1) How did you pick the date?
Our date is based on a combination of when the space we wanted is available at the hotel, and looking at other events which would overlap with our attendees (and our board members). These included other area convention events, Easter (when people may have family commitments and there’s another local convention) and the equinox, when those in groups may have group ritual commitments.
2) Why move upstairs?
The upstairs space allows us to have more room in a better layout. Our vendors, music, and programming will all be in the same hallway, making it easier to get from one item to another, or to stop by the dealer’s room to pick up a book recommended in a panel.
Our hospitality suites (both the convention suite and those sponsored by other groups) will be together in the atrium hallway, making it easy to wander from room to room.
We’re also excited that having everything on one floor will make it easier for those who use mobility devices. (Though we note that the only elevator is closer to the lobby than the restaurant.)
3) Will there be a food event?
We’re considering an optional food event (probably a Saturday morning brunch) for those who are interested, but this would be an additional cost above your membership.
4) Will there be day passes?
We have made the decision that we will not be offering day passes to the event, but we are offering an evening pass to our Saturday evening event (see our next answer for more!)
We choosing to focus on creating a space where people can make connections and have conversations throughout the weekend. Of course, if you can only come for one day, we’ll miss you on the others!
4b) What about the evening music events?
We’re excited to offer a special ticket to our Saturday evening concert and ball event. If you’re registered for Paganicon, this is included in your registration! If you can only join us for the evening, tickets are $15, and you can pay in advance through our online registration system.
5) Will there be children’s programming?
After a great deal of discussion at our board meetings, we’ve come to the decision that for right now, we need to focus on creating a great event for adults to come together and more deeply explore Pagan topics. Children’s programming is complicated to do well, because of the range of ages, interests, and needs of children at different stages in growth, so we want to make sure we can do it well before we add it to the formal event plans.
We know that parents may want to connect with other parents – to arrange cooperative childcare, network, share ideas on raising Pagan kids, and much more. We’re glad to do what we can to put people interested in this in touch with one another (and we’ll have a question on our registration form about this). We’d also be open to a group of parents reserving one of our hospitality suite rooms for this purpose. Please be aware: this would not be childcare sponsored or provided by the convention. Any arrangements made would be strictly between the individuals involved.
6) How do I reserve a hospitality suite?
More information on this is now on its own page, but
- You send an email requesting a suite (as detailed on that page). At least one person for each hospitality suite must be a registered member of the convention at the point you request a suite.
- You pay us directly for the room reservation costs. (Any incidentals for the room would require someone associated with the room providing a credit card to the hotel front desk.)
- You will be responsible for obeying all of our agreements with the hotel about use of these rooms (detailed on that information page). These are designed to protect the hotel and make sure legal issues are handled appropriately.
7) Why a membership cap?
We want to make sure we can continue to grow sustainably. This year’s cap will be 350. Last year, we capped at 250, and had about 180 people on site.
We want to make sure that we’re using our space well, and that we’re building a volunteer base that can continue to support growth and a great event without burning people out. If we begin to get close to our cap (around 300 registrations), we’ll have a quick and easy way to determine how many registrations are still available.
This year, because food events will not be a part of every membership, we can also be more flexible with last minute registrations. Pre-registration will close three weeks before the event (to give us time to put together registration materials like badges) but will be open for at the door memberships up to our membership cap.