Hello,
CAPE is NEXT WEEKEND and we would like to have everyone announced as soon as possible to encourage attendance and grow the excitement! We do apologize for not getting this information to you sooner but as you may know, Randy and I are the only two people who create CAPE with most of the Admin being done on my part. There are many long hours and working days put into CAPE and since this is only our second show ever, we are still learning! We have implemented some changes from last year and it's been a phenomenal (though stressful) time so far but things are working out excellently.
This email is very long and detailed to read but contains important information about CAPE so we encourage you to read it entirely. Some of you are very familiar with the Con experience so bear with us as we try to relay the information to some of you who may not be familiar with exhibiting at Cons and we thank you for your patience in reading for those of you reading to learn how we operate at CAPE. You will find attached a few documents which you may find necessary which are explained in this email.
The buzz is going strong here in Cornwall and our great city has been fantastic in embracing CAPE once again this year. The City of Cornwall has officially proclaimed April 23-24th at CAPE WEEKEND in Cornwall this year! What an honour. In addition, our City Transit department has partnered with us to offer FREE bus rides to and from CAPE on Saturday and FREE bus shuttle service with limited routes on Sunday as we do not regularly have bus service on Sunday. This will make it easy for people of Cornwall to get to CAPE! We have been busy on Social Media and have our official hashtag which we encourage you all to use if you take photos throughout the weekend. #getyourcapeon
BIOS / PROFILEMost of you have already been announced or sent in your bios - thank you! We have been crazy busy getting them all posted and do still have few left which we will post this week... If you haven't already done so, please send in a small bio about your company as well as a promo pic to use. We also appreciate a link if you have one to link back to on our website. If you are a returning exhibitor from last year, let us know if you wish to use the same bio and pic from last year. Our website is being updated this week one last time and should include all of you by Wednesday. We apologize if we miss any of you!
BOOTH REGISTRATION FORMIf you have NOT filled out an Exhibitor Form at registration, PLEASE send that to us ASAP as our City has passed a new Bylaw this year and requires the following information for all vendors in order for them to be in attendance. A form is submitted to our City and if your information is not listed on that form, they can ask you to leave the premises upon inspection even if you have paid for your booth! Please get your full information to me ASAP if you have not alrady done so. This is beyond our control so please help us to comply. Thank you so much for your cooperation. Information required includes Company Name, Mailing address with postal code, phone number, email address and whether or not you have proof of Liability Insurance. If you DO have proof of insurance, kindly send us a copy of that as well as the City needs to have this on record. If you do not have Liability Insurance it is not required but we must know as per your form.
SETUPIf you enter off Brookdale Avenue, you will turn left into the Benson Centre parking lot and follow the building slightly to the right - there will be a large RED BOX (generator) on the right - that is the Loading area for Pad #1. If you are on Pad #3, you will continue around the building just a little further to the Zamboni entrance for load-in. (There will be signs posted "LOADING ZONE")
All tables/booths will be marked upon your arrival. Setup can be done from 5:00 pm onwards on Friday (closing at 11:30 pm) or as early as 8:00 am on Saturday. We would like all vendors set up by 9:30 a.m. on Saturday. Restocking can take place on Sunday between 8:00 - 9:30 am. Teardown is to happen no earlier than show closing on Sunday at 5:00 pm. Volunteers will be available to assist you both during the setup and teardown.
SECURITYIn-house Security is part of the venue's regular nightly routine. The guard will be doing his regular checks all evening on Friday after the setup closes at 11:30 and all exhibitor areas will be locked for the night. The same will happen on Saturday night after the hall closes at midnight. While we make no guarantees that your items will be 100% safe, rest assured knowing that we will take all precautions to ensure their safety. Therefore, if you have items of extremely high value, we always suggest you take them with you for safekeeping on your person to leave at your hotel or elsewhere if you are hesitant. Otherwise, we do not anticipate any problems with the safekeeping of your booth.
