I attended Frankfortcon in Frankfort, KY at the Capital Plaza Hotel on July 13, 2019 as an artist in the artist alley. I figured this con would be kind of small, but I had never done it before so I decided to give it a go.

There was construction going on all around the hotel which made it rather difficult to navigate around. Parking was limited in front of the hotel, so I parked my car in the parking garage across the street from the hotel. Parking was free, thankfully, but I had to haul my stuff in my dolly across a busy intersection. This was kind of stressful. It was smooth, thankfully. After that, load in was a breeze. There was plenty of space around my booth, so setting up was quick and easy.

I decided to stay at the hotel the con was held in for convenience reasons. While the lobby and breakfast buffet were nice, the rooms were lackluster. The hotel was definitely not worth the price, even with the discount code the con coordinators graciously provided. If I attend this con in the future, I will definitely be staying at a cheaper hotel to cut down on my travel expenses.

The con was well organized, staff was friendly, and the hours were not too long. Artist alley spaces were a tad pricey for the size of the con, but I understand that having the con at the hotel might have been expensive. While I expected the con to be small, I was surprised with the amount of foot traffic and sales I made. While it was busier than I had anticipated, the con was not super profitable, so I will not be returning next year. However, I highly recommend this con to artists or vendors that live close enough that they would not have to have a hotel expense. 

This con has a TON of potential. More than one con goer told me that the area needed something like this, so there is support from the community. I hope to see it flourish and continue to grow. Frankfort is not far from Lexington, so Frankfortcon is a great alternative for those that get intimidated by the crowds or prices at Lexington Comic Con but still want to experience a con. 

While I will not be attending next year, I do hope to return in the future once this con has had the opportunity to evolve and grow!

I was extremely excited for this con this year, and it did not disappoint! It is a small, hometown con, but the community around the con is so very supportive and it absolutely shows.

The con is at the Covelli Centre in Youngstown, OH. Free parking is provided for vendors (not sure about attendants. If it is not free, it is very very cheap).  Set up is Friday evening or Sunday morning before the con starts. I typically do not like setting up the morning of because it puts too much pressure on me, but the show does not start until 11, so it is completely doable. Speaking of when the con starts, Saturday hours were 11-7 while Sundays were 11-5. I absolutely love this. Cons absolutely do not need to be 10+ hours long - it exhausts vendors and patrons alike - and the staff at Youngstown Comic Con understand.

Load in is very easy. You are provides with an 8 foot table and two chairs/passes. Staff was very courteous and even helped pull my dolly for me! Attendance was about 5,000, but do not let that fool you! Foot traffic is consistent, heavy, and constantly flowing.  The con went by extremely quickly. I highly recommend to anybody interested, new artists to those with much more experience. I already can't wait for next year!