Sabakon RealFAQs & Answers from 2015

As a convention run by the fans, for the fans, we are dedicated to delivering an event that exceeds our attendees' expectations. Year after year, we are always looking for new ways to make our convention more enjoyable for everyone, from our vendors and guests to attendees and volunteers. 

 

We've heard your honest feedback and listened to your concerns, and we are proud to announce some changes that we think will help bring you a better experience. We will also be addressing a variety of concerns that have been brought to our attention, in the hopes that having an honest and open dialogue will promote better understanding and result in creative, new ideas for Sabakon's future.

 

Can Sabakon move to another venue that is larger/in another location/has better meeting room space?
    Short Answer: Sabakon is not yet ready to move into another venue for 2016.

    Long Answer: Although we would love to have more space to bring in more vendors, increase the size of our main events hall, increase the size of our game room, and have more panels, Sabakon simply can't afford another space at the moment. The price increase that comes with moving to the next best venue is simply something that is not feasible for the convention at the current time. On top of that, many hotels with convention space require a certain amount of room bookings in order to get a large amount of meeting space. Being mostly a local con, we do not fill up as many hotel rooms as most hotels would require for the amount of meeting space we would need. In essence, Sabakon attendance and hotel room bookings will need to increase in order to be able to move into a new venue.

 

Why can't you just increase ticket and exhibitor prices in order to move to a new venue?
        The price difference between moving up to the next best venue is not in the hundreds or thousands, but rather in the tens of thousands. The price increase for tickets would almost have to double in order to attain that goal. Even if that was feasible, we would still have to have a good number of hotel room bookings to be able to get a large enough venue space as well.

 

The water stations at Sabakon 2015 were usually always empty or took too long to be refilled. Will this be fixed this year?
    We have spoken with Alexis Park about having more frequent refills at the water stations around the event. We will also have staff scheduled to check on the water stations periodically so that we can inform the hotel if the stations need refilling.

 

Can you get better/different security for this year's event?
    Yes, and we will! Alexis Park hotel security will still be onsite, but we are able to hire our own security this year. Sabakon staff will be meeting the new security staff beforehand to ensure that their work and treatment of Sabakon attendees and guests exceeds our standards.

 

There aren't many events/activities at Sabakon that interest me. Can you add more?
    Yes! We always love adding more new and unique events and activities to our programming, BUT we don't know what will interest you if you don't tell us. For 2015, we had over 150 different panels, over 8 different performances, and over 15 different games and activities to participate in. We would be happy to improve upon the programming we have -just let us know what you'd like to see! Feel free to let us know by contacting us via the contact form on the website!

 

The main events hall was too crowded last year and I wasn't able to attend some main events -is this something you can fix this year?
    Usually, our main events hall seats 300 people comfortably with the round tables in the back from people who just want to casually spend time in the hall. This year, we will be removing those round tables and adding more rows of seating to the back of the main events hall to hold approximately 150 more people in the room. This will help to allow more people to attend main events.

 

The VIP badges last year didn't really make me feel like a VIP. Will be you improving upon them this year?
    We will be removing VIP badges altogether, as they were actually a misnomer. VIP badges really should have been called Con Bundles, because that's essentially what they offer: a bundle that includes extra goodies along with the pass. That being said, we will be releasing a Con Bundle this year for those who are interested in getting a Sabakon 2016 t-shirt and extra goodies as well.

 

What improvements will there be to the maid cafe this year?
    Sabakon 2016 will not feature a maid cafe, BUT we will have a Food Wars-themed cosplay cafe that will be open for just one day during the event. It will be more like a special event rather than ongoing session at the con.

 

Where will I be able to sit and hang out that's not in the panel rooms or in the main hall?
    The manga library/kpop lounge will be indoors this year and will be available for everyone to hang out and relax in while they're not doing other activities. We will be providing card games, board games, beanbag chairs, tables, etc.

 

Can you add more stuff to do in the game room?
    Why yes -yes we can, and we WILL. We will be adding many more tournaments in the game room for you competitive gamers out there. We will also be trying to bring some PCs in for tournaments and freeplay. Just be sure to keep checking back on the site for updates!

 

Many of the panels last year were either cancelled or late -what will you to fix this problem?
    We will be increasing staff in our programming department, which will help with the organization and planning of the panel rooms this year. We understand how frustrating it is when panels start late or are cancelled, so we will have an improved communications system with panelists this year, as well as a panelist packet which will give all of the information panelists require in order to have a smooth-running panel at Sabakon this year. With regards to cancelled panels -we unfortunately have no control over fan panels that are cancelled, as they are not run by Sabakon itself but rather by fans like you. We do have a policy that if a person cancels a panel without proper notice or cancels a panel on the day of the convention, we will be more wary of allowing them panel time in the future. 

 

Can you put registration in a better place?
    We will be moving registration out of the hall this year, but we have yet to figure out the best location for it. Ideally, we would like to move registration to the lobby, but Alexis Park has not allowed to us to use it in the past. Rest assured that we are in the process of figuring out a better location for registration this year.

 

Who is in charge of Sabakon this year?
Dani (Owner) and Katie (Con Chair) are in charge of Sabakon this year.