EXHIBITOR PASSES / EXHIBITOR SERVICESYou should plan to pick up your PASSES and report in to Exhibitor Services when you arrive to set up, either on Friday evening or on Saturday morning. If you arrive on Friday evening, the Exhibitor Services Desk will be located at the BACK of the building located near the Zamboni entrance. The Exhibitor Services table will be at the back of the building again on Saturday Morning until 9:30 at which point it will move to the FRONT LOBBY entrance for 9:45 once the show is set to begin for the duration of the show. You will ONLY be issued the number of passes requested on your Booth Reservation Form. If you need to arrange for additional passes or if a member of your team becomes ill or you need additional help, please advise Exhibitor Services with the name of the person that wil stop by to pick up an Exhibitor Pass and that person can report in to Exhibitor Services upon arrival for their pass.
HOTELSIf anyone is looking to book a hotel, we have made arrangements with many of our local hotels to offer a GROUP RATE. Not all hotels are participating but please mention CAPE when you call to get the discounted rate if applicable. You will need to reserve the booking with your own credit card at the time of booking of course. Here are some of our local area hotels in case you wish to access that information.
FLOOR PLANPlease find attached a .JPEG of our Floor Plan. Please ensure that you look it over to confirm that your company name is spelled correctly (which was taken from your Booth Reservation Form). Also verify that your booth booth size/table is assigned correctly. You can do this by comparing the colours on our Floor Plan as they are indicative of your booth size as follows: GREEN = 4x4 table in a 6x6 space, BLUE = 6 foot table in 8x8 space, RED = 8 foot table in a 10x10 space. Some spaces may be the same colour but may have other booth requirements (double space, triple space, Quad or no table). These are guidelines for Admin purposes to help us during setup. However, if you arrive at your booth and you did not receive the table size you paid for, please see Exhibitor Services right away to have the problem fixed immediately. While you may have a conflict with your location, you will NOT be able to switch locations UNLESS ABSOLUTELY REQUIRED as dozens of hours have been spent to assign spaces and they cannot be easily moved.
Your table has to fit in the space you paid for. If you wish to bring an additional table, we are fine with that so long as it fits in your original space. If you wish more storage space behind you, you can put your table closer to the outside front of your booth if you wish. We are fine with whatever setup you choose to do as long as you respect your booth space. :) Generally, people put their table about 2 feet away from the curtain or wall with storage under their table if they choose to skirt the table (it is highly recommended you skirt or block off with tablecloth, sheet, etc and use under your table if you can for hiding space, extra stock, etc.) No linen is provided this year to any exhibitors so remember to pack your own if you wish it to be part of your display.
Once again this year you will notice that we are using TWO Ice Pads. We have lots of signage this year, the Floor Plans are both indicated in the programs this year, the Floor Plans are both indicated on the website and Facebook and we have volunteers who will be directing traffic to both ice pads to maximize exposure to both locations at the same time. While we make no guarantee that both will be equally as busy (that depends on too many factors of what people are looking for, which booths they come to see, what their interests are, which celebrities they come to see, etc) but we have assured to put some great attractions and spread out the celebrities on both Ice pads to ensure that people visit both areas.
ELECTRICITY
If you have requested Electricity on your form when you registered, you will have it provided already. There will be NO electricity provided to you if it was not already previously requested ahead of time. PLEASE bring along an extension cord with you as we do not have sufficient cords to provide for everyone and you may have to setup cords a small distance from your booth. We will help with this using our volunteers and setup crew but will require cords. If any of you are not using electricity but have an extension cord you can pack up and bring along, it may come in useful for a neighbour. :)
WI-FIWi-Fi will be available in the building but we have been advised that it may lag at times or cause some interruptions due to the high volume of people accessing it at the same time and the amount of steel in the building's structure. If you have wi-fi data and hotspot on your phone, you are encouraged to use it and share with your neighbour if you have unlimited data. :)
VOLUNTEERSIf you need any help at anytime during the show, please let one of our volunteers know and they will assist you. Otherwise, you can go to Exhibitor Services in the main lobby for assistance. Our Volunteers this year will be in ROYAL BLUE CAPE shirts so they are easily visible.
