\u201cIf I Were King of SPX\u201d<\/p>\n
Prompted by Bart Beaty\u2019s recent essay<\/a> as well as some general discussion at the most recent meeting of the Camel City Cartoonists\u2019 Guild and Social Club<\/a>, I thought I\u2019d formalize a few of my thoughts on the matter. While I personally don\u2019t see Beaty\u2019s proposed European-style largely commerce-free art festival model being feasible in the U.S. in the near term, I think there\u2019re some definite steps that could be done to make SPX a far, far better event. In an imaginary world where I\u2019m the king of SPX, here\u2019s what I\u2019d do:<\/p>\n (1) I\u2019d return the Expo to Bethesda\u2019s restaurant district or, barring that, explore another location. First, large scale geography \u2013 Bethesda, Maryland is about dead center in the Mid-Atlantic region of the U.S., making it an accessible one day drive from everywhere from upstate New York to Atlanta Georgia and similarly westward.<\/p>\n Second, economy \u2013 Unlike the its chief competitor, MoCCA, which is held in New York City, SPX was affordable. Hotels within walking distance could be had for under $100.00\/night, and even cheaper if one were willing to go a few Metro stops toward Rockville. Similarly so with everything else–food, beer whatever. (Last time I was in New York, which was nearly ten years ago, a bottle of Budweiser cost $6.50. God knows what you\u2019d be charged now\u2014and if you\u2019ve hung around for the evening festivities at SPX, you\u2019ll know this is something to consider.) <\/p>\n Third, small scale geography \u2013 Everything is within walking distance of the old SPX location, most importantly tons and tons of great restaurants. Everything from cheap decent pizza by the slice to upscale four-star cuisine is within a short walk.<\/p>\n SPX\u2019s new location retains only the first item above. The only hotel nearby is the host hotel and it\u2019s expensive. Even if the advertised but apparently non-existent \u201cExpo rate\u201d were available, it\u2019d be expensive. It\u2019s also in an un-fun, nothing within walking distance, shopping mall area of Maryland. Let\u2019s face it: it\u2019s in Rockville. The hotel claims it\u2019s in \u201cNorth Bethesda.\u201d My parents were born and raised in Bethesda; they\u2019ve never heard of \u201cNorth Bethesda.\u201d Maybe it\u2019s something new. Mapquest it. It sure as hell looks to me like it\u2019s in Rockville. <\/p>\n If Bethesda\u2019s Restaurant district is unworkable, I\u2019d consider finding another location that satisfies the thee criteria above. Off the top of my head, I\u2019d consider places like Asheville, North Carolina; Richmond, Virginia; and Norfolk, Virginia.<\/p>\n The main problem I see with SPX in general is that it\u2019s basically a three hour walkthrough\u2026and that\u2019s it. A guest can see all there is to see in about three hours. But I think there are some simple things that could be done to address this, like:<\/p>\n (2) Add an original art show<\/strong><\/p>\n Why wouldn\u2019t I do this? It\u2019d be a good draw and it\u2019d help diminish the perception that attendees at SPX are paying for the privilege of buying stuff. This can\u2019t be that hard to put together. Hell, I\u2019ll bet I could put on a decent show like this just by emailing people who happen to be in my address book right now. Or even better, join forces with Vermont\u2019s Center for Cartoon Studies<\/a>. They\u2019re amassing an incredible collection of original art and I\u2019ll bet they\u2019d love to have it shown in exchange for the tons of branding and press exposure that such a partnership would create.<\/p>\n (3) I\u2019d return the festival to three days and offer tables in three different schedule blocks.<\/strong><\/p>\n I\u2019d run the festival from three until eight on Friday, all day on Saturday, and ten until maybe three on Sunday. I\u2019d also offer three \u201cflavors\u201d of tables to purchase: a \u201cFriday and Saturday\u201d deal, an \u201call three days\u201d deal, and a \u201cSaturday and Sunday\u201d deal. Yeah, this\u2019d be a logistical hassle, but here\u2019s my reasoning. First, you\u2019d maybe bring some new folks onboard with the cheaper two-day packages, and second, you\u2019d create a situation where a guest who came on Friday could return on Sunday and maybe see some different stuff.<\/p>\n
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\nThe virtues of SPX\u2019s original location are threefold:<\/p>\n