Bittersweet Candy Bowl Forums

So you guys made a topic about it and that's great, but I wanted to make a more conclusive one with actual input from those who would be organising it (i.e., me and Vero!)

The basic details are as follows: BCBcon International 2011 is a tongue-in-cheek name for a reader meetup that we would plan to happen sometime next year. We are not renting a convention hall or trying to compete with PAX. That is the joke and you missed it. What I anticipate would be 10-20 of us meeting up in some American town and sharing a few hotel suites for 3 or 4 nights sometime next year.

That's it. We did it in another community years ago (#lemonade, and its Lemocons) and it worked out pretty great each year.

THE THINGS THAT ARE UP IN THE AIR
We do not yet know where we will have it, we do not yet know when it will be, and we don't know what we would plan to do. However, generally speaking:

Location: Probably somewhere in the northeast, approximately. New York, Chicago, Atlantic City, places like that. We can be convinced otherwise, but it seems like there are more people on the East coast than West, and we are not really interested in having anything to do with Texas.

Dates: I return to uni in March, and cannot take a break until mid-June. Same if Veronica returns to university next year, which she likely will. So we're looking at January, February, June, July, November or December. No other months would work for us. Sorry.

SUGGESTIONS
Please provide them! MY THOUGHT is that we should plan it for June-July, so people have time to prepare for it (February is maybe cutting it close), and that if we were to pick a city, it'd be Chicago or New York. I've never been to the former and think there's a ton of stuff to do in the latter.

We could also choose a smaller town, like the Ocean City place Veronica went to a Lemocon at. These places might be cheaper and less frantic. I would need advice on good places to go, here.

Another alternative would be to pick a comic convention to meet around. The big example is Comic-Con in San Diego, which is July 21-24. This would be neat, but would cut into our time at university (it returns that week) and is expensive to find accommodation around. Also, by most definitions San Diego is not on the East Coast.

MONEY
The total cost of this kind of trip is going to be something like $300-500 per person. At the lower end, it will cost you $40 to bus there and back, $130 for a few nights at a hotel, $100 for food, and $50+ for the various things we would want to do each day. It will cost more if we stay in a major city, if you need to fly there, and so on. We will share rooms, pick cheaper places to eat and not go crazy with the things we plan on doing, but at the same time, if you think we're cramming 10 people into a cheap hotel on the outskirts of town with somebody's shitty old Gamecube for entertainment, you've got the wrong idea.

This will form the main problem for potential attendees. For some of us, that kind of money isn't problematic and is worth it for a few days of fun, but for others it's terrifying. So, if there are enough people who would come but cannot, I suggest that we work on some kind of system where we can pool together money to help the less affluent folks make their way to a potential BCBcon. Veronica and I can contribute a fair bit, and no doubt will have invested the most into it by the end of it all, but maybe you could enter into it with a view to sponsor interesting people, or at least offer loans or other assistance? We don't want money to stop good people from coming.

CAN I COME?
This isn't a public event, it's a private meetup of friends, and so to some degree it'll be exclusive. At the same time, we've found that often shitty people online can be great in real life. So I'd say there's a decent chance there'll be no problem, and you shouldn't hesitate to show your interest in this thread if you want to come along. Obviously we'll have a better time if we actually know you. Oh, and boyfriends and girlfriends are a fine idea!

As far as financial support goes, this will be extremely unfair and selective, at least from Vero and I. We want to help the good ones who can't afford to come come, and if you're not a certifiably good one, you'll have to work it out on your own. You know?

Anyway, this is about all I can say at this stage. This is a very early thread for an event months off. But if we could get an idea of what people want to do and how many would come from this thread, it'd be a great first step.

I'd say Chicago (not just because I love there mind you) and in June-July as I'd assume most of our teenage readers would be near or in their summer vacation.

I'll save my Christmas money.

This sounds like a great idea, but as I said in the other thread - money is definitely going to be an issue, especially for us international folk. For example, a flight from the UK (since I know there are quite a few of us here that would definitely come, me included) on 30th June (as an example, too busy to dig around)is £401 return - which is... $600-ish USD (not facotring hotels and stuff in here, just the flight). Not the kind of money that the average BCB reader is going to have, though as you said, US peoples would be cheaper. But I suspect the serious people will find the money (somehow).

There's also the whole thing of countries having slightly different schooling times (i.e. my college ends mid-July, yet I know some people are finishing early June), but I suspect that can be worked out.

Mark me down as interested - this sounds like a great idea.

This post has been edited by Ubertoast: 07 December 2010 - 05:28 PM

We could coordinate everything, and have a proper one in the US and mini ones in the UK and Australia

That's a long ways away...

From past experience, internet people are way too disorganised and poor to ever come from overseas. I don't think it was even a question. It's also not really worth it and is kind of pathetic, unless you plan on having your own holiday alongside the visit.

Chicago sounds pretty good actually depending on what part anyways, I always liked that city, and you are right, there is shit tons of things to do there. New York is ah, well it's expensive is all I'm going to say. And with Chicago I have family up there, so hey! I may not be useless when it comes to suggestions (Like going to Aurelio's Pizza....)

