PlaymoFriends
General => Community Events => Topic started by: EmGee on May 20, 2011, 11:50:42
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Just a question for you guys that have been around Playmo longer than myself, has there ever been a Playmobil convention, fair or similar event in the US? I keep reading reports and seeing photos of amazing events in Europe and frankly, I'm a little jealous. :'(
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There hasn't that I know of. :( But I would love to see one happen! There are more and more US fans here, sooo maybe someday. :cloud9:
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Join the club EmGee! :P
I thought of stating one in my local library since they have large rooms that they let people use.
I was gonna invite Bill since I know he lives close by(ish) and Bonnie I guess? :)
Also there are a few people in New York that I thought to invite also. (From GardenWargaming.)
But there are many more collectors in the West coast...
So I figure that if there will be an event, it will be out in California.
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;D Sounds good to me! What state do you live in, WoT? You can PM me if you want.
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There are Playmobil train collectors on the west coast that set up displays in Washington State & other nearby locations, but an actual Playmobil collectors meet has never been done in the USA like those in Europe that I'm aware of. :(
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Not enough people know about it in the US. :(
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Perhaps you should organise a convention ;D
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WoT and I are talking about this small event he suggested... it might just work! ;D
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That sounds great, but the problem is we are scattered all over the country making it difficult to show collections or traveling to one central location to meet. :-\
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All my family is out in Washington. We try to make it out once a year. So maybe next year we might be able to make it out to the west coast ???
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PlaymoHolics, if you don't mind me asking, do you live on the east coast then? :)
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Pretty close to it. I live in Indiana now. But I am a west coast girl at heart :love:
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The next two probable West Coast events will be the Puyallup train show in November and the Seattle Train Show next January. Last I heard Glazz will be taking his train set-up to both of those. Collectors are invited to attend and with pre-arrangement to help with the setting up.
The distance thing is really the problem. To do large displays you have to be within driving distance and everything is so far apart here.
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The next two probable West Coast events will be the Puyallup train show in November and the Seattle Train Show next January. Last I heard Glazz will be taking his train set-up to both of those. Collectors are invited to attend and with pre-arrangement to help with the setting up.
The distance thing is really the problem. To do large displays you have to be within driving distance and everything is so far apart here.
So true! I've wanted to see Glazz's displays up close & personal, but have been required to see it by event pictures. :( Trying to transport an entire diorama long distances is extremely difficult also!
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So true! I've wanted to see Glazz's displays up close & personal, but have been required to see it by event pictures. :( Trying to transport an entire diorama long distances is extremely difficult also!
So maybe we begin with a regional event in a reserved room at a Wake County library in Raleigh or Cary? The problem is that you can usually only get those rooms for a few hours and not an entire day.
I'd be glad to look into their room availability slots if you want. Lego users meet at the Cameron Village branch upstairs every few months. But their room is not very large. We could do something like reserve a room for a few hours once a quarter and bring our new stuff for display then.
This would be a small start but a step in the right direction if we want to do something bigger. Cheers, Pgal 8} 8}
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I agree we should start pretty small. But still, I think for the kind of thing we have in mind, which is to draw attention ot playmobil, let the public come in and see and inspire them to buy playmobil, we need to have at least 2 or 3 interesting to look at dioramas. They don't need to be massive, but they should be creative, and showcase all that you can do with playmobil.
So, the thing is, the way these exhibitions are usually done, you need a hall for three days. One day for exhibitors only to come in and set up their dioramas, as it takes a while, even if you have practiced several times and are very organized. Then two days for the actual exhibition, for the public to come in and see the dioramas. Finding a place to use for three days is definitely not easy.
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I agree we should start pretty small. But still, I think for the kind of thing we have in mind, which is to draw attention ot playmobil, let the public come in and see and inspire them to buy playmobil, we need to have at least 4-6 interesting to look at dioramas. They don't need to be massive, but they should be creative, and showcase all that you can do with Playmobil.
So, the thing is, the way these exhibitions are usually done, you need a hall for three days. One day for exhibitors only to come in and set up their dioramas, as it takes a while, even if you have practiced several times and are very organized. Then two days for the actual exhibition, for the public to come in and see the dioramas. Finding a place to use for three days is definitely not easy.
