Okay, kids, let’s wrap-up the weekend that was Fanboy Expo Las Vegas…
I may have previously commented on smaller pop-culture events, but normally, after attending large events, like my home event in Salt Lake City (FanX), and (now) Fan Expo Denver, Phoenix Fan Fusion, C2E2 in Chicago, etc., one becomes accustomed to massive floor space, shoulder to shoulder crowds, and a consistent general level of activity.
This weekend has been a pleasant reminder that not all events have to be go-go-go, wall-to-wall action for the entire duration of their operating hours.
Fanboy Expo, Las Vegas, is, by any definition, a small event. I don’t know how it stacks up against the other Fanboy Expos throughout the country, but this is Las Vegas, so I was surprised by this fact.
To be clear, FBE is not too big for its venue. It is properly sized, with a “full” vendor floor and celebrity signing area.
The celebrity guest list, while not spectacular in a Salt Lake/New York/City-which-will-not-be-named, A-list kind of way, is diverse in terms of fandoms and media types, including both standalone and “reunion” guests.
But I’ve discussed all this in previous coverage.
What I want to talk about this weekend is not just the run-of-the-mill celebrity rundown or cosplay fashion show.
No, I want to talk about the unsung heroes of fandoms: vendors.
Normally, when you attend a show with tens of thousands (or more) fans, the venue lends itself to being overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of the vendor floors, and so you can walk the floor every day of the event and still notice things you missed previously. There’s just too much content, especially in the face of vendors dealing in repetitive goods such as predictable prints or Funko Pops.
It takes something unusual or (better yet) unique to capture your attention as you walk the aisles, and when you find that thing, you can’t help but find yourself excited by the newness of that thing.
I’ve got some video to of the vendor floor, along with one of the vendors who caught our eye this weekend. Really grabbed us with something we hadn’t seen before, and while the market will likely eventually catch on to what he’s doing and ape it, right now, the novelty of it really sparked us, and we bought several pieces from him. (Watch that interview over on our YouTube Channel when it drops shortly)
Similarly, I purchased 2 lightsabers this weekend. I know, I know… there are a ton of saber vendors out there, and indeed, I already own 1 from one of those other companies and 1 from Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge at Disneyland. I just found the look and construction of these sabers to be irresistible, so I wound up making two separate purchases, which I will detail in THIS VIDEO. Again, you can see it over on our YouTube Channel along with our other event coverage and reviews (but here’s teaser pics).
After speaking with them for a while, I am excited for some of their upcoming plans (none of which include Ghostbusters, sadly).
Anyway, sorry for the somewhat-tangent, but back to the discussion of small events.
As I said, Fanboy Expo (Las Vegas) seems to be a well-constructed affair, but I am left with a similar feeling to one I had a few years ago when I attended another event in Las Vegas, put on by a more high-profile convention organizer, and, while decidedly bigger than Fanboy Expo has been, seemed to be not as big as other events by that organizer around the country.
My thought then, as it is now, is why Las Vegas seems (in my admittedly small sample pool) to not have a higher profile (in terms of attendance) in the pop-culture convention scene?
It certainly does not lack for convention space, between it’s voluminous Convention Center and the various large hotels’ conference spaces, the ready availability of hotel rooms for both celebrity guests and travelling fans to stay, Las Vegas has already established its status as a convention destination, along with an abundance of activities for after convention hours.
So why are Las Vegas events not bigger?
I wonder if it is because, unlike medical conferences, or beauticians’ conventions, or real estate seminars, or what have you, pop-culture convention attendees want something different from their convention experience?
I mean, doctors, lawyers, salesmen, and the like will find their way out of the convention area and into the casinos, or onto the Las Vegas strip to one of the many clubs (both conventional and risque, lol), whereas us geeks…?
Once you get a group of us together, we tend to stay together? It’s so exciting to be with people with a shared passion as opposed to a shared job or career that when the doors close, the event still keeps going, and the casinos don’t get 40,000 extra people in there on any given night. We’re too busy socializing for hours.
It’s a cultural thing, perhaps?
Perhaps, too, the celebrities might eschew attending a huge event in Vegas precisely because it holds so much beyond the convention floor that if they partook of it all, the chances of running into “common folk” increases, perhaps marring what might otherwise have been an enjoyable (but busy) weekend?
Regardless, I wonder what might happen if Las Vegas could convince someone to move a BIG event there one time. What if Fan Expo tried it? FanX (from my guys here in Salt Lake)? What if they got the list of Marvel and DC highliners? The A-list “legacy” stars (Hamill, Shatner, etc.)?
What might happen then?
One can only imagine the possibilities.
I mean, I attended a Wizard World event in Vegas a few years back, held at the Las Vegas Convention Center, and was amazed the crowd seemed so… small. I mean, there were a lot of people, but not A LOT OF PEOPLE, if you know what I mean.
And Wizard has never come back, which tells me that from a business standpoint, it didn’t make sense.
But what if it could?
I know I’ve deviated from talking about Fanboy Expo, but that’s not to downplay the quality of the event; far from it. It was, as I said, a well-run event, but…
what if…?
See you next year, Fanboy Expo.
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