TwiCon Toronto 2010 June 18-20, 2010 Toronto, Canada

[Bryan R]

TwiCon has announced their Canadian date for their convention all about Vampires focussed on Twilight, True Blood and Vampire Diaries.

http://www.twicon.org/

June 18-20, 2010
Sheraton Toronto Hotel and Conference Center

TwiCon is bringing the vamp pop culture phenomenon to Las Vegas/Toronto! Offering new programming and stars from today's hottest vampire movies, television series and books, TwiCon 2010 is truly the most exclusive convention for the Edward, Sookie, Elena, and Brotherhood fan.

Many more details to be posted as announced!

[Bryan R]

This convention for Toronto, Canada has undergone some "changes".

1) They have now changed the date to: June 24-27, 2010

2) They have changed the location to the Metro Convention Centre (same as SFX/Hobbystar uses in August!)

3) The weekend they have now changed to has the beginning of "Gay Pride Week" and also the weekend of the G20 summit and there are almost NO hotel rooms available downtown - brilliant change people!! Yeesh!

They do have 1 guest announced for the show though:

Sam Trammell
"Sam"
True Blood

[Bryan R]

They have announced their "Twilight Guest" for Toronto:

TINSEL KOREY
"Emily Young"
Twilight: New Moon

[Bryan R]

MAJOR CITY CHANGE!!

This convention is as "dumb as a door nail"!! The G20 was announced months ago (and the Gov't has already moved Gay Pride back a week, moving a Blue Jay game date as well as all functions in the Convention Centre are cancelled for security!).

So what does this convention do - move to Ottawa, ON (about a 4 hour drive)! Wonder how many people have non-refundable air fare and now have to find a way to get to Ottawa!

World Financial Conference Forces Shift in Canadian TwiCon Location
A world financial conference which will virtually shut down the city of Toronto this June has forced the relocation of the Canadian TwiCon event to Ottawa.

Lansdowne Park, the signature convention facility in the second largest city in the province of Ontario, will now be the host site for the first Canadian version of the premiere destination conference. The event still will be held June 25-27, 2010.

“We are one of several events to have learned of our displacement, essentially at the behest of the Canadian governement,” said Becky Scoggins, TwiCon managing partner, of the G20 world financial summit. The event, which hosts 20 leaders of the world’s richest nations, is a high-security affair which restricts the Toronto downtown from any nonessential activity.

Though rumors of the G20 taking place during the same dates as TwiCon had been evident, TwiCon management only recently received official confirmation of the G20, as well as its loss of the use of the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.

Those who have registered for the Canadian TwiCon will have their conference registration honored in Ottawa; and TwiCon staff currently is working to secure a low-cost room block for those traveling to the event. Those already holding reservations for hotels in Toronto should be able to secure a cancellation at no cost due to the G20 event; and those with other mitigating circumstances should address those directly with TwiCon customer service at registration@twicon.org.

On a positive note, the shift to Ottawa creates additional options for fans living near Montreal, just two hours away, as well as those wishing to explore Montreal as part of an extended summer break.

TwiCon comes to Canada for the first time this summer, joining a sister conference in Las Vegas, NV, as the two most exciting conference celebrating the vamp romance culture. Celebrating Fans attending the twin TwiCons – originally conceived to celebrate the “Twilight” series of books and movies -- will find the offerings expanded to include other segments of the vamp pop culture, including TV shows “True Blood” and “Vampire Diaries” and other popular book series such as the “Black Dagger Brotherhood.” They’ll also be able to rub elbows in Las Vegas with Daniel Cudmore and Peter Facinelli, who play Felix and Carlisle in the “Twilight” movie; in Ottawa with Tinsel Korey; and at both events with Sam Trammell and Joe Manganiello, who star in HBO’s “True Blood.” More VIPs are to be announced in the coming weeks.

[SID]

That's just a rotten thing to do. I wonder if the con will just give fans refunds outright to the con and the hotels/airlines will let people recover their money. Again, sometimes I wonder if it's too hard for administrators of conventions to at least adhere to ethical and legal practices

[Bryan R]

I have been in communications with a few customers dealing with TwiCon on refunds and it really is a "case-by-case" basis they are working off of on returns.

Seems if you can "prove" you bought non-refundable plane/train tickets they are refunding your Admission tickets (not that it helps people stuck with plane/train tickets). Otherwise it seems you are "out of luck" and they advise it is "only" 4 hours drive from Toronto to Ottawa and that Montreal is only 2 hours for that you can go visit too.

