Minor Culture Clash

[kevin_standlee]

I've not attended many conventions in the Midwest, other than some Worldcons, one Wiscon, and one World Fantasy Con (Minneapolis). So I'm not immersed in the regional conventional traditions, and it came as a bit of a surprise to me to see just how alcohol-focussed the parties that we found here at MARCon seemed to be. It's not that we begrudge anyone their drinks. Lisa and I aren't anti-drinking; we just do not enjoy it ourselves. We actually find it a bit off-putting to have photo ID demanded of us at the door of parties.

(If I were serving alcohol, I would do my ID check at the point of service, not at the door. But if you make the basic assumption that "the only people I want in my party are drinkers," it makes more sense to do the ID check at the door. That does screen Lisa and me out, though.)

Anyway, we did go up to the 11th floor, where we encountered the closing half-hour or so of the Millennicon party, which was more our speed, with relative peace and quiet and interesting conversation. But they were running a nominal 7 PM to 9 PM and we were there after their official closing time, so we weren't able to stay long.

If there were parties promoting other conventions or bids, we couldn't find them. We looked on the party boards on 5 and 6 and downstairs, but didn't see anything.

The Dr Who Columbus party had an interesting way of handling their door-prize drawing. Instead of tickets, when you entered, they gave you a mailing-label sized sticker with their name, logo, and your door prize number on it. We didn't stick around for the the drawing because the party was too crowded for us, but I thought it was a clever idea and may use it if I ever again run a party with door prizes.

Surprised that there weren't as many people around on the party floors as we had been given to believe was usual around here, we headed back downstairs, which is where we found plenty of people in the post-Masquerade socializing, Con Suite, hotel bar, etc. The Con Suite is located in a large ground floor function room and therefore doesn't require queuing for the four elevators, and I can see that this would be attractive.

We had a number of nice fun conversations with various con members about different subjects. We wandered the halls and admired other people's costumes. (We'd long since changed into more comfortable clothes, I'm afraid. Lisa says I should wear my WSFS uniform to sign autographs tomorrow.)

A couple of the places in the food court were still open, even after 11 PM. Lisa got a gyro, but it unfortunately was so drowned in mayonnaise that when she attempted to get rid of the may, it spilled all over the floor. I probably shouldn't have bought a mushroom swiss hamburger, but I liked the one I'd had several hours earlier so much that I got another one.

As we headed up the elevators, we crossed paths with Rebecca Forstadt and her boyfriend yet again. Turns out that if we had walked up to the same convenience store as we did last night -- Lisa says she's too tired to do that -- we probably would have met them at about the same place as the last two times.

I'm afraid we're back in the room before midnight, though. As I mentioned earlier, travel fatigue has been catching up to Lisa, and there just didn't seem to be a whole lot of things in which I was interested tonight. As I grow older, my ability to pick up conversations in loud rooms declines, so I'm not so fond of parties full of loud music as I might once have been. Guess I'm just getting to be an old Phart. Oh, wait a minute, I am one, aren't I? It says so on that Get Out of Worldcon Free Card.

Comments

[ann-totusek.livejournal.com]

WRT booze in the ConSuite, I've always been surprised that cons with limited budgets would use their $$ on booze instead of improving the rest of the con. A LARGE proportion of people don't drink, it seems odd to spend so much money on them when you could be providing more food, better space, or somesuch to benefit more people. I'd prefer to put the onus of booze provision on the parties if they are so inclined to do so. Alcohol free parties are also just fine.

I am of the opinion that ID should NOT be required at the door, but at the point of service, drinks should be dispensed on a one drink at a time per person basis, and that parties should be required to see that alcohol does not go wandering out the door of their parties- those last two make it more difficult for a 22 year old to hand off drinkies to an underage person. I also object considerably to ID'ing at the door- not because ID shouldn't be gotten when someone is drinking, but because it prevents anyone underage from being able to attend a con party when alcohol is being served. Goodness knows that alcohol is going to be in con space anyway, so it's not like we're protecting them from being around drinkers. My major problem with it comes from attending Archon a couple years ago. One of the girls in our group was 17 or 18, and I don't believe that there was a single non-drinking party at the con. I don't think it's fair to expect a person to pay for a full adult membership and then deny them access to any aspect of the convention. If you're going to require your parties to ID at the door and refuse admittance to anyone underage for drinking, everyone underage should pay for a child membership, because they're not being granted full access to the convention.

I'm not sure how the carding at the door laws apply to non-commercial parties and have often wondered about that.

[kevin-standlee.livejournal.com]

All extremely good points, especially the fact that it excludes adults from attending parties. I started going to conventions when I was 18. Ghod knows how I'd taken it if every single party said, "No ID, no entry."

