US vs EU Conventions
Many people have asked me the differences between both since I attended them, there are still a couple I didn’t try so please take note I’m writing from MY OWN PERSONAL EXPERIENCE, nothing else.
If you read my articles, you’re aware I did: Darklight in Paris | Purgatory in Germany | Creation in the US.
I’ll try my best not to criticize, I just want my readers to get perspective and what to expect as I’ll be fully honest from now on.
Delays and Panels:
It’s common that in events in general shit happens, and delays are pretty common. I work as a photographer for 8 years, and I’ve worked doing events coverage in many different types of events and companies, delays were super common.
At European conventions, there were always happening delays, panels for example – they’re shorter, and sometimes the guests get excited with the questions, so it takes longer than the organization planned, in Darklight they translate the panels from English to French meanwhile, so those panels are shorter.
Panels in Creation are a bit longer, and we have many more panels during the days than in European cons.
In Creation – I did Atlanta – It was super well organized, and never had a single delay, we had access to an app and a schedule so you could access your event through a CODE, and you selected the activities you would do, so you would get a real-time notification. Time, location, and activity. So, it was super easy to follow!
But I’ve heard from a few friends, in the past some events they hosted had delays and some things that didn’t go well, so I had luck. Maybe.
My overall experience in the US made me think Americans know how to work properly and are super tight with deadlines, as in Europe in general almost everything has delays, and people relax over these things.
Guests:
You also now know about panels. Creation and most cons in the US have MORE guests. So, you’ll get also + more days in the conventions and a bigger schedule. There’s also the factor of the US being the center of Pop Culture – they have conventions every month and 50 states. So, there’s a lot more to explore than just Creation. It’s an overwhelming and exciting world.
But in Europe, we are not so bad either. The UK has great events and a lot of Comic Cons. Germany and France next. From my experience, maybe these 3 countries have a bigger number of Pop Culture events in Europe. Let’s not forget JIB – in Italy (I’m dying to attend one, maybe next year).
In Europe, you can get maybe 10 people per convention – Crossroads, DLC and Purcon. But this year we’re having a new Comic Con in the UK – at Basingstoke, and they’ll have a lot more! The secret is to always keep an eye.
I talked to some guests of Supernatural, and they said they often prefer to do European cons, because since these are smaller and more chill, they can actually talk to the fans, and get to know them better, since in Creation these events are so crazy, overwhelmed and bigger you barely have time to eat or talk.
I always take seconds to talk to every guest, I like to introduce myself and offer my support and appreciation for what they’ve been doing for so long.
Normally I talk in autographs, or M&G.
What about passes and experiences?
Photo ops, autographs, and meet and greets happen at every con.
The prices can vary – in the US they tend to be a little higher than in Europe.
Also in Creation, you have to BID for an M&G – In Europe, you can just buy the ticket for the guest you want to attend. Creation posts the auctions 2/1 weeks before the con usually. You need to keep an eye on it and ALWAYS bid on the last day.
They’re always 30 minutes long.
The rules are simple: common sense in every con – respect the guest and their boundaries.
I’ll write articles about every single of that experiences (photo op, autos, etc). Stay tuned!
The big difference is the passes. Every con has its pass – VIPs are always included but some you need to BID – in Purgatory for example you can purchase immediately this experience.
Every con has different names for passes. Passes you can have photos included with every guest except the “extra” – Angel Pass in DLC Paris, for example. Or with a “Standard” ticket you get the access and you buy what you want – Purgatory ticket (in DLC it’s called a “Hunter” pass). Creation Supernatural has 4 types of passes:
Gold – there’s a Gold for first-row seating
Silver
Copper
GA
With the first 3 – you can attend the Saturday Night Special, which is the gig of Louden Swain with lots of guests that sing! It’s proved that the SPN cast can sing.
General Admission gives you the most affordable ticket, you need to buy the ticket for the concert and everything else you wish for.
With Copper, you have the concert, but you don’t have autos included.
Silver & Gold have autographs included.
Also with every, you have a reserved seat with a number and a letter. And obviously, the more expensive the ticket – the closest to the stage you’ll sit.
In Purgatory Con, you have a lot of different tickets. Paris offers you 4 types with VIP included.
In this new Comic con at Basingstoke – they added a new feature called the “Supernatural” pass – you get autos from all the guests of the show in that con except in this case JDM – who is a special guest.
In every con, you’ll find a pass for separate days, if you wish just to attend one.
I won’t ever do that, since I always travel and it’s more economical for me to stay the whole days in that con than just to travel for one day.
Vendors Area:
Vendors are more interesting and vaster in US cons. You’ll have a ton of merch to choose from. I didn’t enjoy the vendors in Europe. From one to five maximum tables.
Karaoke and gigs:
Supernatural cons always have karaoke on Friday nights. And Purgatory has the best one I attended – 3 hours of pure singing. I was dead the next day.
Although in this con, it happened on a Saturday.
The concert happens on a Sat in Creation, in Paris is the same thing. Purgatory never had a concert – at least in Purcon6 and 7. These things change.
In karaoke, you always signed up – at different places in each con and you can choose from one to two songs. They always do a lottery and you know if you get selected at the moment.
DJ Qualls hosts the karaoke in Creation and he did the same in Paris – DLC5.
In the last DLC5, we didn’t get a concert, since Rob had to cancel, so we just had a karaoke instead (we weren’t supposed to have that in that edition), so DJ decided to host karaoke on Saturday.
Extras or other activities:
We reached my favorite part because every con has different extras and activities.
Creation has like 20 different activities, with and without the guests; David has a Karaoke pre-game or a dinner; Rich does Director time; Kim and Bri host the pajamas parties or the Wayward Podcast live, there are a lot of amazing features, and you can purchase them at a Creation Con Supernatural.
In Purgatory, they have Friday “Cocktails with Castiel” or last year it was “Cocktails with the Devil and his helper” – It was one of the most perfect moments I had at a con. They had “selfies” as an extra you could purchase as well.
But it’s in Darklight Con where my favorite extras take place. The Private Session is 300€ euros where you can meet and take selfies for 30 minutes with EVERY guest that attends the con. I had the most amazing experience in DLC5 – You can read it all here.
And the “Hell Party” or “Angel Party” names differ from edition to edition. It’s the dinner that happens on Saturday, they have a buffet, you sit with 8 people at a table, and every guest attends and sits with you. In DLC4 they stayed almost 10 minutes, but in the last edition they stayed less – they switch tables. They always take photos with the tables as well in the beginning, so you’ll have something to remember.
I won’t choose one or the other, I think every Supernatural fan should do one of every if they can because the best part of experiencing these cons is the possibility to travel to different countries, and cities and to know people from all around the globe.
Basingstoke Comic Con it’s my next con, what about y’all? Comment below! And share your experiences.
My Creation Experience – Here
Purgatory 6 – Here
DLC4 – Here
