Convention Fundraiser Event

Urgent Announcement to all,
 
The directors and staff of the Chautauqua-Con are very sorry and honestly regret to announce that the Chautauqua-Con 2009 fundraiser event located in Shelbyville IL at Forest Park on Sept 19th will not be taking place this year and we hope to re-schedule this event for next year at or around the same time frame. The two directors of the event had set a deadline by Sept 1st and unfortunately we will not meet the quota on ticket sales. The directors highly believe this is because of the economy today combined with many other reasons. All ticket sales will be refunded back or donated to the Shelby Preservation Committee and if any ticket holders need more information on how ticket refunds will be conducted, then please refer to our guidelines section within our website.
 
Some paranormal events are folding or have folded this year because of the economy. Not long ago we had seen some paranormal events close or fold because of the lack of support and ticket sales. We had also seen some other paranormal events scam or deceive the public with them taking the public by surprise. When events do this with scams or deception it hurts many other good honest respectful paranormal events like a chain reaction. Also this year the amounts of paranormal events scamming or deceiving people is somewhat up and we highly believe this is also contributing to a huge drop in ticket sales combined with the economy. Many people were saying within many polls that were sent out by the directors and or staff, that they were going to purchase tickets and or said they were bringing their groups members as well. Saying is one thing, but actually doing it is another.
 
Many of us did the best we could with advertising anywhere and everywhere we could think of as to taking many polls - sent out over many invites to groups or individuals - profiles and websites were made for the event - had several media coverage articles outside the local area - many articles were published with the media - we also published in the medias calendar of events - we were also mentioned on national television in a few states - many fliers were passed out anywhere and everywhere within many states - some local businesses were contributing help with spreading the word and passing out fliers and with also donating items - spreading word of mouth by many - advertised on many radio shows and the list goes on. Our out of pocket expenses do add up with advertisement, but will be the only loss we have.
 
We also tried boosting sales by lowering prices and giving away tickets. Prices started off at $40 online and ended up being $20 online midway then $15 online by the end of August. We tried every tactic we could think of and still the sales stayed the same with little or no changes. We also concluded on what may have contributed to the downfall in ticket sales was because of our own local media that refused to do any coverage for this fundraiser event. We tried for several months and our local newspapers or media wouldn't give us the time of day with leaving us in the dark asking ourselves why. The directors would like to thank the staff and many others who worked very hard to bring this together and spread the word. Even persons in the para-community whom are considered celebs were helping us spread the word.
 
One of the other reasons that may have contributed in loss of sales is other events that revolved way to close to ours. One event coordinator nearby whom has run many events before decided to hold events very close to our time frame which could have hurt our true non-profit fundraiser event. This wasn't the only case and later some other event coordinators in other areas were noticed with doing the same thing. We did our research when we first announced our event and at that specific time frame nobody else that we noticed was conducting a event to be held in Sept. We were being very respectful to other events and people whom wanted to attend events, so we thought if we picked a month that was "empty" or a time frame not too close with another event so that it would not be so hard on the economy.
 
Last, we also noticed others within the paranormal community spreading the word that people shouldn't attend brand new events because of the scams or deception and or they are to risky in general. Any event could turn into a scam or in other words a flop and not just new ones. This really truly hurts good honest respectful events like ours that is legit with being 100% non-profit. People should research events and ask around and ask to see if this event or that one is legit this we do not contest, but we ask that you don't buy into fabricated stories that imply all new events are scams nor decieve others. This is one sided with whom spread these stories and are most likely based on their own bad experiences in the past, that could have happened to anyone at anytime no matter what. Any event new or old could turn sour or turn into a scam and or decieve others. 
 
We didn't want the fundraiser event to be a so called flop if only a few persons showed up and then this would seriously disappoint many people with giving us a bad name, if we were to still go ahead and that is why the directors set a quota for ticket sales. Our many polls we sent out only gave us a estimated projected outlook on what to expect, but in the end it was very deceiving with the votes. Many stated yes they would attend, but ticket sales still remained the same or made little changes. If people would have kept their word then we projected a estimated figure of about 514+ people that would have attended with not including locals-group members-walk ins. We would also like to thank and apologize to the Shelbyville Preservation Committee and the Speakers with hopes that they may return again in the near future to help us raise funds for the Auditorium. We have sent out letters prior about the Chautauqua-Con closing to the Preservation Committee and to the Speakers or PR persons.
 
In the past week many staff members made a last desperate attempt to pass out more flyers in many areas, but this unfortunatley failed and didn't help with sales. The directors have decided to leave the Chautauqua-Con websites-profiles-groups up and running for future use with hopes the event may gain more publicity as time goes, so we may try again in the near future. If you have any questions or problems please contact us at chautauqua-con@hotmail.com or visit our website at http://chautauqua-con.webs.com/ Please help pass the word on this announcement, thank you. You may still make donations to the Shelbyville Preservation Committee by contacting them directly at http://www.shelbyvillechautauqua.com/

(((Chautauqua-Con 2010 now in the works and if you are interested please contact us)))
 
Respectfully Yours,
 
Chautauqua-Con Directors and Staff

8/29/09