Formal Dance Masquerade Feedback

[KotORBF2Revan]

Since I caught this before Proz, the convention center closes at a certain time and the dances would not be able to be in there. They will be in the hotel.

Oh. XD

From what I had read, the convention center closes at midnight, which is when the formal dance ended this year, so I had thought they would hold it there. But since it isn't, my idea doesn't work. XD

[Proz]

Oh. XD

From what I had read, the convention center closes at midnight, which is when the formal dance ended this year, so I had thought they would hold it there. But since it isn't, my idea doesn't work. XD

It does close at midnight but it is a hard lock-down as we must vacate at that point. We can't put it in Main Events as we'll be holding concerts there.

[KotORBF2Revan]

It does close at midnight but it is a hard lock-down as we must vacate at that point. We can't put it in Main Events as we'll be holding concerts there.

Oh, ok.

[Peachy]

As both so far have featured carpeted floors, I busted out a pair of formal looking dockers. They worked beautifully, and I'm using them again should we be dancing on carpet again.
As for where you can snap a pair, shop around. There're any number of shoe and thrift stores around, and they may have the pair for you. Just, try not to wait until the day of the dance, okay?

[Bri-Chan]

Sorry about that, failed at being helpful and remembering.

[porkchops_and_applesause]

They got stopped by someone else while the main checkers were further down the line. As soon as we got back to the front and saw the issue, we let them in right away.

You mean after they came up and got a staffer to leave their job and to bring the boy and his sister to talk you into letting him in right?

Also just a little reminder to keep an eye on the language you use in your posts, this is a family place. (this is to a previous post not the one I'm quoting)

--Sadly I didnt get to see the inside of the dance, I got all dressed up but when I saw the line I knew I didnt have time to wait it out. But maybe I'm the odd one out I enjoyed the minecraft theme (what I could see from the door) I thought it was a cute idea, MUCH better then the decor from last year. Makes me excited for next years theme.

[Sylph]

As a part of the staff for Anime Matsuri's formal dance, I thought I'd throw in my two-cents worth. As so many others have said, I think the minecraft theme was pretty flawed. The boxes took up room in an already too small room, and the decor wasn't formal at all. I thought the music was fairly good, although it had a little too much upbeat/jazz for my taste.
As for the dress code, it seems to me that the staff has handled the feedback very gracefully. I completely understand where you're coming from there. It's hard to deal with people who don't understand why they can't wear sneakers into a formal dance. And it's even harder to try to define what constitutes "formal" without offending someone, but I think you've done a good job, and I thought that the staff at the dance were very polite and professional. I also liked that you were going down the line and checking people before they got to the door, so that they wouldn't be waiting only to be turned away if there was a problem. I also feel the need to point out that there is a forum for a reason. Everyone had the opportunity to check their outfit with the staff before the actual event, so I don't see a reason for anyone to be upset about being turned away. We asked about an outfit, got answered and changed our plans accordingly. That's what the forums are for, guys.
Overall, we had a good time at the dance. I think it could use some improvement, but it seems like the staff is willing and eager to rise to the con-goers' expectations and I definitely look forward to attending next year.
Also, thank you for providing the song list!

[Proz]

I have had lengthy discussions with the main MEK organizers along with possible resolutions and here's what will [attempted to] be implemented for next year:

• Safety will only be involved to ensure that the event is fire code compliant and involved in line control. Nothing further. I will have discussions with the Safety dept. on this.
• The "walking the line" was a small issue as some attendees felt they were being 'judged'. All attendees will be 'checked' at the door instead.
• A revision on the rules to give more clarity on what is & isn't allowed including character masks and certain types of outfits.
• Masks will be sold At-Door or distributed to those who 'forgot' their mask so people aren't turned away.
• Pictures of examples on what is & isn't allowed will be posted on the website.
• A better system to ensure that rule revisions on the forums are also posted on the website so that discrepancies do not occur again.
• The word "semi-" will be dropped, it will now be a strict "formal"-only event.
• A much larger room will be assigned in 2012 to allow an upwards of 450-600 people into the event. Fire Code for the 2011 event was at 180.

Discussions about the music and 'wallflowers' were brought up too.

All sides do want to make this a better event.

[ChibiBritt]

As a part of the staff for Anime Matsuri's formal dance, I thought I'd throw in my two-cents worth. As so many others have said, I think the minecraft theme was pretty flawed. The boxes took up room in an already too small room, and the decor wasn't formal at all. I thought the music was fairly good, although it had a little too much upbeat/jazz for my taste.
As for the dress code, it seems to me that the staff has handled the feedback very gracefully. I completely understand where you're coming from there. It's hard to deal with people who don't understand why they can't wear sneakers into a formal dance. And it's even harder to try to define what constitutes "formal" without offending someone, but I think you've done a good job, and I thought that the staff at the dance were very polite and professional. I also liked that you were going down the line and checking people before they got to the door, so that they wouldn't be waiting only to be turned away if there was a problem. I also feel the need to point out that there is a forum for a reason. Everyone had the opportunity to check their outfit with the staff before the actual event, so I don't see a reason for anyone to be upset about being turned away. We asked about an outfit, got answered and changed our plans accordingly. That's what the forums are for, guys.
Overall, we had a good time at the dance. I think it could use some improvement, but it seems like the staff is willing and eager to rise to the con-goers' expectations and I definitely look forward to attending next year.
Also, thank you for providing the song list!

We really appreciate your feedback, as well as everyone else who has any. Planning and running a masquerade ball is a lot harder than it probably looks as I'm sure you have experienced as well! Just like a lot of groups, as we meet new challenges we want to overcome them and try to do better the next year.

As Dave said, there will a lot of good changes next year that will fix a lot of the problems we had this year. Our theme will be much more formal as well since the Minecraft worked for some people, while not so much for others. Our goal was for people to remember it, and even if they didn't like it as much, chances are they WILL remember. I suppose that still goes along with our goal ^_~

We are really looking forward to the masquerade next year. We want to do our best to have as many people as we possibly can have a great and memorable time.

[Mitch568]

I was sadly rejected from the event for SJ4TW, so the only thing I have to say is I'm looking forward to next year and im looking forward to the rules cause I need to know if it's okay or not to wear the cosplay I was plaing on doing or if it won't be aloud