Bonniebeth, You make some valid points.
I agree that you need a hall for at least two days...one for set up and another for public viewing. Three days would be ideal so there could be a second day of public viewing. If you want a medium sized show with big dioramas, it will require at least 10,000 sq feet of exhibit space, and you have to worry about tickets, security, parking, publicity, etc.
That is why I think a PM park would be the best place if they have the indoor space.
Otherwise, you have to look for a local hotel with that kind of space. I just reviewed the Marriott properties in the Raleigh/Cary area and only the 2 Marriotts have 10,000 plus sq ft. Their room rates per night for Sept 23-25 are $107. (Crabtree with free parking) and (Downtown Raleigh where parking is not free) for $143.
If you held a smaller meeting and could get by with 1250 sq ft of exhibition space, you could use a Courtyard in Cary or at RDU airport for a room rate of $60+ with free parking.
First you would need to know how many exhibitors were coming and how much space they each needed for their displays. Then you have to decide whether and how long you would open it up for public viewing.
So once you decide whether to go large or small, you can select a hotel. I am not sure how many rooms you have to reserve to get the meeting space for free.
A Lego show in Raleigh attracted 8000. visitors a year ago. Not sure what the number was last month. They use the No. Raleigh Hilton, and it is a large commercial production. The editor of the Lego magazine called Brickworld runs this event called BrickMagic.
With a PM show being a much smaller event, I am favoring a smaller hotel with limited exhibition space the first go round....unless we can get into a Fun Park. A first get together could just focus on the exhibitors, hopefully most of whom are member of PFriends. We could open it up to the public for maybe three hours the second day, and see how it goes. That way a third day would not be needed, and folks could drive home Sunday morning.
Then the following year, we could grow a bit if the first round was successful. It seems to me that BrickFair, the Lego convention near Wash. DC that we attend in August, requires volunteers/exhibitors to be there Th AM-Sunday at 5PM. The seminars run Th and Fr for registrants. Then the public show is Sat and Sun.
That is a very long time commitment. And it takes years to build up to that size and attendance level of 20,000 or so spread over 2 days. It requires about 150 volunteers and months of planning by the organizer, a fellow who shoulders the entire financial burden and now probably makes a few bucks now that it runs pretty smoothly.
The other obstacle we face is that PM is not that well known in the US. If you grew up with it in Europe, it seems natural to go to a show. Most Americans don't even know what it is. Lego is so visible in Target and WalMart that everyone here knows what it is. PM is much harder to find, and not very well known. So your show attendance would be much lower than at the Lego events.
Two cents for what y'all think of this! Cheers, Pgal
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Right, obviously we can't do anything on the scale of a lego event here, because most people in the US haven't heard of playmobil, and attendance would be low. Still, it needs to be a big enough event to be worht the drive for those of us coming from New York or Louisiana. So I'd say smallish, but not too small. We would need to see how many members that have the collection to make a sizable or creative diorama would be able to put in the time commitment. I could easily make about a 9x11 foot diorama out of my zoo, but that's probably way too huge for the scale we're talking, so I could find a way to crack it back. Bill definitely could make an impressive fire diorama with his "smoke" machine and all, but it's questionable whether he can commit to it. I'm sure WoT can make a good diorama. So that's three right there, depending on a lot of ifs. So there's a lot of factors to consider.
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Right, obviously we can't do anything on the scale of a lego event here, because most people in the US haven't heard of playmobil, and attendance would be low. Still, it needs to be a big enough event to be worht the drive for those of us coming from New York or Louisiana. So I'd say smallish, but not too small. We would need to see how many members that have the collection to make a sizable or creative diorama would be able to put in the time commitment. I could easily make about a 9x11 foot diorama out of my zoo, but that's probably way too huge for the scale we're talking, so I could find a way to crack it back. Bill definitely could make an impressive fire diorama with his "smoke" machine and all, but it's questionable whether he can commit to it. I'm sure WoT can make a good diorama. So that's three right there, depending on a lot of ifs. So there's a lot of factors to consider.
