Announcing PaizoCon 2014—July 4-6!

I really wish I could go to this one of these years...sadly this will not be that year.

One thing I notice is missing from the blog is the actual 3 dates the con is going to be happening. I thought I heard 4th of July weekend again in earlier posts, but wasn't sure if that was still the case.

It's in the FAQ that's linked. July 5-7.

The dates for PaizoCon 2014 are July 4-6th. You can check this out on the PaizoCon page as well as find the links for the PaizoCon FAQ and the PaizoCon Forum, among other things.

~Justin Riddler
Customer Service

I will be there!!

I really wish I could go to this one of these years...sadly this will not be that year.

One thing I notice is missing from the blog is the actual 3 dates the con is going to be happening. I thought I heard 4th of July weekend again in earlier posts, but wasn't sure if that was still the case.

I've updated the title to include this :)

Wooohooo! If the pathfinder party goes down again this year, I'm not going to miss it!

It's in the FAQ that's linked. July 5-7.

That was my fault. I copied and pasted from last year's FAQ and only changed the year. I've corrected the issue and the dates should all correctly show July 4th-6th.

Booked my room! Very excited to be there for my third year. 2013 was great :)

Which evening is the banquet? I don't see the actual date of the banquet listed in the post or the FAQ.

It's been on Saturday evening every year so far, so it's likely on July 5th.

One of these years, the stars will align. Sadly, not in 2014. :(

Which evening is the banquet? I don't see the actual date of the banquet listed in the post or the FAQ.

July 5th, Saturday night. I'll add that to the FAQ tomorrow!

Tickets purchased, now to book a room.

Woot got my tickets! Now just need to find some roomies and get a plane ticket :P

<Rant>
G%# d$~mit!

Why always 4th of July weekend??

I really want to go to this con. I really want to come to this con and give Paizo lots of money.

I cannot do that on 4th of July weekend. Ever, most likely. I already have to choose between family obligations (including a birthday) and a major conference for my religious community (which has been held on that weekend for decades, so they are unlikely to change).

(Besides, have you ever actually TRAVELED on 4th of July weekend? My personal experience is that it's as bad as Thanksgiving.)

Sheesh, don't you have families you do things with on major national holidays?</rant>

I know Paizo does not plan these things for me personally. I know my ability to attend PaizoCon or not affects absolutely no one but me and absolutely nobody on the world but me does or should give a flying f!#% about whether I can attend PaizoCon or not. But it's just really disappointing for me that the first time I ever heard about Paizo con -- it was in June, and I just couldn't make it that year, but then I was sure to keep my weekends free in June... and ever since they have moved it to 4th of July, thus putting it on the only weekend in the entire summer I am most likely unable to go.

Wait, tantrum's not done yet.

*goes and slams doors and breaks things and throws self on ground and pounds floor* WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

I wish Paizo would not have this in July...it's too close to GenCon and the price of traveling around July 4 is prohibitive as I live in Indianapolis. I know this sounds like whining (it is) but there are many who would love to go.

Flights are $500 at the cheapest; car rental going that distance isn't possible even splitting the cost(not interested in putting 4000 miles on my own car); and a train ticket out there is simply too long and still expensive. Combine this with the cost of GenCon a month later and the cost of food and lodging- no can do.

I know many here in Indy that would gladly go but cannot. If this were even one month earlier it could make a difference in going.

It is very unfortunate. At least I know how those on the west coast feel about going to GenCon!

Tickets purchased! I'm a little tentative next year for budget reasons, but have to reserve the banquet tickets!

Why always 4th of July weekend??

Paizo is in a tough spot when considering when to hold PaizoCon. It's going to conflict with other events and people's schedules no matter what dates they pick, but I'm confident that they are trying to be as considerate of this as possible. I'm even more sure that Paizo's staff and their family members are just as concerned with the convention being held on the July 4th weekend.

I'm guessing there must be some reason Paizo keeps holding PaizoCon over the 4th of July, since I'm 100% sure they are very aware doing so is far from ideal for most people. The folks at Paizo are very smart and obviously very on the ball, so there's got to be some reason they don't hold it, say the very next weekend (July 11th) or the weekend right before (June 27th) for example

Perhaps they get a really good deal renting the space from the hotel that weekend or something?

I will be attending this year and will continue to attend as long as I am able, but the July 4th timing does make this difficult as others have said.

What are the plans when GenCon is in July? (2015, I think)

I'm guessing there must be some reason Paizo keeps holding PaizoCon over the 4th of July, since I'm 100% sure they are very aware doing so is far from ideal for most people. The folks at Paizo are very smart and obviously very on the ball, so there's got to be some reason they don't hold it, say the very next weekend (July 11th) or the weekend right before (June 27th) for example

Perhaps they get a really good deal renting the space from the hotel that weekend or something?

