The Dandelion Report ([info]dandelionreport) wrote,
@ 2005-01-14 16:42:00
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I've found filk conventions have different personalities, usually based on the people running the convention as well as regional differences. GAfilk, for example, is more of a "relaxacon" than other conventions, where the emphasis tends to be more on hanging out and socializing rather than intensive programming, and only a few concerts. OVFF usually has several tracks of programming at once, including workshops and many concerts throughout the weekend. I enjoy both types of conventions. :-)

What do YOU like about different filk conventions? Please focus on positive rather than negative; this is NOT an invitation to list pet peeves and complaints. What appeals to one person about a particular convention may not appeal to someone else. I reserve the right to remove any post that I consider inflammatory or too negative. The purpose of this FAQ answer is to help promote the best aspects of each convention as well as explain some of the regional differences between conventions.

You can post your answer directly into the FilkFAQ page for this question, or post it below.

Thanks for your help in making the Dandelion Report FilkFAQ a useful resource for the filking community! You can find the full list of FilkFAQ questions here.



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[info]pocketnaomi
2005-01-14 09:54 pm UTC (link)
I love GaFilk's dance band and dance floor at the banquet. I'd be thrilled if more cons did that... and I'd probably attend a lot more banquets!

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[info]mrlogic
2005-01-16 09:01 am UTC (link)
I agree with this, but the high price of the banquet (due to the hotel's catering costs) makes it difficult for many people to attend who might otherwise really enjoy the music and dancing. Perhaps the banquet at this con (or at other cons wishing to emulate it) could be arranged such that those who wish to eat can pay for it, and those who wish to come for music and dancing could still attend. I've seen a lot of posts from people who "wish they'd gone to the banquet", who didn't do so primarily for financial reasons.

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[info]braider
2005-01-16 03:24 pm UTC (link)
Oh, duh, yes. I forgot to mention the GAFilk banquet. I just mentioned yesterday to D&J that the thing I missed most about not going to GAFilk this year was the banquet. VERY cool. I thought about throwing together an Irish-themed house band for the OVFF banquet this year, but decided too much other stuff goes on at our banquet (i.e., awards, announcements) and that having music would just make it drag on instead of adding to the enjoyment.

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[info]pocketnaomi
2005-01-16 03:39 pm UTC (link)
Yeah, the OVFF banquet has its entertainment already in the form of the Pegasus awards. (I don't think the announcements count as entertainment; I think they count as a grudgingly necessary nuisance.) But most con banquets are just a place to dress up and get food, which can be nice in its own right at times, and I certainly understand why the economics of hotel space requires that one have them, but it would be *so* great if they added dancing too.

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[info]mrlogic
2005-01-16 09:02 am UTC (link)
Because I hate missing things, I tend to be more comfortable at cons where there are not a lot of conflicting events and programming. I loved OVFF, and hope to go again this year, but there was often a sense of missing something wonderful that was happening at a given moment.

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[info]braider
2005-01-16 03:21 pm UTC (link)
Hm. Brief sum-up:

OVFF: I like the fact that it has a lot of workshops. Wish I had the time to attend them. Hazards of helping to run the con.

GAFilk: Love the room to filker ratio. Lots of filk space, and the circles are small enough that people don't have to be competitive in order to get a chance to sing.

FKO: I really like the fact that you can usually find a filk room empty. People tend to cluster because the big room is plenty big, and there's a second really fairly big room (with a cool design to boot!), so the third filk room is open for random stuff, like voice lessons or a few people trading songs.

I've only been to the other filk cons a maximum of once, and all of those pretty long ago now - about 7-8 years, in fact. Thus, no clear memory about what's really good about those cons in particular. (Though the one in Van Nuys had a *really* pretty hotel when I was there....)

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[info]smallship1
2005-01-16 04:21 pm UTC (link)
I like the British filkcon because it's in Britain. Easier to get to.:)

FilkContinental has a wonderful relaxed atmosphere (which takes a lot of work from the concom and others) and man, that scenery!!!

OVFF 1993 was amazing, but a very long time ago, so see [info]braider's post. Marcon 2000 was awesome but not strictly a filk con.

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[info]madfilkentist
2005-01-16 11:14 pm UTC (link)
Re FilkContinental: Definitely. What other con takes place in a real castle?

I've only been to one Consonance, but the fannish musical was a definite feature, and I understand they at least try to make that a regular feature.

OVFF: The sheer quantity of music. Intimidating at times, but I like it.

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[info]msminlr
2005-01-16 11:51 pm UTC (link)
GaFilk is the only specifically filk convention that I attend regularly. I've been to a couple of OVFF's recently, and one waaay-back (about #2 or 3, istr) and haven't been to a west coast filk con since Bayfilk I. So I don't have a large basis of comparison.

I definitely like the relaxacon atmosphere of GaFilk.
I like the nutritious consuite food offerings (the eating of which for most of the rest of the convention makes it possible for me to afford the banquet ticket price).
I LOOOVE the jazz band at the Banquet.

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[info]jalapenoman
2005-01-24 04:46 am UTC (link)
Well, I attended GAfilk for the first time this year, but I have been going to OVFF for um, 10 years or more now. I like both approches. I finally did attend a banquet diner at GAfilk, and they do know how to do a good house band (almost the only reason I went - I am not very comfortable dancing). I realize that OVFF has the awards to hand out, but a small dinner entertainment might draw more to the banquet. Unfortunately, I think that would draw out the OVFF banquet into an even longer event, not necessarily a good thing.
The best thing is making sure there is a solid, interesting programing at the con to keep people interested and entertained. Personally, I look at a filk con registration (and hotel if out of the area) as a multiple concert ticket. Not only do I get to listen to the known people in filk, but I also get to hear the late night sharing from everyone. I that vein, I think that asking a "Big Name Filker" to hit some of the alternate rooms to get more variety going in open filks is a good thing. It happens informally now, but I think that would make the cons more interesting, and make it easier to get a first time con-goer interested in the overall idea of filk.
Wow, I didn't expect to write so much....

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