Very Excited about my first ECCC, we are bringing the kids and are surprising someone with a ticket and a ride to come with. Are there any tips or suggestions you can give this newbie?
Hi! Ahhh, so excited you’re attending ECCC for the first time! We hope, no we know, you’ll have a great time! We covered a lot of what to expect with a previous post, so here are some tips!
Cash. Bring cash. While some exhibitors will have credit card machines or Square, there’s no guarantee how those will work during busy times at the con. So bring lots of cash! Especially if you want to get something from an independent artist, or something from Artist Alley, or a celebrity photo or autograph. We have ATMs on site, but why stand in line and pay ATM fees when you can just bring cash from your own bank?
Snacks. There are places to grab food in the convention center, but when you get hungry at lunch time, so do thousands of other people, so you’re going to be in line for a while. It sucks, and unfortunately there’s nothing we can do to increase the amount of food available for sale at the con. So bring snacks! That way if you’re in line for a panel or to meet someone awesome, you can snack and not get cranky because your body has run out of energy!
Water. There are water fountains interspersed randomly throughout the building, so bring a bottle to refill! Or bring multiple plastic bottles you can dispose of once you’ve finished them. You don’t want to get dehydrated, it’ll make you feel prematurely tired.
Shoes. One of our convention directors gave us the tip of bringing a different pair of shoes to wear for each day of the con. Because any shoe, no matter how comfortable, will make your feet hurt by the end of a long day walking around on concrete. If you bring different shoes, your feet will get a bit of a break!
Breaks. Take breaks! Get out of the building, walk around outside, sit down somewhere quiet, then go back in to the con. Or take time out to visit a panel, that will give you some time to sit, and listen to an interesting discussion. Little mental health breaks will help you make the most of your day!
Green. Employees of the Washington State Convention Center wear dark green blazers, and know everything about the building. If you see people walking around with bright green t-shirts, those are the Minions (trained volunteers) for Emerald City Comicon. So if you need help, if your kids get lost, if you have a question, ask someone in green!
For the kids, you should know there’s a kids area that they can hang out in (with your supervision), but that’s not the limit of what they can do! One of the best things for artists is when they meet a little fan who shows them a drawing of a superhero they did, or a story they wrote. We’ve seen many kids who carry around a sketchbook or autograph book and ask all the artists (and writers!) they can for a sketch. It’s a fun and inspiring thing for the kids and the creators, and most artists won’t charge, so it’s free!
Research. In the week before the convention, start looking at our website to get an idea of what you want to do, when it is, where in the building it is. When you arrive at ECCC you’ll get a program guide, which will have most of the same information. If you plan ahead, hopefully you won’t have regrets about something you missed during the con.
Okay that was just eight tips, we could probably think of more, but that’s a good place to start. Let us know if you have more questions. :)
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