Houston, TX
Two years ago there was a convention that took place in the summer in Houston, TX. That convention was Space City Con. It was a somewhat small event (for such a big city) but it had an atmosphere of excitement about it. Last year, Space City returned in a much, much bigger way. The venue was changed from the Galleria in Houston to the Westchase Marriott. The hotel was very nice and one could say that the convention was too much of a success, as aisles were crowded and there were a lot of lines. Still, it was an excellent convention that improved upon the first one.
In a move considered very bold by some, the convention held a second convention that was held less than six months later (January, 2014) and featured a move to Galveston Island, TX and a ton of celebs from both Game of Thrones and Babylon 5. I was unable to attend this event, but feedback that I heard from friends and fans who did attend the convention was mixed.
Then the convention seemed to simply vanish into thin air. The website remained inactive, and the con’s Facebook page was rarely updated until well into 2014. That’s when we all learned that Space City Con was now going to be called The Houston Con and another change of location would occur. Having once been a part of a convention myself, I know just how crazy politics and butt-hurtedness can be on a convention staff, so hopefully whatever went down with the convention has been resolved and The Houston Con will live to see another event.
Once the convention seemed to revive itself, guests were added quickly. There were celebrity guests representing the many incarnations of The Power Rangers, as well as stars from projects like Star Trek: Axanar, Teen Wolf, The Walking Dead, and the upcoming The Flash series. There were a few comic artists as well and many vendors. There was also a 24 hour Gaming area (that I did not check out as I am not much of a gamer).
For being something I would consider a mid-sized event, there was a steady crowd that would sometimes thin out and then bulk back up. Having talked to a number of vendors at the convention, they told me that they had a good time, but sales were low and/or slow. I was there as a helper to promote CyPhaCon, an event that takes place in April of next year. The traffic in front of the table varied, but the people that we did get to talk to seemed very interested in CyPhaCon and after talking to staff members with the conventiion, they considered their visit to be a success.
The Hilton Houston North provided the venue, and they did not disappoint. The staff of the hotel was top notch and extremely friendly. The event was set up throughout the atrium and a number of other rooms on site. I attended a Melissa Ponzio (Karen from The Walking Dead) panel in the DaVinci room and really liked the setup. I also attended a dance in one of the larger rooms, hung out at the bar, and spent most of my time in the vendor area helping my friends promote their event.
I purchased five prints from one vendor and visited with many more. I actually got into a “flying monkey” fight with some ladies selling handmade jewelry and the cast of Not Quite Human, a Texas-based web series. We had a lot of fun with each other during the down time that happened in waves throughout the day.
I also shared an elevator with a couple of young stars from Teen Wolf. In particular, I recognized Dylan Sprayberry from Man of Steel. He portrayed Clark Kent as a young teen. I grabbed an autograph from him for my daughter. I also got a photo and autograph from Melissa Ponzio. She was extremely friendly and seemed truly grateful of all of the attention and love she was getting from her fans at both her table and during her panel. She’s the latest in a growing line of The Walking Dead cast members that I’ve met who all seem to go out of their way to make the fans know how much they appreciate them. I plan on blogging about my experiences with them in the near future.
There were quite a few cosplayers on tap as well. A number of them impressed me very much with their handiwork, and I’m now a fan of many of them on Facebook.
Of course, no convention is worth attending if you don’t have anyone to hang out with while you’re there, so my favorite part of the convention was catching up with a few friends. My friends Garrett and Stuart allowed me to tag along with them to the convention. We had a blast being completely nerdy and completely goofy. On Saturday I caught up with some of my favorite green people, Orion’s Envy. They performed on Saturday evening and put on a great show as always. I got to hang out with them and a couple of new friends later that night at the dance and in the bar. As always, they were super nice and super friendly and paid more attention to me than I probably deserved. They rock!
On the final day of the convention I was totally worn out. Of course, partying way passed my bedtime probably didn’t help!
The Houston Con is definitely moving in a positive direction. As I’ve already stated, I hope that whatever caused the demise of Space City Con has been dealt with, because I’ve personally witnessed the strains and stresses of convention board politics destroy conventions, friendships, and relationships with other conventions. If I have anything to complain about with The Houston Con, it’s that the atrium area could have been better policed by staff, as I noticed a lot of people walking around without con badges checking out things.
I hope to see H-town again next year!
Ken's Alternate Universe! 