COVID-19 made it a “complete blessing” that FanX Salt Lake Comic Convention didn’t hold a spring event, FanX co-founder Dan Farr said. Nonetheless, after holding a spring convention for five of the previous six years, FanX didn’t plan on organizing one for this spring.
That’s because its novelty was wearing off. There was little time to market it. And its prior revenue was down 40 to 50 percent from the fall event despite being 20 percent discounted, Farr said.
That doesn’t mean that FanX isn’t looking at doing an event in the spring, Farr said. (And that’s aside from its fall convention that is scheduled to take place, as usual.)
“A single-arena event is a format that could happen,” Farr told That Hashtag Show.
Farr spoke further to the single-arena event. He said that FanX could invite Mark Hamill and “Star Wars” cast members in organizing a “Star Wars”-themed event. Or staff could look to put together a “Lord of the Rings”-themed function.
FanX attendee Devin Edwards, a therapist in Price, Utah, was positive about a single-arena event.
It’s “a really cool idea if it’s a genre I’m really excited about,” Edwards said.
In fact, FanX was “looking for (a single-arena event) this spring, but we didn’t find the right lineup for that,” Farr said.
Farr spoke further on not doing a convention this spring. Two conventions per year “hits people’s budget twice per year instead of once per year,” Farr noted. (The spring convention makes the count two conventions per year.)
FanX attendee Kevin Pomeroy, a web content developer in Taylorsville, Utah, said: “Instead of being stretched thin, I can make the most of the annual convention experience.”
One of the things I like about just one (convention) a year is affordability.”
FanX fan and attendee Devin Edwards
Pomeroy also noted that “the idea of a single convention in Salt Lake is something that I and others can look forward to all year. This allows us to spend our money on enjoying a big, epic event.”
Utah Gov. Gary Herbert has a timeline for dealing with coronavirus. Given that, the fall convention (to take place Sept. 17 to 19) should be a go.
“We should be OK,” Farr said.