And seeing how alot of users who are American are also in school of some sort, yeah June-July would get a larger turnout with them being out of school.

(Besides, people would probably die from heat stroke in Texas around then anyways)

Regarding travel, if I do attend I would be planning on drivng myself down fron canada (toronto, which is above detroit). If it is convenient, I do plan to assist those that need to be driven down there. I could possibly help more with the payment of the hotel as well, but that would be relevant on a case by case basis. But the drive would be a split gas payment if enough people hopped on board.

SuitCase, on 07 December 2010 - 06:34 PM, said:

Naturally, I imagine internationals would be going for a full holiday. I know I would be.

Well if this happens I think it would be pretty cool to go if I can. I am also in Canada, could probably borrow a car for a few days to drive down from Quebec.

You guys can count me in if I can save up the money in time, and if nothing conflicts with the dates! If I do come it'll also probably be with my boyfriend-just letting you know if you're doing a rough person count.
I'd be okay with New York out of the choices of the two big cities(only because it's closer), and will give input if anyone suggests any good smaller cities. If we can get a definite smaller city, that'd be amazing, but being in the southeast I have no suggestions for any in the northeast.
June-July is fantastic for me and I'm sure the good chunk of people who get out of school in May/June would agree.

Carmen reminds me -- I'd probably come with Regulith too.

If it's in New York he can simply drive us there.

I'll try to be there but not sure cause i don't get a job yet.

Susan, on 07 December 2010 - 07:02 PM, said:

I'm excited for all the couples who show up .
We'll be the SPECIAL ONES haha.

I guess rooming will be just choose who you want?
Or assigned? I think it'd be a good idea to have couples room with other couples,maybe?
Or whatever. Haha.

This post has been edited by Carmen: 07 December 2010 - 07:11 PM

It sucks to live in the faraway cold country of Russia.

Oh, we are neighbours then, Nikel. ^_^

Mobile quote is broken on my phone

Carmen, you would be expected to create rooms on your own first. Then a pool of people who don't have rooms qould be created (of those that want to share a hotel room), and people would get assigned by suitcase/whoever

Eh? Are you Russian too ILB? I would never have guessed.

Nonono, I live in a neighbouring country. Granted, the shared bit of border is infinitesimal, but still close. ^_^

Hmm neighbor country...Small border...
It's either Norway, Azerbajan or Turkey. Since you don't behave like an Arab I guess you are from Norway. A good country.

A smashing and most correct guess. ^_^

Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth - Pursuit ~ Lying Coldly - YouTube

I feel triumphant.

I will be doing everything I can to try and attend. I'm already saving as much money as I can, though if it will be enough I don't really know. I can hope it's enough though, and even if I do have the money getting there will be another obstacle. Sucks being underaged

But...but what about Beast Feast!

I jest, I know that was a joke from the beginning (though Chattanooga is a beautiful city and on the smaller side so there is more of a hometown feel.) But I would be okay with either of the big cities. Chicago is closer and I would feel less intimidated by it where as New York is just plain expensive. I would love to come thought June-July would be best for me and money would have to be saved.

did my pole help at all

I like the sound of New York City, it would be a good reason to go back there. :3 and as mentioned before theres a shit load to do. More than could be covered in 3-4 days at that (not saying we should have a meet up for a week, 3 to 4 days is a good length for a meet). But I say 'we' as in the 'BCB community'. I still feel kind of like a newfag and I don't know if I'd be a good inclusion to it. Like "hey it's that one guy we've known for a little bit" whereas everyone else here has had far longer connections.

well that's what the poll said

Chicago sounds nice. I've got friends there.

And it's always better in the summer months.

I'd rather not go to Manhattan. I've been there way too many times, and everything is ridiculously expensive.

I bet most people aren't located around here, but there are some absolutely gorgeous places in the southeast. We could go rafting on the Ocoee, or go spelunking in a cave. Or snowboarding somewhere. Something atypical of an internet get-together.

This post has been edited by CaptainBaconMan: 08 December 2010 - 01:52 AM

Chicago...Mid June-July... 750 USD plane...or 280 but 26 hr bus...damn plane tickets...well bus will be my cheaper way...i need to start saving money...

Chattanooga is one of those places I'd consider, I just don't know anything about it. The BeastFeast proper seems to happen at a specific time of year, though, doesn't it? So it couldn't be the main draw.

I would not all settle on Chicago so easily if there are alternatives like that. What's an example of what you're talking about, Bacon?

Beast Feast is one of those weird once a year thing that happen around here. But yeah there is rafting, (hella fun and I would laugh my ass off at some of you guys trying to raft) and other crap like Hiking if we really just didn't want to do what other cons do. It would be interesting to say the least.

Never been to NY (or to any northeastern state for that matter). Still that's bound to be a long trip from SFO (& a very long trip by bus.)

This post has been edited by (nameless): 08 December 2010 - 02:03 AM

Chattanooga is a pretty good place (and isn't very far from me), but really anywhere in the Appalachian region is a nice place.

