Erie Anime Experience 2007 on DCM: October 16th, 2007

Report by TakagiNaoSama

This was the very first Erie Anime Experience. It was held in a brand new convention center (on opening day!) and is the first convention I've ever been to that was right on a lake, making for some beautiful photography!

Attending Staff: DeathCom, Delrog, TakagiNaoSama, Tim

Con staff
(Our experiences with the convention staff overall, including event coordinators, press heads, and of course security.)
Erie Anime Experience had, by far, the best staff we have EVER had the pleasure of dealing with. There was no end to their willingness to accommodate our every want and need. I have never experienced con ops coming to US while we were setting up to give us our press badges. That's simply unheard of! When we needed a cart to haul all our equipment in, they were there. When we wanted to reorganize their curtain setup for our booth, they said no problem. When we asked for tables and chairs they were there within minutes. We didn't even ask for a riser to set the camera up on in order to have a perfect view of the masquerade! They invited us, they expected us, they were perfectly ready for us. We know it's not always easy to prepare for the mountain of stuff and staff we bring to conventions, but EAE did it flawlessly.
Average Score: 150%

Convention Center
We just had to comment on Erie's new convention center! Being by the bay it's perfect for photos, and the setup is great for a convention...and it's shaped like a boat, how can you not love it XD
Average Score: 98%

Masquerade
(Technical and skits)
Since I recorded it and everyone else was busy at the booth, I was the only one who saw it, and I thought it was good considering the size and circumstances of the con. Jason should definitely MC for a larger convention!
Average Score: 80%

Gameroom
(The size of the room, number of machines/consoles, location, and overall presentation of the gameroom.)
EAE's gameroom is probably where they need the most improving. It was small, dark, and a little uninviting. I didn't see many stations set up, but I do give them props for running a bunch of tournaments for their more competitive attendees. It was a good start for a first year though.
Average Score: 63%

Dealer's Room
(The size of the room, number of merchants, variety of merchandise, hours of operation, location, lighting, etc.)
I think they could have gotten more dealers, but there was still a nice variety, and plenty to look at considering the size.
Average Score: 75%

Artist Alley
(The location and size of the alley, placement of the artists, variety of art, etc.)
There were an impressive number of artists set up for as small as the con was. I personally didn't look through the art but the guys said there wasn't as much variety as their should have been.
Average Score: 70%


Overall
(This is our entire con experience including all of the above and everything else that goes into a con weekend combined.)
While it was small, just starting out, and filled with "con virgins," I saw a lot of things at EAE I will never forget.
Closing ceremonies was precious to watch as the youngest attendees got up on stage and expressed their delight. Everyone was invited on stage to talk about their experience and express their thanks. I watched from across the auditorium and was so touched I was only moments away from running up front and grabbing the microphone and saying everything I'm saying here.
I have NEVER seen staff polling the attendees at the end of the day on their experiences, pros and cons, and whether or not they'd come back again next year. My jaw literally fell open when I saw that. Yet another sign of an over-the-top wonderful staff. If EAE staff keeps the same mindset as they had for year one, I think this is going to become a very memorable convention.
Thank you to everyone who made EAE special.
Average Score: 83%

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