Subject:
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Re: BrickFest registration fees (was: LEGO Adult Fan Convention at Legoland California?)
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.events, lugnet.events.brickfest
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Date:
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Fri, 8 Sep 2006 14:24:44 GMT
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Viewed:
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5171 times
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In lugnet.events, Marc Nelson Jr. wrote:
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In lugnet.events, Tommy Armstrong wrote:
snip
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6. One of the main things is not to be afraid to charge enough for
registration to cover the costs of the event. Going to a real BrickFest
Convention is a big deal. It really blows my mind that people actually
complain about the cost of the registration. Somehow they come up with
enough money to spend hundreds at the LEGO Store, and yet complain about
$20/day for the registration. Gimme a break. The cost of the registration is
less than most large LEGO kits.
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I guess I’m one of those people - not that I complained, I just didn’t go
because I couldn’t afford it. The last BF I went to (in ‘04), I probably
spent around $125 total for registration, t-shirts, and bricks, and I doubt
I’ve ever spent more than $200 at a BF. So I’m not complaining just to
complain, the cost is actually a dealbreaker for me. I was hoping to
volunteer at this year’s event and attend at a free or reduced rate, but I
was told that volunteers had to pay full price for registration.
Is it really a problem that BF isn’t charging enough for registration? By my
math, BF took in about $24K from registration fees and $21K from the public,
plus a few bucks from merchandise sales and seller fees, but lets say $45K
total. If the exhibit space was free with the room reservations, what do you
need all that money for? My wife does a lot of event planning for a
nonprofit, and she couldn’t figure it out.
I’m sorry if anyone takes offense at these questions, but I know other AFOLs
are asking the same thing.
Marc Nelson Jr.
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What about the literally thousands of hours that Christina has given of her time
to get the thing going--along with all the other dedicated volunteers in the
past, and the hundreds of hours Joe spent this year to pull it all together. To
truly create a stable growing institution, which is what BrickFest seems to be
becoming, the persons taking the risks and doing the planning cannot be expected
to not be compensated, in my opinion. When BrickFest started, it was very much
an idea of a group of like minded people coming together --but it really has
evolved to something larger. Heck when the Owner of LEGO comes along with the
CEO as was the case last year, and the CEO and a contingent of 30 LEGO employees
come this year, it is pretty big time. When you see the tens of thousands of
hours that the builders have put into their incredible creations, it is really
really big time. I just have to say thank you Joe for pulling off such an event
this year, and Christian et al for building such a great foundation. Very few
places in the world can one come for a measly 20$ per day and experience some of
the very best of the best that all you builders have created.
And it is not just the exhibition, of course, but the various seminars, the
comraderie of very individualistic people united around a common passion.
Volunteerism is great and in most cases a necessity for getting an idea off the
ground, but to make it evolve it has to have some sort of financial integrity
also. The amount of administration and coordination to take it to a new level is
really immense and I do not begrudge whatsover if Christina in the past (and
future) or Joe this year and whoever coordinates next year gets compensated for
their efforts.
Christina has taken this “thing” to a world class convention--something almost
unique in the world. People from 11 different contries as well as some 30 states
attended this year. A credit to her vision and hard work in the past. And this
year Joe carried on well and took it up a notch. I am sure that next year
another notch in the gear will be reached-at least I hope so.
Kudos to all who have made this event something well worth attending.
Tommy Armstrong
PS I really really liked the free food combined with a specific time for the
judging and viewing of the exhibits. I thought that really went off well, and
hope it continues. I did not meet a single person who complained about that.
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