Scare-A-Con Organizer On Making Conventions Work in Small Markets

Tomorrow, Scare-A-Con begins its eighth year in upstate New York. Just two weeks after the small city of Syracuse had its last comic book convention, a horror and pop culture fest will set up in Verona’s Turning Stone Casino for a three-day convention that has become a major part of the local geek calendar.

JV Johnson, the organizer of the event, spoke with the Syracuse-based Emerald City Video podcast about the show, which ComicBook.com’s Russ Burlingame and Zach Roberts will be attending this weekend.

“I think all year round, every weekend, you can find a convention somewhere, and maybe two or three of size,” Johnson admitted, but noted that “As far as upstate New York goes, as far as the Syracuse market or anything close by, Scare-A-Con is the largest option, which means we bring in the most significant celebrities and the most significant vendors and the most significant opportunities, film screenings, parties, whatever it happens to be. I think that that’s why we continue to endure.”

Operating out of a city with about 125,000 people, with notoriously harsh winters, is not always easy. One of the things that frustrates Johnson the most is that no matter how aggressive he is in trying to lure guests, big names can evade him simply because they know they can do better in another location at the same time.

Rather than quantity, then, Johnson says the focus is on creating a quality experience for fans and talent, and creating a show that attendees will want to return to year after year.

“The other reason that we’ve lasted this long and we continue to grow and have added a second location is that I think we take a unique approach to how we set up our events. We make sure that we’re not necessarily a cattle call type event,” he said. “If you go to a Comic-Con in New York City, say, you’re going to be one of tens of thousands of people trying to work your way through a crowd to get a 15-second opportunity to get an autograph from somebody. While we want to continue to grow, we, at the same time, make sure that we are not losing our fan approach and our intimacy. So when people come to Scare-A-Con, they can spend 10 minutes, maybe longer, with their favorite celebrity, talking to them, asking questions, whatever it happens to be. The celebrities know that coming in. So I think that makes it a bit unique, as well. It’s more of a one-on-one type event, and it’s much more intimate than most conventions of our size.”

You can hear much more of the conversation with Johnson on the Emerald City Video Podcast, embedded below.

Scare-A-Con takes place at the Turning Stone Casino in Verona, NY this weekend. You can get tickets or more information at the event’s website.