Whedon Fest Cancelled Just Three Weeks Before Convention
Sorry Joss Whedon fans, Whedon Fest has been cancelled. It was originally scheduled to be held in Toronto, Canada, on October 1 – 3, 2010. Here is the official message from the organizers:
It is with great sadness that due to very low ticket sales we have to announce the cancellation of Whedon Fest.
All tickets are being currently refunded to the original form of payment.
This decision was not one that was made lightly. We lowered the costs of running the event as much as possible to avoid having to cancel. Unfortunately, making the event even smaller was not an option, as there are many fixed costs, such as hotel fees, guest costs, audio/video setups, credit card processing, and various other fees. From the beginning, we did not expect to make any profit in the first year; in fact, we were prepared for financial losses. We have absorbed a substantial amount of losses, and would have still run the event with these losses. However, the number of ticket sales were not enough to justify the event and would have put us in an even more difficult financial situation.
Our goal was to offer an intimate event with limited tickets to celebrate all of the great works of Joss Whedon. We wanted to give fans the opportunity to meet some guests who had never appeared in Toronto before and who do not make many convention appearances, as well as those who are fan favourites. We wanted to offer a great experience, with fun events like Geek-Off tournaments, screenings, comedy shows, panels, a dance, masquerade, and much more. Our goal was to offer various ticket packages to satisfy all fans. After autographs/photographs/gifts, each ticket would be a cost of approximately $55 for the 3-day event, which is comparable with similar events around the world. All photo ops, autograph tickets, and meet & greet tickets were kept as low as possible for the benefit of the fans.
We would like to thank everyone who has supported us in this endeavour. It has been a pleasure getting the chance to meet many of you in person, and being able to share our love for the Whedonverse. We are extremely sorry that the event will not be going through.
The Starry Night Events Team
At least attendees who paid are getting a refund, which is surprising. Many conventions that fold this close to the event aren’t as lucky (like in the JumpCon fiasco from a few years back).