Chattanooga, despite being close to me, is a town I'm less familiar with. But I do know that it's close to a lot of places, and it isn't short on things to do. There's always Rock City, which I actually haven't been to. There's also Ruby Falls which is an underground waterfall. Since it's in Tennessee we could take a day trip to Cumberland Caverns, or raft the Ocoee river if it's during a warm part of the year. They also have a Zoo, an aquarium, idk. Other stuff.

Uhhh, we could go to Boone, NC. They've got rafting, skiing, beautiful hiking trails, and biking trails.

Knoxville isn't bad. We could always go see a bluegrass concert. Lol.

There's Asheville NC, Sugar Mountain NC, Maggie Valley NC.

Charlotte NC is another place we could go, they have a them park called Paramount's Carowinds.

We could go to Gatlinburg TN, it has a lot of stuff to do, and it's close to Pigeon Forge which has even more stuff to do. And it's all close to Knoxville.

We could always go to Atlanta and take day trips to places. I also know a shit ton of people in Atlanta, and we wouldn't be short on things to do. Atlanta has the worlds largest aquarium, the world of coke museum, and it has a Six Flags theme park, and plenty of other crap. I also know a lot of places not in Atlanta that we could go and visit. We could visit Athens or Savannah. And I know lots of camping spots.

Heck, let's just hike the Appalachian trail.

This post has been edited by CaptainBaconMan: 08 December 2010 - 02:59 AM

Pfff.
I would totally want to go if it were close, not the other side of the country.
But you wouldnt want me there anyway.
I would like be the youngest there.
and my parents are sticklers.

some of us are rather limited in the ammount of time we can take off work - something as long as 3-4 days if not including weekends would be unreasonable for someone like me.
i'm probably in a financial situation to help one or two people, but i'd probably be pretty selective in whom, and that's assuming i would even go, which i honestly don't know about.
i live in boston, which is a smaller city than nyc, and i think a great town for walking around and meeting in. (not showing a personal bias to boston, really)
but as for distance i don't know if i'd go even to nyc. it'd be affected a great deal by how much i want to go.

I still think cliffside snowball fights would be an awesome event.

CaptainBaconMan's post is what my post would be if I was as awesome as him.
AKA I agree with everything said there. Chattanooga, Knoxville and Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge are all absolutely wonderful and have SO much stuff to do. Same goes for Atlanta. I've been to all of these places at least once, and know G-Burg and Pigeon Forge like the back of my hand almost.
Not to mention all of the above but Atlanta are only hour and half/2 hours away from me, HA !

This post has been edited by Carmen: 08 December 2010 - 03:04 AM

SushiJaguar, on 08 December 2010 - 02:59 AM, said:

Fuck yes, this happens every time I go to North Carolina or Tennessee in the winter.

This post has been edited by CaptainBaconMan: 08 December 2010 - 03:14 AM

Make one happen for me, El Capitano!

CaptainBaconMan, on 07 December 2010 - 10:14 PM, said:

brooklyn could kill manhattan

I'm interested in going but i'd need a definet location befor i can say yay or nay. If i make some extra cash, i'd be glad to add it to the BCB fund, i'd love to meet as many of you in person as i can. I might be able to take vacation days to go but i'd need a defanit time as they have to be sheduled in advanced with my superviser. I hope i can make it and meet many of you and have a great time.

Sorry Suit, i live in Texas and have not traveled out of state. I can only help you here.

This post has been edited by Lark: 08 December 2010 - 03:56 AM

Is there anyway to have it be a meeting centered at comic-con in NYC?

It's always nicer to have a guide. SpaceMouse makes Boston appealing as does whf for NYC. I don't know if Susan has the same familiarity with Chicago.

I am interested in all these crazy places but I don't know anything about them. Surely some Americans have further opinions.

Vegas, San Diego, and Seattle are fun

Well there's no chance of me attending this.

Well, NYC is a fine place to go to for a gathering as the various buses and subways can get you across town in a snap. Plus, everything is Philadelphia style grid; if you know where the river is then you're pretty much set on any of the numbered streets. Plus, we seem to have a few forum members that live in or near the city, so it would benefit those people. Unfortunately, the date for New York Comic-Con is October, so it's out of your range, but this is NYC we're are talking about. I can get you the location of more places that a large group can spend time then fingers on my hand. Plus, the earliest thing to close in that city is the convention anyway, so unless you want to end everything at 5 o' clock everyday a convention may not be best.
So, some pros, some cons, but a damn fine city and probably a very good choice.

@CaptainBaconMan
Not at the right places, it's not.

This post has been edited by Gameking218: 08 December 2010 - 03:57 AM

well darn. I'm out of luck. probably even if i had a job i would be :\

Rawr, on 08 December 2010 - 03:50 AM, said:

All those places are much closer to where I live.
I say Anaheim, it has Disneyland, nuff said.

Carmen, on 08 December 2010 - 03:03 AM, said:

speaking as someone who lived in Atlanta for 6 years, Atlanta is a terrible city to get around -
that being said, as I still have friends in Atlanta, it'd be somewhere I'd probably be up to going, as long as we don't go in the summer. (really, don't go to atlanta in the summer. just don't)