ZonieCon 2011 cancelled
Arizona furry convention ZonieCon, intended to relaunch in Tucson this September after a decade-long hiatus, has been cancelled.
Chair Scott Malcomson listed various promotion and communication issues – compounded by his Phoenix address, 100 miles away:
As one of the millions of long-term unemployed in this country, [I can't] pay for significant advertising out of pocket. […] Nor have the flyers been moving in any significant numbers. […] There has even been active hostility against the idea of having an Arizona furry convention from other Arizona-based furries. In furry-frequented places where our flyers have been provided, they have subsequently been trashed, and artwork has been posted indicating hostility towards myself.
We were supposed to have an active website up by the end of February […] I was told by one of our core convention staff that they had a qualified volunteer for the website […] March rolled past without any sign of such a website or even any confirmation of who exactly was supposedly working on it. […] Weeks would pass […] We currently have exactly two pre-registrations, and NO hotel room block reservations.
I do not see a future for an Arizona convention which does not have a stronger and more active commitment towards building attendance, or which has a chairman, like myself, unable to provide for its needs. […] ZonieCon is simply not to be.
About the author
GreenReaper (Laurence Parry) — read stories — contact (login required)a developer, editor and Kai Norn from London, United Kingdom, interested in wikis and computers
Small fuzzy creature who likes cheese & carrots. Founder of WikiFur, lead admin of Inkbunny, and Editor-in-Chief of Flayrah.
Comments
I talked to one of the organizers... Scott? A few months ago at the Gamer's Inn meet. I currently HAVE a room reserved for this convention! I didn't know you were doing pre-registrations, but I reserved the hotel room as Zoniecon attendee. (It's been a while, so I don't remember, but I believe I had to enter a Zoniecon code.)
Scott, I don't know how to contact you directly, but I'd be happy to show you my hotel reservation information and confirmation number. The hotel has either messed up... or lied to you! There were a lot of furs planning to attend, and this completely shocks me. I've been looking forward to this con for months!
~Amirrah www.meetup.com/Arizona-Furries
P.S. The above meetup group would have advertised for you. Also, please check out www.AZFurs.com as you could have posted there for free. There's also the AZFurs Yahoo Group that is a free way (with authorization) to send emails directly to furries; it used by Tucson and Phoenix furs.
It would have been a great turn out! Why didn't you ask us for volunteers?
The plot thickens.
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