TwiCon seems to forget this now "could" add hotel costs to people who live in toronto that were just going to attend their convention and go home at nights and travel back downtown in the mornings. Adding the 4 hour drive and at least 2 nights in a hotel probably adds about $500-$600 to a weekend total.

I so "smell" problems with this convention!!

[Silent Bob]

This is why I've always paid at the door for cons. The extra couple of bucks beats the hours spend trying to deal with the bullcrap.

[Bryan R]

And another con bites the dust!!

Home
March 13, 2010 – After much thought, deliberation and best intentions to survive, TwiCon Partners LLC has made the difficult decision to cease operations. Competitive pressures, coupled with the persistent nature of the economic downturn, have necessitated this action. Both of the scheduled 2010 TwiCon events have been cancelled as a result of today’s decision.

Ticketholders will receive a formal notice from TwiCon with instructions at the address listed in their ticket purchase information.

The staff at TwiCon worked very hard to make the events a success and TwiCon would like to thank everyone for their support. This decision was not an easy one and we apologize sincerely for the inconvenience. Becky Scoggins, a co-owner and manager of TwiCon Partners, LLC, will be on hand on the TwiCon ning site for the next several days to answer questions and concerns to the best of her ability.

Thank you for the support and may the love of all things vampire continue to bring us all together.

[Silent Bob]

When you over extend yourself, combine it with poor management, well.....

[Bryan R]

Here is "THE POST" from the Co-owner of this MESS!! taken right from their site!!

The statements in this post are my own and do not reflect any official TwiCon policy, statement or course of action. Anything I say in this post is my own personal opinion and not as a co-owner or manager of TwiCon.



First of all, I want to apologize that we were unable to save the events. Naturally, we did everything we could to hang on and try to pull the events out of the red, but our registrations simply didn't come in fast enough and we couldn't cover our initial expenses. I know a lot of you are wondering about your refund status. I've received several emails asking me about it.



The last thing I intend to do is leave you all hanging. Unfortunately, I am not in charge of finances, and have never been. In the statement posted on the site yesterday, it states that all registered attendees will receive a letter in the mail this week with instructions on what to do. Our financial/legal team will be handling everything regarding refunds.



When a company closes, operations cease. Many of you will want to call the former TwiCon headquarters, which happens to be the office of my company, to ask about getting your money back. Please refrain from calling about refunds; that's why you are getting a formal letter from us that explains exactly what you need to do and who you need to contact. I know many of you are very concerned with getting your money back; I completely understand that and would feel exactly the same way. My company is no longer affiliated with TwiCon, and as I stated previously, we are not in charge of finances. My company was hired to be the managing company of TwiCon, and it is no longer employed by TwiCon. I was also a co-owner, however, and did know most everything that went on for TwiCon so I'm still here to answer questions, just not on behalf of my other company. I won't be the one writing your checks, though. I can't tell you the status of our finances or anything like that because it's all in the hands of our financial and legal team. Those letters will go out this week, guaranteed, so I just ask that everyone be patient while they wait for them. Those who have emailed me about their refunds, I will forward them to the financial team, but you'll still have to follow instructions on the letter you'll receive. When a company like this closes, other parties get involved. Essentially, we don't exist anymore and a team of people come in to handle the wrapping up of assets, so to speak. I'm going to do my best to provide as much good customer service as possible. I definitely sympathize with you all and will do what I can with the information I have. If you have questions about refunds, though, please wait until you receive your letter. You may certainly email me about TwiCon event related questions.



Let me say this, though....something I do know: We did not walk away with your money. We did not pocket any money. When deposits to venues, actors and other items are paid, they are non-refundable.



I came on to this site, with full knowledge of the implication that you'll all want to get answers from one of the co-owners. I was initially advised not to do this. Having said that, it's important to me that you all know that while I don't have the answers you want, I am woman enough to own up to being a co-owner for this company and will be here for the next several days to vent to. I may not be able to tell you what you want to hear, but I will do my best to answer what questions I do know the answers to. I can't make statements about other conventions, our finances, or timing. I also can't say certain things I'd really like to say about what went down. I can say that for my part, I'm so sorry we couldn't make it work. We started TwiCon as fans and while my company has experience in convention planning, we never started with any capital. The events were always funded strictly by registration income.



This is a personal communication, not on behalf of TwiCon. I will be on Ning every day, probably once a day, to respond to questions. I'll do my best, as I've always done, to try to help you. I'm so sorry I can't offer more at this point.



Regards,



Becky Scoggins