IF YOU HAVE A PHOTO SHOOT, PLEASE READ!

[oldschoolanimefan]

I don't know how well the word is being spread, but photo shoot locations in the park are probably going to be pretty limited due to Couvfest. I don't know where they're putting their stages, but I can see one being the big gazebo that is centered for many of the photo shoots. For more info on Couvfest, here's their address: http://www.couvfest.com/location.html

[graphicnovellife]

I really wish the City of Vancouver would be a little more considerate about our con :/ It's not like we are new news at this point and seems like it keeps getting harder to do anything at that park

[Valkyrie542]

Couvfest was occurring about the same time as Kcon last year too, so I figure we're all going to share the space from now on. ^^;

Don't forget, the Saturday Market is in parts of the park as well - so we all must remember to be aware and be respectful of everyone!

[RobinSena]

Last year Couvfest was not at the Esther park next to the Hilton, it was at Turtle Place Park, which is several blocks away, and it was an all day event a week earlier, on August 24th.  Two years ago Couvfest was on Friday (night) and (all day) Saturday, August 3-4, 2012 and was also at Turtle Place Park.  This is the first year that it's been in direct competition with us for the park.  I don't mind sharing the park for a day.  But having to share it for 3 days (over half the con) sucks.

I don't count the Saturday market as an event that takes over the park, or is in competition with us for the park.  It mostly happens next to the park, on the street area, not in the grass and under the trees, and I like the market for the food opportunities it brings.

[graphicnovellife]

Last year Couvfest was not at the Esther park next to the Hilton, it was at Turtle Place Park, which is several blocks away, and it was an all day event a week earlier, on August 24th.  Two years ago Couvfest was on Friday (night) and (all day) Saturday, August 3-4, 2012 and was also at Turtle Place Park.  This is the first year that it's been in direct competition with us for the park.  I don't mind sharing the park for a day.  But having to share it for 3 days (over half the con) sucks.

I don't count the Saturday market as an event that takes over the park, or is in competition with us for the park.  It mostly happens next to the park, on the street area, not in the grass and under the trees, and I like the market for the food opportunities it brings.

That's what I thought I had read. The only reason I liked having this Con in Vancouver was because the two hotels kinda created a closed off community. People not involved in the con still could come in, but for the most part we were really bothered. it's cool that the city is having this event, but why did they have to move it? I hope the Kumoricon staff consider moving the con next year or try working with the city to prevent this happening again.

[Valkyrie542]

Last year Couvfest was not at the Esther park next to the Hilton, it was at Turtle Place Park, which is several blocks away, and it was an all day event a week earlier, on August 24th.  Two years ago Couvfest was on Friday (night) and (all day) Saturday, August 3-4, 2012 and was also at Turtle Place Park.  This is the first year that it's been in direct competition with us for the park.  I don't mind sharing the park for a day.  But having to share it for 3 days (over half the con) sucks.

I don't count the Saturday market as an event that takes over the park, or is in competition with us for the park.  It mostly happens next to the park, on the street area, not in the grass and under the trees, and I like the market for the food opportunities it brings.

That's what I thought I had read. The only reason I liked having this Con in Vancouver was because the two hotels kinda created a closed off community. People not involved in the con still could come in, but for the most part we were really bothered. it's cool that the city is having this event, but why did they have to move it? I hope the Kumoricon staff consider moving the con next year or try working with the city to prevent this happening again.

I think the only way to prevent this from happening again in the future is if the staff held the con earlier in August. It can't be in September because a lot of folks go back to school and wouldn't be able to attend, but early in August might work.

Strange, I didn't know that Couvfest was somewhere else previously, I thought some people used one of the gazebos last year and some cosplayers were a bit disgruntled by it...

I love that Kcon is held in Vancouver because it's so much more spacious and the scenery is beautiful!
It just got too big when it used to be held in Portland so I'm very grateful that staff made the change.

Hopefully, both attendees at Kcon and Couvfest will get along just fine - I'll be curious to read what everyone says later after the con's over.

[RobinSena]

Couvfest wasn't what was at the park last year on Monday, that's Oxfest, which is a totally different event.  If they ever made Oxfest over lap con by more than just one day, it would be a disaster and I'm pretty sure it would seriously affect con attendance for that year.

I don't mind sharing the park for a day (even if it is/was an obnoxious thing like Oxfest).  We've never had a con where we didn't share the event for a day.  What bothers me is the fact that we have to share it for 3 days (over half the con), with the entire park taken up by the music festival.  And while couvfest recently added a "shout out" to Kumoricon on their website (and the free promotion is nice) their line about "enjoy activities taking place in the Hilton across the street from Esther Short Park." really makes me mad.  Yes, we enjoy our activities in the Hilton, but we also enjoy our activities in the park.  Some of my favorite memories took place in the park, not the hotels.  What really bugs me is the fact that couvfest has been in the same neighborhood as Kumoricon for 3+ years and it would be impossible for them to not know that we use the park a lot and yet they still decided to move into a space that already has a huge number of people in it. 

I'm seriously considering contacting the Vancouver Special Events and letting them know that allowing a 3 day event into an area that already has 5,000+ people in it was terrible site management.  Yes, we aren't paying for the park usage (which would cost the con far too much $ to do) but regardless of what some people say, it is one of the main reasons we keep coming back to this location.  Between my husband and I, we've been coming to Kumoricon since the first year and the years when there was no park near the con space were terrible years, with a lot of complaining by the majority of con attendees.  If the city of Vancouver continues to schedule lengthy events over top of our con, I'm almost certain that we would move elsewhere because of the attendance drop.

[graphicnovellife]

Sounds like a good idea if a lot of con goers write to them and let them know how we feel and hopefully help prevent other events from impeding on the space

[GregAtlas]

I've been to their website and it appears they know they will be sharing the space with us. With any luck, their bands will be playing some anime and game music. It's not the end of the world yet and from what I've researched, they don't seem to get nearly as large of a crowd compared to that oxfest group (we'll see, though).

[EveofAbyss]

I took a quick look through the CouvFest lineup, and it actually seems like a pretty awesome complement to the energy Kumoricon will already be bringing to the space. Yes, there will be more people in the park, but I think that will be a reasonable trade-off for the atmosphere the various bands will be providing. Lots of great-sounding indie and folk artists are set to play, and I think that will fill the park with something quite enjoyable actually.

Look on the bright side, everyone!

[GregAtlas]

Based on their event's facebook numbers, it appears only about 300 people plan on going. That could be spread out over the days, too.

[princessmoon]

Based on their event's facebook numbers, it appears only about 300 people plan on going. That could be spread out over the days, too.

Can't say if those numbers are accurate... Kumoricon's 2014 facebook has '759' people attending. I'd say we'll have much more than that!