Those three large diorama suggestions sound great! If we had the space, they could be say 6x6 or so. And then maybe others could do 6x3 or 5x3 to fit the table size at the event. My scenes are on 3-6 ft stainless trays hubby brings home from hospital equip headed for the dump. So I can go 3,4,5 or 6 ft lengths. And they are pretty easy to load with half inch lips.
Let me know where the others in the area live, and we could select a central location for all if needed. Raleigh is primed for shows like this having just had the second BrickMagic over Mother's Day weekend.
I still hope we can do something at the FL Fun Park or at least a place nearby because most folks want to see these parks, and this gives us a chance and a place for the kids of all ages to play. Cheers, Pgal 8} 8} 8}
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Be sure to look into venue options like church halls and Grange buildings.
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Another idea to add to the excitement for visitors, perhaps a giant screen showing a looped slideshow of some of the creative dioramas from those that cannot attend, at the moment, I am thinking of Skywalker and his wonderful Eulenberg, City of Hope, or Emma J and all of her pirate ships, Victorian houses, some of the countless giant armies that we have seen (or heard about) Tricornejock's recent space shuttle, the jousting tournaments and their stories behind the stories, Giorginetto's gargantuan castle, some of these incredible train set-ups from Walts trains, or the customs from Macguyver, and of course all of the firefighter stories from Bill and Gordon and others, or the Roman village from Vauban, and the list could go on and on. Several of our members are computer geniuses in the real working world, maybe they could help you set up a program that could be run. When we go to medical conferences everyone makes those posters of their research and that is another way, but those are costly to make, ship and return, whereas a slide show would be exciting. The other reason this could be a good addition is that it will give the American public a chance to see the incredible collections that some of our European friends have, Blader11 on TJ comes to mind with his very creative dioramas, as he recently showed a beautiful diorama of China, ( can't post the link, as I did not ask him first.)
Just a thought. I hope I didn't offend anyone by listing those that I did, as I am sure I have forgotten so many of the great customizers, especially some that have been quieter on PF lately.
kaethe
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That's a great idea Kaethe! It would be fun to compile those pics, all with permission of course, and perhaps even credit, a name in the bottom corner.... :!: Wonderful idea!
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Absolutely. If this slideshow were to become reality, I think each slide should have the person's Avatar name in the corner, or a link to their website, as they have done all fo the work, and we are only giving them a venue to share it with a few more folks. In fact, we should compile a poster to put near the slideshow with contributor info so people could look up their websites, if the contributor wanted that, if not, just their avatar name.
kaethe
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And once this slideshow was made, anyone who wanted could get a copy (for a price for the compiler's trouble of course). Anyone good at this kind of thing here? I don't have the know-how for this type of thing.
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Yes, and it could be edited, and additions could be made. It could be as simple as a basic powerpoint presentation, but I suspect some of our playmofriends could create a better program.
or...
Sylvia, could it be linked to PF and with "permission" be downloaded? "Permission" being a contribution to the cause?
Either way, I think it would be a great way to introduce people in the states to the world of Playmobil, as they have never imagined it and the incredible collections and creations that are out there, especially in Europe.
k
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Your ideas about a slide show on a screen sound great if we can get someone to do it. They would need to know how to get the proper permissions.
I guess the first issue is where to do a small show. Maybe y'all can figure this out because you know where most active members live and who is in what area. I have no idea where folks live, and who is interested.
Thanks, Pgal ;)
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Well, this one that we're currently talking about is on the east coast. something around the NC or SC is perfect, really. WoT was talking about one possible place in NC. There's a pretty big concentration of members in that area.
Since the US is so big, and doing a diorama requires that you drive in order to bring your playmobil with you, doing one event for everyone is pretty much impossible. There's been some even more preliminary discussion of something on the west coast as well. There are a LOT of members in california, as well as some in washington and oregon.
So hopefully we are looking eventually at having two different US events, on opposite coasts. The one I'm interested in attending is the east coast; that's closer for me.
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BB: I agree. Two events sound good...one on each coast.
Cheers, Pgal
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:love: :love: :love: :love: :love:.. bets excuse to visit again the lovely USA , i have only been to the east coast , loved it :love: :love: :love: :love: