Missing Cons

I am the "Cool Grandma". It's a title I wear proudly. I'm the little old lady who buys the best books, shares the best movies and takes the grandchildren to comic book conventions.

Now, I freely admit that I would attend alone. I have attended alone. But is is so much more fun with the kids along.

When I go it alone, I attend writing panels and enjoy presentations by other Indie authors and people in publishing. I make it a learning experience.

When I go with the kids, it sometimes becomes a shopping expedition. What are all the coolest new gadgets? Who has been immortalized with a Funko-Pop figure? What's in the Mystery Box?

Kids or no kids, Celebrity Row is a must visit. Over the years, we have gotten to meet and speak with several favorites. We've sat through panels presented by stars of Supernatural, Star Trek and Stranger Things. We've laughed with and hugged people we never dreamed we'd get to meet in person, and discovered that they are all just as human as we are.

I bought our 2020 tickets in time to gift them at Christmas, 2019, and we looked forward to Denver's Pop Culture Con for months, only to be heartbroken when it was cancelled.

Ouch.

2020 was a bust in so many ways, but I was saddened by this on more than one level.

Certainly, just my own personal disappointment was an issue. Since I started caretaking my parents, I have planned my trips home around the Con, so I can spend some quality time with my grandchildren.

No 2020 Con in Denver. No conversations on the transit ride, no over-priced meals, no walking the 16th Street Mall and no Meet-and-Greets, panels or toys.

Even without a Con visit, any of those other things were off the table. Too dangerous to risk exposure to a highly contagious virus.

Instead, we ate pizza, which was delivered to the house, and watched movies in masks and played video games, always conscious of maintaining that six feet of separation.

In between doctor appointments and other errands I had to rush through before returning to my folks, we planned for 2021. Surely things would be better in the next year's time, and we'd have a great time.

But...

That 2021 Con has been cancelled now, as well.

*Heavy Sighs*

I have no doubt we will come up with a plan for my next visit, one that will include something more fun than my scheduled doctor visits and errands. But, oh, how I wish we were going to a Con!

The other level of sadness about these cancelled conferences has to do with the people who plan year round for the events. Many vendors lost several months worth of revenue by the cancellations in 2020. As an Indie author, I know well what the loss of even one sales venue can do to your bottom line. And this is a large and lucrative venue.

Denver Pop Culture Con is a non-profit venture. It brings in a year's worth of revenue that provides reading and art programs for youth and inmates in the Metro area. These programs have been invaluable for increasing reading, writing and other educational opportunities, and they took quite a hit in 2020. The loss of 2021 is devastating.

I know things like a world-wide pandemic aren't included in any organization's plan. It came as a shock to everyone. The venue location was put into use as a back up medical center, and we all accepted that it was best to sit it out for the good of all.

But--

The execution of dealing with a virus should certainly have been included in the Government's plan; that it wasn't well handled has led to where we are now--very sadly without a Con for 2021 as well.

This is bad news, and not because we have to go another year without dressing up for a Zombie Walk, or the wonderful costume parades. These things are sad, indeed, for all Con fans. We love everything about the weekend festivities.

But the really bad news? No revenue for venders, artists and authors who depend on this venue for a good percentage of their annual income. No revenue for the non-profit organization that provides learning programs to the area.

Also, no revenue for the area businesses who look forward to the hundreds of visitors who flock to the city and spend those tourist dollars and boost the economy.

And, okay--no fun for "Cool Grandma", either.

I hope this doesn't bust the non-profit, Pop Culture Classroom, which hosts the Con. I hope the Con will return better than ever in 2022.

I hope the kids don't grow up too much before then and they'll still want to hang out with their cool grandma. (Not too worried about this one--they're almost as cool as I am!)

Get your stuff together, 2021. We're tired of missing the Cons.