there. There wasn’t an overwhelming number of attendees, so that left me with the chance and the freedom to just hang out with those who came. Also – since it was a local event – I was able to catch up with some old friends and share what I’m doing now at