SNAFU Con 2021

SNAFU Con 2021 was held at the GSR.

The theme was Time Travel.

The dates were Oct 28 - Nov 1

We had 1536 people at the convention.

Summary of Staff Events

Beta keeps a voice recorder going during con. This year it was transcribed by a service and fed into an AI to give us a summary of what happened. This summary of staff events is skewed heavily towards registration or other things Beta happens to be around a lot.

Friday

Overall the vibe and energy seemed positive despite all the problems, with people enthusiastic to be back at an in-person con. Staff took problems in stride and kept up morale, supporting each other through the stressful launch of the con. It was a hectic but overall positive first day, with some minor conflicts and logistical issues. The staff worked together to handle problems and prepare for the next days of the convention.

Fun Stories

• Someone was walking around with a llama puppet that would "pass out" periodically. It "tied one on" the night before apparently!

• An attendee was really excited to win the game show at the con, having tried unsuccessfully for 7 years prior.

• There was a mysterious "Tatami" anomaly location that attendees were trying hard to find as part of a puzzle game. Even the staff didn't know where it was hidden.

• One of the prizes in the raffle area was apparently a saxophone, which seemed like an unusual and random thing to give away.

• The staff took particular joy in creatively telling difficult people "Thank you" after complaints, knowing it would annoy them.

• Attendees were wandering the halls in creative cosplay outfits like shark onesies, a Rick cosplay, and a group dressed as Dragon Maids.

• The llama puppet at one point had a pen and paper and was miming angrily writing, to the amusement of staff.

Overall there seemed to be fun and lighthearted moments amongst the stress, with enthusiasm for fandoms, cosplay, and games bringing some humor and connections.

Staff Happenings

• They were setting up registration and preparing for opening day of the con. The gaming staff were late to arrive which delayed opening the main room. There was confusion over the gaming room schedule - they thought it opened at 9am but gaming staff said they scheduled it for 10am.

• There were issues with communication between departments. The heads of Rovers were not informed promptly about incidents involving alcohol and inappropriate behavior that the gaming staff had handled. This led to some confusion and discussions about improving communication channels going forward.

• They escorted some attendees out who had smuggled alcohol into the dry con. The Rovers heads emphasized the need for gaming staff to contact Rovers right away when handling these types of incidents.

• There was some issues with a vendor who was unhappy they couldn't attend due to lack of proper vaccination. The vendor coordinator handled this professionally.

• Registration faced some issues like running out of certain supplies, badges getting lost, and confusion over schedules. But overall they seemed to cope well with the chaos.

• They were short on volunteers but managed to pull things together and keep the con running smoothly.

• There was an issue with some attendees not adhering to the mask policy. The "sharks" were called in to enforce the mask rules.

• Someone found $200 cash on the ground and turned it in to lost and found. The original owner was located and very thankful to have it returned.

• They discussed strategies for handling long registration lines and triaging people who had pre-paid versus unpaid.

• A guest speaker had issues with getting registration and hotel room sorted out, but they were able to get it handled.

• There was brief drama between two roommates/attendees, one was crying and they speculated it was anxiety issues or conflict over a lost badge.

• A child couldn't get a badge because their vaccine paperwork wasn't in order. The staff felt bad but had to turn them away per policy.

• The staff members discussed how exhausted they all were already, having had very little sleep over the past few days of setup.

• There was a "Code Green" to address inappropriate behavior in the vendor area.

• A girl couldn't get in because her mom wouldn't let her get vaccinated. She had to wait in the hallway until her mom could pick her up.

Considerations for next con

• Improve communication between departments - ensure gaming, rovers, and others have clear contact protocols for incidents.
• Make vaccine requirement communications clear and give deadlines well in advance.
• Review room/area schedules ahead of time to avoid confusion on open and close times.
• Keep focusing on attendee experience - rapid response to issues, fun activities and games, supporting staffers.