[laminahospes.livejournal.com]

I've noticed a couple of patterns here in the South. I started attending cons at 16, and have been drinking at them since I was 17, and was only denied access to a party once (it was a semi-private affair, and as I was both unknown and underaged, I'd call it wise to refuse me entry). Here in NC, though, the alcohol has always come exclusively from the parties, not from the consuite (this may well change soon, but it's usually a hotel issue). Oddly enough, I was never carded for any of the times I tried to drink underage, and the only person who ever asked me my age would always say, "You're 21 now, right?" (starting when I was 17 -- I was kind of dismayed that he didn't ask when I finally turned 21). Unfortunately, as all my convention attendance until I turned 21 was in-state, I can't say what it was like elsewhere.

From my experience with conventions in Tennessee, they mostly serve bheer in the consuite, and card you when you get your badge (giving a different badge to underaged members), then again with each drink (as required by law). Only one party I've attended carded at the door -- some of the others carded by the drink, some not at all.

I've only been to one convention in Virginia (and that one repeatedly), but I was not carded by any of the parties, and there was no bheer in the consuite.

The one convention I attended in Alabama was a somewhat smaller affair, and there were only two parties (one of which I helped host). Both had liquor and bheer, neither carded.

The one convention I've been to in Kentucky was ConCave, which was probably a bit out of the ordinary, as it's a complete relaxacon. Not only was there bheer in the consuite, but liquor, too. I think they were color-coding the badges. I'm not sure if anyone was being asked for ID, though, as I wasn't in the mood to drink heavily that weekend. The parties seemed to let the alcohol flow freely.

Needless to say, I was somewhat surprised when I attended my first northern convention and found that not only was there no bheer in the consuite (not that I expected it, having heard they don't have very lavish consuites up north), but the only party with alcohol was the semi-private SFWA affair. I suspect that as I leave my home region more often, I'll discover more and more patterns.

[kshandra]

I also object considerably to ID'ing at the door- not because ID shouldn't be gotten when someone is drinking, but because it prevents anyone underage from being able to attend a con party when alcohol is being served.

The parties here at BayCon that are serving alcohol are mostly checking ID at the door...and then issuing a token that marks who can and cannot have booze (a hand-stamp at the one party where I actually ran the gauntlet last night; self-adhesive wristbands are also popular).

I'm not sure how the carding at the door laws apply to non-commercial parties and have often wondered about that.

I actually camp with a bar at Burning Man, where carrying your ID is a really good way to lose it in the middle of 50 square miles of dust. For the state of Nevada, as long as our bartenders make a good-faith effort (asking the specific question "Are you over the age of 21 and legal to drink in this state?" and ONLY accepting the word "yes" as an answer), the onus is now upon the drinker to prove their age if asked by a member of law enforcement. YMMV (your municipality may vary).

[nolly.livejournal.com]

Most of the Baycon parties would happily let you not show an ID and not receive the stamp/wristband/etc., if you aren't drinking. Not so Seattle in 2011, which wanted to see ID regardless. I had to leave, as I did not have ID on me, since I don't drink, and was costumed with very limited cargo space.

[flick.livejournal.com]

(Brit disclaimer)

A LARGE proportion of people don't drink

Really? I'd be genuinely interested in stats on it: do you have any, either for con-goers or for the US population as a whole?

[petrea-mitchell.livejournal.com]

A few months ago (maybe leading up to the Christmas/New Year's party season), the Wall Street Journal ran a story on recent surveys showing that a slight majority (54%? Can't remember exactly) of drinking-age US residents either never drink, or drink only once or twice a year. The exact numbers of non-drinkers vs. occasional drinkers weren't given.

For con-goers, I can only offer the data point that my SO and I are both non-drinkers. Him because he figures being Scotch-Irish with a dash of Cherokee gives him too good a shot at alcoholism, and me because alcohol just tastes hideous to me.

[desperance.livejournal.com]

[Brit disclaimer]

a slight majority (54%? Can't remember exactly) of drinking-age US residents either never drink, or drink only once or twice a year

*blinks, in a very startled-Brit fashion*

(I'm finding this whole conversation fascinating, in a culture-clash sort of way; a British con takes place almost entirely in the bar...)

[twilight2000.livejournal.com]

Interestingly, we have something generally referred to as "bar-con" here in the States as well -- and it occurs at just about any con that's in a hotel that has a bar. Amusingly, those folks tend to be the most sober in the con -- it's most often (in my experience) pros, semi-pros and pros-to-be all hanging out in the bar and talking shop.

[daveon.livejournal.com]

The major difference that I've observed is that Brit cons don't have anything really resembling the con suite. We just all gather in one of, typically, many bars.

I would guess that the proportion of British fans who drink is significantly higher than else where.

[flick.livejournal.com]

Wow: I wouldn't have thought it would be so high!