I think I have this same sort of feeling after every event I’ve put on myself or helped put on – Why?
Why do it?
Why put in the time, and the hours, and the money when the results can be…disappointing at best?
This isn’t an O-Woe post, but a reality check for myself.
I have been doing this all since 2011 and have lost lots of money and even more time on this stuff.
And why?
Why?
Because I love it.
Because I am a fan and I want other fans to have that same feeling of excitement when they get to experience something for the first or the hundredth time.
I want to bring experiences and moments to folks to spark their imaginations and encourage them to Do Something.
And that’s what it’s about.
Truly.
It’s not about the money or the time, but the moments and the people I have met.
The frustration has been real.
It will always be real.
It blows my mind that I have done so many free or low-cost shows and we don’t get packed with people. I know folks are into horror and weird stuff but it seems like they’d prefer to go out of town to partake of it.
And sure, maybe it’s the wares I am peddling.
It may just be a matter of not putting on events people crave.
Fair.
But not necessarily realistic.
Where I live there are not a lot of funky events.
At all.
You have to go at least an hour away to get those.
And I think of myself as a teenager and young adult and I’d have LOVED someone putting on weird horror events or weird art events.
I remember seeing FACES OF DEATH 4 at a midnight screening as a kid and I loved it. Not the movie, but the experience.
I was inspired to do events because of comic conventions and the Fangoria Weekend of Horrors conventions because I was just one weirdo among many.
That’s why I love going to shows even today.
It’s fun to see people I know and to check out the vibe.
So why don’t people attend this stuff?
Heck, I have heard recently that a bunch of the smaller cons aren’t even doing well.
Why?
Is it literally that we will only go to shows that have huge stars?
And lots of them?
Is that it?
It’s crazy.
Will we only go to concerts if they are huge, expensive spectacles?
What’s wrong with us?
Where’s the fan in us?
Where’s that need to be out and doing things?
It makes me wonder if that’s another thing COVID took from us, the desire to go out and see shows, and go to conventions, or go to art shows, or go to events in general.
Is that it?
Did we just fall out of the habit?
We got so used to being behind screens and on phones that we don’t know how to interact any longer and don’t want to?
Again, I go back to the idea that I just did a FREE short horror film festival and only had about twenty people there all day.
THAT’S CRAZY!
Part of me thinks it’s this area, that we just refuse to support anything that is local. I know folks knew about it because ‘X’ amount of people said they were interested in it, a false reading but a barometer of people knowing the show was there at least.
And I dunno.
I know that I love doing this stuff.
What I get out of it is that I hope that inspires kids like I was, to go out, to meet people, to do things, and to dream.
I hope it inspires folks to ‘roll their own’ and do the events they DO want to attend.
If you aren’t being served, serve yourself, man.
It’s real easy to stand by and complain that there’s nothing out there for you, or for you to do.
It’s a world of difference to build what you wish existed.
I wish people followed that dream, that passion, that wish more often, and in so doing I wish they supported the dark dreams others have and let them know they dug what they were doing.
It’s disappointing that my events have never been as embraced as I’d have hoped but, like my writing, I’ll keep doing it, for now, because the passion and love are there.
A day’s gonna come when I am outta gas, when I have had enough, but it’s not today.
And I’m thankful for that.
It’s like a puzzle for me, trying to figure out what folks may want while also challenging myself.
In the end, like my writing, I’ll never be known for this stuff, or beloved for it, or remembered. But I hope that out there somewhere someone will remember the work fondly or have had a good memory of it, and maybe some inspiration.
Heck, if nothing else, a couple got laid at a con I helped put on.
They musta had fun.
Right?
I just want folks to be passionate still about the things they love.
To enjoy them, to pursue them, and to support them.
Our fandoms say so much about us, and at a time when we’re so divided, this is something that can unite us, if we can just shake ourselves from our stupors long enough.
…c…
The Spooky World of Chris Ringler 