CONCESSIONThe Concession at the Benson Centre will be open for the entire duration of CAPE on both days. If you wish to purchase any food items, their prices are reasonable and they offer both hot and cold items such as snacks, beverages, hot dogs, hamburgers, fries and chicken fingers among others. You may bring your own lunch but please ensure to keep it cold as there is no access to refrigeration at CAPE.
GAMING AREA & PANELS
We also have a Gaming Area this year which we anticipate will be well-attended. It will be open throghout the entire weekend and operated by Kessel Run. We have panels that will also take place mostly in our Automotive Room throughout the weekend.
CANSTRUCTIONYou will notice in our Main Lobby that there are huge structures constructed out of canned goods - this is part of a separate group for a project called Canstruction which will aid our community food bank, Agape Centre. Feel free to check them out, take photos or pay a small donation to vote for your favourite if you wish. They have two "geeky" structures to fit in with CAPE - a Spider-Man bust and a BB8!
GUESTSIf you weren't already aware, this year's guests include Clerks movie cast members Brian O'Halloran, Marilyn Ghigliotti, Scott Schiaffo and Ernie O'Donnell, AMC's The Walking Dead cast members Steve Coulter, Coleman Youmans and Chris Harrelson as well as SIX Star Trek Original Series guests including BarBara Luna, Michael Forest, Sally Kellerman, Louise Sorel, Sean Kenney and Beverly Washburn. Rounding out the guest list are International Cosplayer, Glamour Model and Designer Marie-Claude Bourbonnais, actor Anderson Bradshaw and actress/singer Noelle Hannibal. We also have some guest artists and comic book creators including Dan Parent, Geof Iserwood, Tom Fowler, Mike Rooth, Dan Day, Jack Briglio, Ronn Sutton and Janet Hetherington.
MEDIAMedia is expected at 9:45 for a brief Opening Ceremony Photo and the doors will open at 10:00. Media is invited back for a 15 minute Press Conference again at 5:30 and will be able to take a few more photos before our Wedding.
WEDDINGIf you weren't already aware, Randy and I are getting married right after the show in true geek fashion at 7:45 pm following the Saturday show right at the Benson Centre. With R2-D2 as the ring bearer and several other little surprises, the wedding will incorporate our pop culture and geeky passions and promises to be a fun event for all who attend. While seating is limited at the Ceremony, we have become close to many of you and would love for you to join us. If you plan to attend, please find us during the day on Saturday to obtain a "Wedding Guest Pass" as only friends and family with this pass will be permitted to sit during the Ceremony. A Reception will follow immediately with music, a cash bar and dancing for anyone who would like to help us celebrate and it will last until 12:00 midnight at which point the hall will be closed down and ecured once again. Rest assured that there will also be volunteers and security on-site throughout the entire evening and all exhibitor areas will be locked as well.
CAPE 2017 REGISTRATIONBooth Reservation/Exhibitor Registration Forms for CAPE 2017 will be available on Sunday if any of you are interested in securing your booth for CAPE 2017. We sold out in booth spaces this year and had to refuse a couple dozen vendors due to lack of space and anticipate the show to increase in popularity every year. That being said, you can reserve your spot right away for next year with a small deposit and form which will be availble to you on Sunday at your booth. Kindly fill it out with your deposit if you intend to book at this year's show and return it to Exhibitor Services.
CONTACT
Our cell phone number is
613-861-9036 should anyone need to reach us. We will be on-site from all day from 8:00 am to 2:30 pm setting things up before all exhibitors arrive at which point we will leave things in the capable hands of our volunteers to continue until exhibitors begin arriving at 5:00 with the EXCEPTION of vehicles who MUST arrive beforehand as they need to be in the building so we can set up around them. We will return to the venue at 8:30 pm to 11:30 on Friday evening. We will also be on-site at 8:30 am Saturday. Please call our cell if you require assistance.
See you all on Friday or Saturday!!! Very excited to meet you all!
Carol Grant & Randy Sauve
Cornwall & Area Pop Event (CAPE)
April 23-24, 2016
Benson Centre, Cornwall, ON
cape...@hotmail.comwww.cornwallpopevent.comFollow us on Twitter and Facebook!