I am sure a good deal of it has to do with when space is available and how much it costs. There may also be a matter of that since they tend to close on national holidays, it means they don't keep the office open on July 4, they can use that time for the con (but OTOH, they're screwing themselves out of a day off).

There's a reason many conference planners will book space years in advance (there's a literary sci-fi/fantasy con here whose runners I am certain book the hotel a good five years ahead of time).

On the other hand, before it was 4th of July weekend it WAS early/mid June, so they seem to have been able to get affordable space at a more convenient time (for attendees) in the past. June is a great time as most other gaming/sci fi cons are in July, August, and September so they get clear of conflicts.

I'm guessing there must be some reason Paizo keeps holding PaizoCon over the 4th of July, since I'm 100% sure they are very aware doing so is far from ideal for most people.

It might be related to attendance continuing to boom higher and higher each year (no change from when it wasn't on July 4th of course). It could also be that they've received good feedback from many about it being held on 4th of July - it's highly convenient for me personally to not take an extra day off. It's also less disruptive to have a stable weekend, that doesn't randomly conflict with other conventions.

Perhaps they get a really good deal renting the space from the hotel that weekend or something?

I believe this is partly the case as well. The Hotel convenience store manager told me that it is typically a very slow weekend, and he'd given most of his employees the day/weekend off before finding out about the Con.

My guess has always been that it's due to it being far cheaper to rent out a hotel for that weekend, as most people will be with family.

July 4th-6th?

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooo! If only it were any weekend but that one!

Is there any chance of holding the Pathfinder Society Special in Any Slot But The Night Of The 4th this year?

-Matt

I'm guessing there must be some reason Paizo keeps holding PaizoCon over the 4th of July, since I'm 100% sure they are very aware doing so is far from ideal for most people. The folks at Paizo are very smart and obviously very on the ball, so there's got to be some reason they don't hold it, say the very next weekend (July 11th) or the weekend right before (June 27th) for example

Perhaps they get a really good deal renting the space from the hotel that weekend or something?

That's my suspicion. For it's size, the Puget Sound area has rather lousy convention/hotel space. I know Norwescon is always Easter weekend for the reasons you mention.

On the other hand, before it was 4th of July weekend it WAS early/mid June, so they seem to have been able to get affordable space at a more convenient time (for attendees) in the past. June is a great time as most other gaming/sci fi cons are in July, August, and September so they get clear of conflicts.

Paizo PaizoCons have been mid June, then later June, then early June, then July 4th x3 (including next year).

It may be convenient elsewhere, but locally our two best gaming cons are both usually in June, plus Origins is in June and some of our locals go to that. So 4th of July has been better.

It really irks me that people are missing out, but it's also so much easier for people to plan with longer notice and consistency (the date was actually announced at last PaizoCon).

It might be related to attendance continuing to boom higher and higher each year (no change from when it wasn't on July 4th of course). It could also be that they've received good feedback from many about it being held on 4th of July - it's highly convenient for me personally to not take an extra day off. It's also less disruptive to have a stable weekend, that doesn't randomly conflict with other conventions.

Well, if the feedback they get is from the people who come to the con, of course they are going to say they it is convenient for people.

Maybe they could survey the community or something. It may WELL work best for most people, but it would be interesting to see the results.

Perhaps they get a really good deal renting the space from the hotel that weekend or something?

It's a slow weekend, because it's a bad weekend for many people to have a convention...

But yes, it means available and cheap.

DeathQuaker wrote:

On the other hand, before it was 4th of July weekend it WAS early/mid June, so they seem to have been able to get affordable space at a more convenient time (for attendees) in the past. June is a great time as most other gaming/sci fi cons are in July, August, and September so they get clear of conflicts.

Paizo PaizoCons have been mid June, then later June, then early June, then July 4th x3 (including next year).

By next year do you mean this coming con in 2014 or in 2015 as well?

It may be convenient elsewhere, but locally our two best gaming cons are both usually in June, plus Origins is in June and some of our locals go to that. So 4th of July has been better.

I'd forgotten about Origins. Not really considering local cons as there are many and they vary widely.

It really irks me that people are missing out, but it's also so much easier for people to plan with longer notice and consistency (the date was actually announced at last PaizoCon).

If it had been announced, why didn't they have it widely and visibly noted on the Website until now? That would help a lot of people.

If it had been announced, why didn't they have it widely and visibly noted on the Website until now? That would help a lot of people.

