Time marches on. Year six.
When we first began TempleCon, we hatched a plan that would grow the convention over the course of five years. From its humble beginnings in 2006, to the huge retro-futurism spectacle that was 2010, we've tried to carefully direct this hungry beast of an event with the goal of giving people something not yet offered out there on the convention circuit. We figured that if TempleCon grew consistently over five years, then you obviously saw some sort of value in whatever the hell we were doing, and we could continue to do it for you without all of you collectively feeding us to hungry wolves while pointing and laughing. Thanks!
When we first began TempleCon, we hatched a plan that would grow the convention over the course of five years. From its humble beginnings in 2006, to the huge retro-futurism spectacle that was 2010, we've tried to carefully direct this hungry beast of an event with the goal of giving people something not yet offered out there on the convention circuit. We figured that if TempleCon grew consistently over five years, then you obviously saw some sort of value in whatever the hell we were doing, and we could continue to do it for you without all of you collectively feeding us to hungry wolves while pointing and laughing. Thanks!
But year five is behind us, and 2011 lies ahead. Besides my hairline receding about an inch and a half, this also leaves us asking ourselves if we've accomplished everything we've set out to do with TempleCon in half a decade, and where we're going from here. The answer to that first question is "Yes." While such lofty goals of world domination take far more than five years to achieve, we've proudly exceeded our expectations in offering you a big damn party that you will spend three sleepless days and nights experiencing and 11 months and 28 days talking about and remembering, waiting for the next one.
While all of that is perfectly awesome, I still often think to myself about where exactly TempleCon fits into the major convention landscape. So many successful conventions out there can be succinctly categorized. GenCon is a veritable mecca for gamers as an expo-driven event and is filled with a great deal of industry support. DragonCon is fandom-central, and plays host to some of the best convention costuming and guests I've ever seen, year after year. PAX has solidified itself as a geek-culture and gaming extravaganza, and PAX Boston in particular has brought New England its largest gaming convention ever. Even media-driven shows like ComicCon and E3 have a simple enough concept that it doesn't require a flowchart to explain to someone what goes on once they get there. These are all great events, and it is very easy to figure out what they focus on.
This abject simplicity isn't true with TempleCon, and to be perfectly honest with all of you, it is what both drives and concerns me. When somebody who hasn't been to TempleCon asks me what it is, I still have a great deal of trouble explaining it to them. Is it a gaming convention? Is it ground zero for competitive tournament gaming? Is it is a social event? It is a retro-futurism themed weekend of debauchery, incredible costuming, and gadgetry? Is it a place to get a little (or a lot) tipsy, misplace your snappy fedora, stumble into a room called "The Rabbit Hole," and wake up under a table in a suite completely adorned in random purple stuff on Sunday morning?
Our goal is to make TempleCon all of these things, and more. As this convention matures from its odd childhood into adolescence, all of the things that keep you coming back are finally gelling into something surprisingly cohesive, and despite many different people from many different worlds descending on a single hotel in Warwick, they will all be there for the same reason: To have a really good time. That's why when asked about 2011, I simply tell people what TempleCon truly is, and that is "Fun."
In 2011 we promise to bring you everything you've come to expect, and more. We have a lot of work to do, and we have no doubt in our minds that it will once again be well worth it. Thank you for your five years of support. Without it, we wouldn't find ourselves looking forward to the future with another five-year plan of how to make this upstart convention stand out from the crowd.
Grant Garvin
Convention Director
Convention Director