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On Convention Room Parties
Feb. 13th, 2012 02:45 pmI have returned from Capricon. The con was fun, and I got to hang out with a lot of people I don't see very often, such as Jason Robertson, Anne Geyer and the inimitable Tim Akers. Due to a combination of panel scheduling and not eating lunch, I ended up having dinner with him and his wife (at the bar in the new Italian restaurant) all three nights.
Speaking of restaurants, the good news is that the Westin finally filled its second restaurant spot, thus resulting in a bar reasonably close to the hotel lobby. The restaurant is called Saranello’s, and its a Lettuce Entertain You Italian-style eatery. It's reasonably-priced, but because it's a destination restaurant, dinnertime can get crowded. Still, it worked.
Also at the con, I threw a launch party for my new book Pirates of Mars. There were a record number of parties at Capricon this year, which resulted in not-terribly-crowded party rooms and hallways that were actually passable. Since this was my first con party, I followed the tips provided by the Nielsen Haydens. This resulted in me having waaaay too much pop and food.
What I forgot is that people roam from room to room, especially when going into the smaller room parties like mine. Also, the Nielsen Hayden list assumes multi-night parties, and I was doing a one night stand. Even for a multi-night event, 3 out of 4 people are walking in with drink and/or munchies in hand, or having just consumed their fill of same at some other party. So, for future reference, my revised "small room party" shopping list:
Pop - one case regular, one twelve-pack each diet and Seven-Up.
Chips - one large bag
Other salty snack (popcorn seemed to go good) - one large bag
Cookies - two packs Oreos (mostly because I'll eat the leftovers)
Candy - none or one small bag of chocolate.
Wine - two or three bottles (I actually had 3 and took one home)
Speaking of restaurants, the good news is that the Westin finally filled its second restaurant spot, thus resulting in a bar reasonably close to the hotel lobby. The restaurant is called Saranello’s, and its a Lettuce Entertain You Italian-style eatery. It's reasonably-priced, but because it's a destination restaurant, dinnertime can get crowded. Still, it worked.
Also at the con, I threw a launch party for my new book Pirates of Mars. There were a record number of parties at Capricon this year, which resulted in not-terribly-crowded party rooms and hallways that were actually passable. Since this was my first con party, I followed the tips provided by the Nielsen Haydens. This resulted in me having waaaay too much pop and food.
What I forgot is that people roam from room to room, especially when going into the smaller room parties like mine. Also, the Nielsen Hayden list assumes multi-night parties, and I was doing a one night stand. Even for a multi-night event, 3 out of 4 people are walking in with drink and/or munchies in hand, or having just consumed their fill of same at some other party. So, for future reference, my revised "small room party" shopping list:
Pop - one case regular, one twelve-pack each diet and Seven-Up.
Chips - one large bag
Other salty snack (popcorn seemed to go good) - one large bag
Cookies - two packs Oreos (mostly because I'll eat the leftovers)
Candy - none or one small bag of chocolate.
Wine - two or three bottles (I actually had 3 and took one home)
