Imagine my surprise, dear readers, as I went through my checklist of preparations for Pride-Con next week, went to their website to confirm some details, and found this letter detailing their sudden, last-minute cancellation.

On the one hand, I’m crushed.  Pride-Con looked like it might be a worthy successor to Bent-Con, another LGBT+ comics convention in the Southern California area, and after losing Bent-Con I was more than happy to sign up for a con that might replace it.

Too, it was encouraging and promising that the convention was using IndieGoGo to finance itself– it seemed marvelous that it had received all the funding it needed.

But it didn’t.

I was under the impression that it had, and that’s why there was a Pride-Con at all, but it turns out the reason it was cancelled was because it didn’t reach its IndieGoGo funding goal ONE WEEK BEFORE THE SHOW. Which brings me to the other hand– where, instead of feeling crushed, I feel pissed off.

It’s incredible to me that the show’s organizers, H8 M3 NOT Enterprises, did not schedule the go/no-go cutoff for funding two or three months before the show.  To hold out til the last minute is not only unprofessional, but downright disrespectful to con-goers and exhibitors alike.

Hotel reservations.  Plane tickets.  Time off work.  Child care.  All of these are factors and expenses that go into getting ready for a convention and some of them are non-refundable, or have non-refundable deposits.

And then, of course, H8 M3 NOT apologizes that it ‘cannot offer refunds.’  Well, I paid for my table and membership thru PayPal, so you better believe I’ve opened a dispute.

It is frustrating that a convention such as this one, with such an important theme of diversity, should be so mismanaged.  As frustrated as I am, my heart goes out to all those who were looking forward to sharing a weekend of inclusivity and fun, enjoying what artists had to offer as well as meeting social media celebrities who increase, with their online presence, knowledge and visibility for us all.

Needless to say, you won’t be seeing Two Gargoyles Comics in Anaheim on the 29th.

Regretfully,
Michael