Supanova with Friends
On the weekend just past I attended the Supanova event in Melbourne. It’s one of three main events that run in Melbourne yearly. This year I was only able to attend the Sunday of the event. I also got to bring along a friend who had never attended an event of this kind before. So it was fun being able to do it with someone new.
My main reason for coming to this event was to catch up with friends. And to introduce my other friend into the scene. Even though they had a decent guest line-up there were none that I was particular interested in meeting. Or getting photos or autographs with, so this year was fairly basic. Walking around checking out the show, exhibitors stalls and chatting with friends.
Event Pricing
Having been attending conventions for over a decade I have watched them change and evolve over the years. I must admit that there were a few things about Supanova that were a bit disappointing. For starters the jump in price for entry seemed a bit ridiculous. Most events such as this have an entry price of $25-$30 for a one day pass. This year Supanova were charging $32 online and $40 at the door. Last year I brought a ticket at the door and it was only $35, which at the time I thought was a bit expensive.
It’s the first event of the year in Melbourne and some price increases are expected. But a $5 increase from the previous year, when there were guests like Christopher Lloyd, George Takei and Nichelle Nichols. This year there were no big name guests like that. Least none that I had heard off which of course, I still felt that it seemed like a big jump in price comparison.
Event Review
Last years event, the organisation had been quite disappointing. We missed getting our Christopher Lloyd photos autographed, because they didn’t print in time. The organisation did seem to be a little bit better this year at least. They did have the photographs and autographs separate to the exhibition areas. I feel as though this would take traffic away from people looking at exhibition stalls. The system appears to work for them, as they keep doing it that way.
The queues seemed to be moving fairly quickly and we thankfully got through the doors at the start of the day quickly. It helped that we turned up after the place had opened, so there wasn’t as big of a queue. We had pre-purchased our tickets online.
Transformers and Friends
There were some fantastic costumes to be seen over the weekend, including some incredible Transformer costumes. There were some great panels to attend, not that I attended any myself, I’ve never been a bit panel person. We enjoyed time walking around the exhibition hall and seeing what was available. I always enjoy catching up with different friends who are there, either walking around or working.
Overall
All in all, it was a pretty great day. Other than the entry price there wasn’t much else to complain about. Then again I did not need to get any photographs or autographs. Since most of the queuing is because of these things, I managed to mostly avoid them. Meaning that I can’t review what the queuing was like when I didn’t get to really experience it myself. Looking forward to seeing what the next Melbourne event has to offer. Was great spending time with friends and introducing a new attendee to the event scene.
Complete Guest List
Manu Bennett, Richard Harmon, John Jarratt, Adrianne Palicki, Eka Daville, Sean Maher, Ronnie Schell, Christopher Judge, John Leeson, Bonnie Right, Gareth David-Lloyd, Amy Acker, Burn Gorman, Daniel Sharman, Dawn Wells, Sachin Sahel, Naoko Mori, Jack Gleeson, Allison Mack, Trina Nishimura, Brina Palencia, Bryce Papenbrook, Hitoshi Sakimoto, Jason Hayes, Michael Gluck, Daniel Sharman, Dawn Wells, Katie Houghton-Ward, Bruce Mutard, Trina Nishimura, Martin Abel, Paul Abstruse, Dean Rankine, David Yorn, Brina Palencia, Chamba Cruz, Tom Taylor, Marlee Jane Ward, Maria Lewis, Alisha Jade, Wanda Wiltshire, Alison Goodman, Meri Amber and A.K. Wirru.
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