Today is essentially the last ‘free’ day before things get crazy for me. Friday and Saturday, the 28th and 29th of October 2011, are the two culminating days of a journey that began over ten years ago with a dream and which began in earnest in February.
Good or bad, awesome or horrible, in three days everything will be over.
It’s crazy to imagine.
It’s crazy to think that this thing that I have thought about to the point of obsession for these many years is about to finally arrive and will be over before I realize it.
Wow.
And this thing has had its own awful life, this Flint Horror Convention. I have loved and hated it at the same time, I have felt more connected to a project than I ever have but have gone through times where I questioned the logic of what we were trying to do. And it was always ‘we’. I knew from the outset I couldn’t do this alone. It was too big and for me, this wasn’t about ME. My writing, my art, that’s about ME. That’s the stuff that I am fully in control of, this convention is not. Yet this is one of the most important things I have ever been involved in. Important not just to me but because we want to lay the groundwork for other conventions and events to come to Flint. We want to let the world know that Flint isn’t dead, that it’s fighting, that we’re all fighting to make this a better place
And will a horror convention make Flint safer, wealthier, better off?
No.
But it will add to the culture here and can give someone reason to visit, to return, and maybe want to become more involved in this area. What I hope we are is hope to all the students, young people, and regular old people who are here anyway that you don’t always have to travel hours away and don’t have to spend lots of money attend these sorts of events.
My hope is that this gives birth to hope.
And it has been pretty amazing, the response we’ve had from people. It’s amazing how many people have been waiting for something like this to come to the area. It’s crazy that no one else tried to do it.
When this whole thing is done with I’ll tell more of the story of how we got to where we are because it’s interesting, in retrospect, but man, when it was happening it was hell.
I can’t say I know how this will all turn out, how we’ll fare, and if people will come, but I hope, and in hope there’s solace and comfort. And in hope there is life. Whatever happens, I know we all worked our asses off to make sure that this came together and that it could be the best thing we were able to put together.
I owe more thanks to so many people that stuck with me, that believed in me and this dream, and I hope this event pays off for all of us and makes them all feel their faith was not misplaced.
The Spooky World of Chris Ringler 