So You're Thinking About Hosting a Con...

How to Put on a Beauty and the Beast Convention
updated 2019.2.3
These pages contains the collected wisdom of a number of fans who have put on successful cons all over the U.S. It was first developed from notes started in 2004, compiled into a document several years later, and added to and amended over the years. Fans who have expressed interest in running conventions have been offered the information herein and many have used it as a way to learn what has worked in the past, and some have thereafter added their own experiences to it.

No one compilation can pretend to cover every exigency, but it has proven useful as a guide, a checklist, or for basic information to get started without having to re-invent the wheel. For Winterfest 2019, this document is being memorialized online, although future convention organizers may continue to add ideas and the document may continue to expand.

Those whose advice is contained herein include Rosie Badgett, Becky Bain, Deb Fowler, Lori Hicks, Marilyn Howard, Judy Loyd, Rosemarie Salvatore, J’Ecris, Laura Goist, Pat Lurvey, and JoAnn Baca, with input by many other fans who contributed their expertise in areas such as Art Room, Decorations, Conzine Editing, Dealers Room, Auctions, Talent Show, AV, Virgin Wrangling, etc. For sharing their expertise in these areas, thanks go to, among others, Donna Howard, Suze Howe, Shelia Keith, Pat King, Cathy Moran, Carole Whitehead, Sandy Chandler Shelton, and Sandy Tew. Obviously, this isn’t an exhaustive list of those who have contributed to or chaired convention activities over the years, but it provides a wide cross-section of experiences from which to draw.
Hosting a con is a big BIG project! We've broken things down into the following categories. Click for more info.

Getting Started Con Programming
Your Con Team Decorations
Hotel Art Show
Guests Dealer Room
Budget, Fundraising, Pre-con Organization Auctions
Promoting Your Con Logistics
Merch: Tote Bags, Tee Shirts, etc Add-on Days
Conzine
Charity After Your Con

Wondering about the how-tos of attending a con? This is a few years old, but still pretty accurate.
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