Universal FanGone: FanCon Indefinitely Put On Hold 1 Week Before Event
Let me begin this by saying that I feel really bad for people who invested time and money in Universal FanCon, only to be harshly and unprofessionally notified of its “postponement” (cancellation?) a week before the con. Short of a natural disaster or state of emergency, there is NO excuse for cancelling/postponing a con a week before it’s supposed to take place. Not a month. A week.
The news broke to would-be attendees, guests, artists, and vendors yesterday, in a variety of ways, from being tipped off via involuntary hotel cancellations, to vague twitter posts, to being told “through the grape vine,” as FanCon took their time getting out an official statement on the fact that the convention had been “indefinitely postponed.”
Finally, 8 hours after it was stated on the Universal FanCon Twitter account that the con wouldn’t be happening, they released a more detailed statement. Unfortunately, this statement left everyone affected even more bewildered, disheartened, and downright angry. You can read it here, but be warned that the powers that be have been continuously editing this statement (not a good look, by the way). The gist of it is this:
- They will not be issuing refunds for badges. Instead, they continue to say the badges will be redeemable for a future FanCon event. Meanwhile, people have lost money, faith, and time they will never get back. Nobody is interested in a future FanCon event, particularly when the first one has yet to happen.
- They admitted to realizing they were in trouble, and waiting until the day possible minute to make a decision. This was a horrible idea. They left their community in the dark…and fucked them over, for lack of better words. Transparency and honest communication would have allowed the guests, cosplayers, attendees, vendors, and artists who are now out hundreds and thousands of dollars to make informed decisions and protect themselves. Cancelling/postponing one week before the event is not nearly enough time. People already bought plane tickets, spent money on prints, paid for their booths, etc. This is not good at all.
- The Kickstarter funds are gone, sunk into securing a venue they did not secure, and paying for marketing that they claim did not yield ideal ticket/badge sales. No comment.
- They are placing a good portion of the blame on a lack of ticket sales. Let’s just not. Take responsibility for your own incompetence and poor planning instead of putting that burden on the people you’ve hurt.
- There is currently no rescheduled date for Universal FanCon, but you are welcome to come watch Infinity War with them. You can’t get your money back, but you can enjoy a film with people who misused you money, even though you were promised an entire weekend event.
This is not a small matter. Individual people invested thousands into this event because they believed in the mission: a con that celebrates and promotes the diversity of geekdom. A con where everyone could see themselves represented.
The people who dedicated their time and money to Universal FanCon, who put their trust in the founders, may never see that money again. The vendors who paid for shipping, plane tickets, and booths will likely never see their money again. They can’t make up those costs because the con they planned to turn a profit at (or at least break even and network at) will not be happening. The cosplay guests who already had to pay their own travel fees have non-refundable plane tickets. The hopeful attendees will not be getting refunds for their badges, badges which were still be advertised and purchased the same day the cancellation was announced. Kickstarter backers can kiss their dollars goodbye. People who took time off from work now have nothing to look forward to.
This is not ok. This is a mess, and the response of Universal FanCon has been nothing short of insulting. Let me examine some of this.
The Vice President of the con, Thai Pham, was behind another con which was cancelled at the last minute without issuing refunds to customers. 
In 2016, Pham was responsible for PrideCon, a con which was cancelled without warning and refused to give refunds to ticket purchasers. Sounds familiar, right? Feel free to read the details below.
- https://socialblade.com/blog/inaugural-pride-con-canceled-without-refunds/
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http://twogargs.com/pride-con-cancelled/
A simple google search yielded these results, which begs the question: Did Universal FanCon’s founder not bother to do minimal research on their own VP, or did they simply elect to ignore these glaring red flags?
Speaking of red flags, signs that the convention was in need of ticket sales and funding, despite FanCon’s own posts claiming the contrary, were also seen. This, along with their own admission of hoping for a miracle at the last minute, is evidence of the fact that they opted not to be upfront and transparent with their supporters. Instead of outright saying what they needed and rallying community support in a positive way, they opted to @ Starbucks and the Baltimore Ravens, basically hoping a couple tweets would be enough to get sponsors and thousands of ticket sales. I’m not going to mince words here: It’s rather cringeworthy and indicative of last-ditch desperation.
Clearly, none of this worked out in FanCon’s favor. The result of poor planning, mishandling funds, incompetence, a lack of research, lack of transparency, and multitude of other missteps have led to creators and fans being negatively impacted by Universal FanCon’s sudden cancellation. I have friends who are out of a lot of money and panicking because they put a lot into this with hopes that it would be a success. I do not fault them for putting faith in something they believed in; I wanted it to be a success too.
