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Universal Fan Con, a Kickstarter-funded convention celebrating diversity in fandom, has been “postponed” with just a week’s notice. With mixed messages from the organizers and no refunds guaranteed, ticketholders are in uproar.
Fan Con billed itself as the “First multi-fandom Con dedicated to inclusion, highlighting Women, LGBTQ, the Disabled and Persons of Color.” Its lead organizers are Robert Butler of The Black Geeks, and Black Girl Nerds creator Jamie Broadnax. Both flourished as independent voices in geek culture, offering an alternative to the predominantly white and male mainstream. Now, BGN writers are now publicly distancing themselves from the site.
What happened to Universal Fan Con?
Ticketholders are complaining about two key issues: money and a lack of transparency. The postponement news came out of nowhere, one week before the convention was due to begin on April 27. Some attendees received cancellation notices from hotels before they heard from the convention itself. Later, the organizers sent out an email that accidentally CC’d everyone instead of BCC-ing, revealing hundreds of private email addresses.
On April 20, the organizers confirmed the con was “postponed until further notice.” The official statement echoed a familiar story from other canceled conventions: The organizers had bitten off more than they could chew.
“As we built out our floorplan, invited guests, figured out lodging/travel arrangements, and confirmed activities, our costs started to grow exponentially. Unfortunately, the support we were anticipating in terms of ticket sales and sponsorships did not materialize.”
The organizers now say they “are determining how we can support refunds.” In other words, people may not get their money back. This may not be a big deal to locals who bought day passes, but some Kickarter backers bought VIP packages ranging from $500 to $5,000. The final Kickstarter tally was $56,498, with the organizers claiming to have put “significant personal investments” into the project as well.
