Heroes Con is just 4 days away! Are you ready? Do you have a stack of comics to get signed? What about who you want to get a sketch/drawing from? What burning question will you ask once you get up to the table? Well, before any of these can happen you better make sure you have your passes. You can still get them early or wait till the day of the show.
Once you have your pass/ticket, you are ready to enter into the convention center to meet and greet so many great creators of comic books. Though, I would like to take the time to give a few key pieces of advance when showing up to Heroes Con.
1) Parking. This is the very first and one of the more important things to consider and be aware of. Parking in the wrong spot or not following rules will end up making your fun day into one very bad and possibly very expensive days. There’s basically no free parking in the city of Charlotte, only metered spots and lots that can get pricey. Parking will depend on what you are doing for the day, so make a plan of what you want to do and how long you are staying so you know what kind of parking you will need. If you only plan on staying for an hour then maybe parking on the street with the meter is the best course for you, however, being that this convention begins on a Friday you will have to deal with normal every day commuters taking up spots along with other con goers. Finding a spot on the street at any hour of the day on Friday will be rare. Maybe you will luck out where you are at the right spot at the right time when someone else leaves, but if you are like me with luck, then you will be driving around in squares for awhile. Even getting there early is iffy on getting a spot. If you plan on staying longer but you don’t have a lot to carry or your cosplay is not bulky with lots of parts, then maybe you can consider parking at a light rail station and riding that into the city. The convention center is a stop on the rail so you can park for a lesser price outside the city and ride right to the convention entrance. If you have lots of items to deal with, then parking in a garage nearest to the convention center is the way you could go. I do it most years and it works out. Is it expensive? Yes, about $60+ for the full weekend to just park but I’m close by. These allows me to leave things in my car like a small cooler with some water and other assorted drinks and food so that I can get to the car quickly to get a snack and drink without having to pay a lot. It also, for the most part, offers security for your car and less risk of it being towed or ticketed.
2) Food and drinks are very important to have. Bring a bottle of water or sports drink for each person. The convention center sells drinks and food but having one bottle of your own is good and will save a bit of money for you. The food part, take snacks. Don’t bring in fast food or any time of meal, just small, easy to carry, and no mess making food. Energy bars are good, crackers, anything that will give you some energy and you can keep in your pocket or in a small bag. When you get hungry for a heavier meal, the convention center has food located in the main hall and down on the convention floor.
3)Wear cool clothes if you can. It’s June and there will be a lot of people in the convention center. Yes, the center does a wonderful job at keep the floor cool but when you put so many people together in a room, even one that large, have them walking around, heat will build up. If you are in cosplay then think about what you can do to keep cool. Get a cooling rag to keep on your neck, they work wonders.
4) Sanitize and wipe. Please, please, please, bring and use sanitizer and wipe your hands through the day. There are a lot of people, and a lot kids, which means a lot of germs. I don’t care what you believe when it comes to shots and outbreaks, germs still exist and they’ve existed long before today and will be after today, and they still cause people to get sick. I’m not saying you have to wipe and sanitize every few seconds, but do so after shaking hangs or sitting at a table, do it at times when it’s something you think might contain germs. For $1.25 you can get some sanitizer at the Dollar Tree, that’s a lot cheaper than getting sick.
5) Get ready ahead of time. I’m not talking about prepping for the con like making a list of who you want to see, what comics you want to buy, I mean, sure do that also, but what I mean by get ready ahead of time is when you are already at the con. When you are standing in line waiting to get up to the table to get the autograph or a sketch or buy something from the creator or even if it’s just to say hello, get ready before you get to the table. I know having comic books out can be risky cause you want to protect them and keep them as mint as possible, and if you only have 1 comic book, then sure, wait until the moment you get to the table, but if you have more than that 1, then please, start taking them out of the bags and boards before you get to the table. Everyone, guests and creators, are on limited time while at the con, some are only able to be there for a very limited amount of time, so please be a bit considerate and have the comic books ready for the creators before you get to the table. It will save time and what else are you doing when you are waiting in line. Also, if you don’t know a price, ask the people in front of you, most of the time they can help you out. You could also walk up to the table, stand off to the side of the line, when you first get there and you haven’t gotten in line yet, and then look for the creators price list or ask someone in line. Get this info first so that while you wait in line you can mull over what you want. Maybe you had a $200 limit thinking the sketch would be that but find out it’s a bit more or maybe it’s less and you can get more now, whatever it is that will make you have to debate and think about what you will do, you can do that while waiting in line instead of doing that while at the table. Another thing to have ready is your money. You know you have to pay, you can find out what the price is, so just have it ready. The more people that do all these will help lower the time it takes to do all these things which gives you and others more time with the creators.
6) Say thanks to the workers. There are a lot of people working this convention, a lot are volunteers, and all these people are how this convention is put on, so, just say thanks. They work very hard, long days to make this happen and to give you a good time and that is worth just saying a quick and sincere thank you for your time.
Last of all, go here for all the info you need on the con or visit the social media pages to learn up to date info. https://www.heroesonline.com/heroescon/