We typically try not to heavily advertise things before we have product pages up to get tickets. We did have the date in the program book for last year and haven't been shy about discussing it in the PaizoCon forums, however in the future, I would like to see a permanent FAQ for PaizoCon that ideally, after the convention is over, would have the dates for the following year's convention. I think this kind of information is useful to have in a permanent location where everyone can find it if needed. However its another project during an already busy time with strained personnel resources. Definitely something on my radar to address, but I really can't make any promises at this point as to if it will happen.

Regarding the June dates: when we've held PaizoCon in June, I remember a bunch of complaints that it was too close to or on Father's Day. No date is going to be ideal for everyone, unfortunately. We do review both timing and location for the convention every year and there are a lot of factors that go into the decisions.

I really hope that at some point, the timing of the convention aligns with a time frame you can make. One of the best parts about PaizoCon for me is getting to put faces with the names I know from messageboards or from doing customer service work.

The 4th of July isn't ideal, but PaizoCon is worth the hassle so we try like crazy to make it anyway. :-)

I should go reserve my room already.

you and me both ... I went and got all slacker like

Tickets booked.

Can't miss it again!

Tickets booked.

Baird is going?

Well, despite that, I've bought my tix as well. It'll still be fun.

We have booked the 2014 dates (obviously), but for 2015 and beyond, we are in final negotiations on a new hotel. And the dates won't be the 4th of July weekend. At least that is what it looks like right now. For 2015 and beyond. So if you can't make the 4th of July next year, don't fret. There is a very good chance that the dates beyond that won't be the 4th of July. :) Of course, I can't guarantee that those dates will work for everybody either. :)

-Lisa

We have booked the 2014 dates (obviously), but for 2015 and beyond, we are in final negotiations on a new hotel. And the dates won't be the 4th of July weekend. At least that is what it looks like right now. For 2015 and beyond. So if you can't make the 4th of July next year, don't fret. There is a very good chance that the dates beyond that won't be the 4th of July. :) Of course, I can't guarantee that those dates will work for everybody either. :)

-Lisa

You can't?!

[snark]It saddens me to see how far Paizo has fallen since hiring Adam Daigle.[/snark]

;)

And room reserved.

We have booked the 2014 dates (obviously), but for 2015 and beyond, we are in final negotiations on a new hotel. And the dates won't be the 4th of July weekend. At least that is what it looks like right now. For 2015 and beyond. So if you can't make the 4th of July next year, don't fret. There is a very good chance that the dates beyond that won't be the 4th of July. :) Of course, I can't guarantee that those dates will work for everybody either. :)

-Lisa

This is awesome news, thanks. :) And I am sure no matter what, something is always going to seem bad for someone, but if there's something of a rotation, at least it varies whom it is most inconvenient for. ;)

As long as I get goblin brains it could be held on X-mas.

As long as I get goblin brains it could be held on X-mas.

I will ensure delivery, even if by some chance I cannot make it.

Can't miss it again!

No kidding! We missed our butterfrog a lot!

And room reserved.

I hope someone gets a picture of your reaction when your player character sheet collection bursts into flames upon my arrival.

TriOmegaZero wrote:

And room reserved.

I hope someone gets a picture of your reaction when your player character sheet collection bursts into flames upon my arrival.

That requires my picture to be taken, which is a rare occurrence as is.

Maybe they could survey the community or something.

That's true for just about everything Paizo does with the community, particularly PFS and RPGSS. Organized exit surveys would be lovely.

In any case, I can't make it this year either, but at least this time I won't drop $300 on it before I realize it. :D

I'm in again, as is my lovely wife. PaizoCon!

I don't think I can make it this year due to finances with furniture for a new home, but I bought tickets anyway just in case.

ticket bought.......hope to volunteer

Since I'm not American, the only thing I care about for 4th of July is the possibility of seeing some fireworks. I love fireworks
The date is not optimal for me for a completely different reason. Winter school break here starts the week of Paizocon and instead of paying $1800 each or thereabouts for me and my 15yo to attend it's looking like $2400 each for the airfares. Not expecting anyone at Paizo or elsewhere to do anything about that - I promised my daughter she could go, so we'll be going.

The one year Paizocon was the week before Origins, we made a grand vacation out of it. But as Baird said about the back to back cons that year - it was brutal. fun, but brutal.

Tickets for wifey and I......check
Hotel booked.....check

Is it July yet?

It's always the waiting that gets me.

Tickets booked :)

Room been reserved since last Paizocon :)

Now do we have a group code we can use to get the discount applied to pre-existing reservations or do I need to double book so to speak?