In 2016, we were shopping around for a venue when an unusual idea fell in our lap. It was our third outing with TsunamiCon, following on two years of promising turnout. It was clear from the jump that our first year venue would be too small moving forward, and while we landed a lovely space for our sophomore presentation, the price tag was untenable at the time.
When I fielded an offer from the Wichita Scottish Rite, I didn’t know what to expect. It wasn’t a hotel, which came with more than a few shifts in our thinking, but they wanted to reshape their image with the local community. The grandeur of the venue leant itself well to weddings and quinceañeras, film festivals in the auditorium, and the occasional photo shoot, but they felt that they had more to offer the community. A game con was just the ticket to showcase a more accessible side to the historic building and get lots of fresh faces in to see it.
Then, tragedy struck. We are a grass-roots convention, and we rely on fundraising to pay our bills. Simply put, if we are unable to raise sufficient money in advance, the event doesn’t happen. Thus our reliance on Kickstarter, a platform designed with an all-or-nothing goal implementation that would ensure we covered our costs and simultaneously protect us from ourselves. After all, if we fell short and dove in regardless, the company would have gone belly up and the owners would be looking at a pile of unresolved debt – all while the event itself might crater before we even reached the October dates. And in 2016, during our third such Kickstarter campaign, we didn’t reach our goal.
For about 10 days, we pondered our options and wondered if that was it. The community took note, and word started to spread that TsunamiCon was yet another Wichita game con with a 2-year lifespan after all.
I then received a call from the venue, asking for a meeting. The rep had been following the campaign and, upon realizing that the failure would likely mean cancellation, wanted to offer us a better deal. We came up with a manageable arrangement, added the Scottish Rite as an official sponsor of the event, and proceeded to host it there for the next three years.
If you know, you know.
Our last visit to the Scottish Rite was in 2018, and we’ve had some lovely events in the years since. The building was purchased by new owners early the following year, and we were compelled to seek new accommodations. In the years since, I’ve periodically checked in to see if they might once again be interested in an event like ours… and that perseverance finally paid off. We negotiated with Temple Live, the current owners, to get us on the schedule this fall, and we’re locked in!
The immersive atmosphere and genteel beauty of the venue is a heartening accompaniment for a an event built around community and escapism. As before, we’ll be using various rooms throughout the building to host games and featured events, allowing us to bring more value to the experience for everyone involved. We’re already brainstorming and weighing options, and I’m excited to dive right in!
Feel free to reach out if you have questions or ideas you’d like to share. Together, we can make this a con worth celebrating. Let’s build us a convention!