LoneStarCon3 Art Show timeline

August 2011 :

I'm asked to head up the Art Show for LoneStarCon3

February 2012 :

At Boskone in Boston to start laying groundwork for borrowing lighting and steel from their well-used supplies.

March 2012:

At AggieCon in College Station to chat with them about borrowing Kee Klamps for use at LSC3.

July 2012:

Running ArmadilloCon Art Show - tweaking Art Show Helper

August 2012: 

ChiCon 7 helping run the Art Show, recruiting staff, getting more experience with the steel.


February 2013 :

At Boskone in Boston to get more details and more experience with their steel supply.

Learn that the Texas steel supply storage facility has experienced a fire.  Pegboard is gone.  Steel is thought to be ok.

March 2013 :

At AggieCon in College Station acquiring and inventorying their Kee Klamps.

Send out email when?
finalized documents/rates when?
got first artist reservation when?

April 2013:

Boston not interested in shipping steel or pegboard down to Texas.  Lighting supplies and Kee Klamps are fine, but not the main pipe and pegboard.

July 2013:

Finalize needs as far as pipe, Kee Klamps, and pegboard are concerned.

Get quotes on IMC from San Antonio suppliers.  One supplier said they would cut the pipe for $1/cut.  They had a good price on the pipe to begin with, so planned on using them once we finalized on the amount of steel to get.

???? find out none of the pipe from the legacy Texas supply is usable.  It was in the fire and was declared a total loss.  Don't know why.  Now we have to buy all new steel.

August:


2 weeks to convention:

Place order for IMC.  Supplier says they *don't* cut pipe.  Panic.  Panic some more.  Art Show brain trust comes up with way to cut pipe on site.  Convention Center (and Fire Marshal) thinks we're going to be using cutting torches and won't allow it without massive safety precautions.  Tell them we won't be using cutting torch.  They allow us to do the cutting on site.  We hire a crew from Freeman to do the cutting for us.

Get quotes on pegboard.  Tried to find 1/8" pegboard.  Very tough to find.  3/16" pegboard easier to find.  Home Depot does not carry uncoated pegboard as a rule.  Lowes does.

Get quotes on EMT pipe and for getting it cut.  Go with Home Depot.

1 week to convention:

Reserve cutter in Converse, Texas for pickup on the way into town

Sunday before convention

Make snapshot of online database for use with my software on-site as I'm not expecting to have internet access in the convention center: too expensive.

Pick up 16' rental truck to haul Art Show and Staff Den supplies to and from San Antonio.

Load truck.  In the rain.

Monday before convention:

Up at  4 am.

Raining.

Finish loading pickup and rental truck

K. goes off to WalMart for some Dry Ice.  I head out to S.A.

Stop in Converse, Texas for cutter.

Arrive in S.A.  Unload cutter.  Wait for Pipe delivery.  Pipe arrives.  No forklift.  We offload by hand 195 10' pieces of 3/4" IMC.  I then set about measuring the pipe and marking it for cuts

Look for power for cutter.  Find it.  Set up cutter.  Freeman crew arrives.  It's noon.  Freeman starts cutting.  Still cutting at 4 p.m.

I run into Austin to help load the ArmadilloCon Art Show supplies onto the truck en route from Dallas.  Truck behind schedule.  Go to dinner.  Load truck.  Back to S.A.  Check on pipe.  Cutting all done and stacked.

Go to bed

Tuesday before convention:

Get pegboard delivery.  Get EMT pipe delivery.  Start assembling the Art Show.  Done assembling the Art Show, except for Lights, around 7 p.m.  Ahead of schedule.

Wednesday before convention:

Lights have issues.  Set up control desk area of the Art Show.

Mail-in art delivered from climate controlled storage.

We don't hang art until lighting is done.

Lighting done late afternoon.  Start hanging art.

Thursday of convention:

Hang more art, check folks in.

Discover my software needs some work done.  Panic.  Staff comes to rescue and gets me some peace and quiet so I can do the coding.  Issue resolved.

Friday of convention.

Start making sales in art show

Discover my software needs some more work done.  Panic.  Staff comes to rescue and gets me some more peace and quiet so I can do the coding.  Issue resolved.

Sunday of convention

Close Art Show to prep for auction.  We get 1/3 of receipts generated before we re-open.  Staff is amazing, we manage to get down to minimal wait time about 2 hours after re-opening Art Show after the auction.

Use of chairs and love seats for a waiting area was a great idea.

Monday of convention:

Start tearing down the art show.  Load up the rental truck with the mail-in art, staff den supplies, art show supplies.


Tuesday after convention

Decide nothing really to be done in S.A. so leave for home.


Saturday after convention:

Last of mail-in art mailed back to artists

2 weeks after convention:

Numbers for checks sent to convention check writer