SoonerCon 2007 Pictures and Review

Finally got all of my SoonerCon 2007 pictures resized, tweaked and posted. Just click on my Photobucket link in the sidebar and look in my sub-albums. I have a separate sub-album for my pictures from "The Merlene Show," but I'll post more about that tomorrow. Most of the pictures I took came out pretty well, but there were a few that were too dark and needed to be lightened and a couple that came out fuzzy and had to be sharpened (and even then they don't look as good as they could have).

I didn't take nearly as many pictures as I intended to, usually because I'd see someone or something interesting, think "I really need to get a picture of him/her/that before the weekend is over," then I'd get lazy or sidetracked and never get around to taking one. I already promised myself I'd take more next year (and anyone who reads this has my permission to nag me next year to make sure I do it!).


This year's SoonerCon was very well-run and very well-attended--the last attendance estimate I heard was about 1000 people, which is very good for the second year of a convention. It was good to just hang out with friends for three days, including a few that I hadn't seen in a long time.

Correction from the comments: the actual attendance this year was around 700 people. Thanks to Angie for posting the correction.

The art show and dealer's room were both good, but the dealer's room really needed a button dealer, since buttons are inexpensive and one of the things that lot of people (including me) usually look for at conventions.

The programming schedule had a good selection of panels and other activities, and the ones that I went to, or saw in passing, were usually well-attended. (The children's writing workshop I went to on Sunday morning didn't attract any kids, but the adults that were there had a lot of fun.)

The con suite seemed a little small for a con this size, but it was always kept neat and clean and had a good selection of consumables available (including fresh fruit, which is always a nice change from cookies and donuts).

The one big disappointment about the con was the lack of room parties. At a convention this big, there are usually at least one or two open parties on Friday night and three or four on Saturday night. This time, however, there was one party on Friday (hosted by the ladies of Yard Dog Press, who can always be counted on to throw a good room party) and none at all on Saturday. I know there were two local clubs that usually throw parties that decided not to this time, but nobody knows what happened to all of the groups from other conventions that are usually on hand to throw parties to promote their cons. Hopefully this was just a fluke and we'll have a lot of parties next year.

The con hotel (the Biltmore at I-40 and S. Meridian) handled their first science fiction convention pretty well (or seemed to) from what I could see, although I heard about some problems some other folks had with them later on. The sleeping rooms were clean and comfortable and reasonably priced and I hope the con can arrange the same price or something close to it for next year. The hotel restaurant was good and also reasonably priced, although the wait staff was sometimes a little slow about bringing drinks or refills. There were plenty of couches and chairs in most areas of the hotel, so there were always places for the fans to sit and visit.

My one big complaint about the hotel (and the weekend in general) had to do with the location of my room. The hotel is divided into three buildings--the main building, the south wing, and the west wing. All of the convention function areas were in the main building and the south wing, while my room was in the back hallway of the west wing, which meant a seven-minute walk to get from my room to the art show/dealer's room area. (The only way my room could have been any farther would be if it had been across the hall and up on the second floor.) Needless to say, I didn't make any trips back to my room unless I absolutely had to.

Next year, the con needs to strongly encourage the hotel (and maybe require it via their hotel contract) to keep all of the convention sleeping rooms as close to each other and to the convention function areas as possible, and they have enough rooms available that this shouldn't be a problem. The only convention guests who need to be in the west wing, IMHO, are the ones who specifically ask to be there for any reason.

Overall I had a great time and I'm already looking forward to next year (and I'm already thinking about volunteering to work on the con next year, but I haven't made a final decision yet).