Who I do fault (and rightfully) are the founders. I fault the people who knew things were not what they seemed and decided to just pray for a miracle, putting other people’s time and money at serious risk. Several Twitter threads are attempting to do just that, in addition to emails being sent, questions being asked, etc. Below is the Twitter info of the founders. Do not attack or harass them. 
Instead, I ask that, despite how you feel about the people directly responsible for Universal FanCon on a personal level, you hold them accountable. Do not pity or coddle them. Focus your empathy and sympathy on the artists (this includes cosplayers, authors, traditional artists, comic book creators, etc), many of who are of marginalized groups and already not the most financially stable. The artists and supporters are the real victims here, and they carry the biggest burden. They were depending on the sales they would have received from a con that will no longer be happening.
Several people and entities, myself included, are offering support for the artists and vendors affected by opening up out platforms for features and free advertisement. Increased visibility for these artists will help drive sales, which will allow them to recoup some of the funds that they spent on a con that shafted them. If you are one of these artists, or someone looking to support them, feel free to check out the following resources:
- Virtual Artist Alley of (Former) FanCon Artists: https://universalartistalley.tumblr.com/
- Email me for a feature here, on my website! Be sure to include whatever info you feel is important (a brief artist bio), shop links, pictures, and a statement about how Universal FanCon’s postponement has impacted you. My email: DeLaDollCosplay@gmail.com
- Fill out this form to be added to the list of FanCon vendors and artists: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSflQDeMFTJTBm9oNCfS-Qcr9ftLPa9EvvvP5GYznkoAuUunjw/viewform
- Quirktastic is looking to feature artists impacted by FanCon’s sudden decision to postpone! Email them at: Features@quirktastic.com
I will update this post with more opportunities for artists as I come across them.
It’s a shame that Universal FanCon itself is doing so little to help the individuals most heavily impacted by its postponement, but it is heartening to see unaffiliated members of the community step up and do what they can to show their support to the people who truly need it.
I’m going to close this post with links to some interesting and relevant Twitter threads, and a few words:
https://twitter.com/itsedwilliams/status/987451963720851456?s=21
Okay so that statement from UFC happened. I gave up & went to bed behind it. Because well, I do cons. Have for years. Chaired oldest feminist sci fi con (WisCon) when it looked like it was going to fail from a combination of mismanagement & bigotry. Cons are hard work.
— Mikki Kendall (@Karnythia) April 21, 2018
So look, I know we all have people we like involved with UFC. I do. I also look at patterns & history & I know who has had issues with ethics repeatedly. But honestly? No one in a senior position on that board is a victim. Vendors & attendees who are out money? They are victims.
— Mikki Kendall (@Karnythia) April 21, 2018
https://twitter.com/maria_giesela/status/987656550738223104?s=21
https://twitter.com/ohemgeelizabeth/status/987466242029043712?s=21
https://twitter.com/ashermaj/status/987900788373680128?s=21
Whatever stories you hear from former BGN writers /staff or people who have worked with Jamie Broadnax, do not ignore them. They’re telling the truth.
— FilmFatale_NYC 🇭🇹 🇩🇴 🇺🇸 (@FilmFatale_NYC) April 22, 2018
I don’t believe that the people behind FanCon were out to intentionally scam anyone, but the impact is the same regardless. There’s no excuse for not doing research on someone who was named the VP of your event, there’s no excuse for keeping people in the dark about what was really going on with the con behind the scenes, and there’s no excuse for not planning ahead and having backup plans.
I’m always cautious about first year cons because you know never know what to expect in this world. The geek subculture is rampant with opportunists, as well as people with good intentions who don’t know what the fuck they’re doing. I opted to closely monitor the FanCon social media and website, and see how everything turned out as opposed to buying a badge for the first year (I’m also a broke college student and hot single mom, so that was a another reason I chose to “wait and see” 😅). Always pay attention to the people who are behind an event, be vigilant, do your research, and hold people accountable when they fuck up.
~DeLa Doll
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DeLa Doll is a culture writer, cosplayer, and artist based in Florida. She has been writing professionally since 2016, with some of her work being featured on sites like HuffPo and /Film. She is an advocate for meaningful diversity and representation in media, a gamer, a mom, and an avid user of DIY hair dye.
