West Plains, MO preparing for OzCon


Today we find ourselves in West Plains, Missouri. Tomorrow, we set up for OzCon in the morning and open the show at 2PM. Normally, I despise shows that require a setup on the opening day. The Tortured Earth display is rather expansive and requires several hours to set up and make presentable. Fortunately, we put out new jewelry and flags at the last show and haven’t gotten anything to elaborate on. I’m expecting a three-hour setup, another hour of fine-tuning with plenty of time for a normal lunch and a little breathing time.

OzCon was a show we followed for our first four years. From what I understand, the show started off as a college project for an anime group. As it grew and developed, the young man who headed the project took it over and switched it from a charity show to a for-profit show which does donations. I’m anxious to see how the show has changed since our last visit.

The reason for my abandoning it wasn’t malicious or due to low performance. Around 2018, I had a gentleman who wanted to start doing shows for us. At about the same time, one of the showrunners we followed opened up a new show on the same weekend along the Gulf Coast. I turned the show over to the gentleman and he kept it on his circuit until COVID. After going through some issues of his own, he dropped off the circuit.

Pretty much at the same time, the company I was following underwent internal turmoil and the partners managing the event split. The Gulf Coast show I was following dropped in attendance and I decided to go back to OzCon.

Over the past few years, vendors working the show have raved about the attendance and the community. I’m anxious to visit the show again and see what kinds of changes they have made.

For those of you who have never been to West Plains, Missouri, it’s a really nice place. There are rolling green hills, beautiful streams, and quaint little homes dotted all over the place. On this trip, we opted for an AirBnB. I used to use AirBnB exclusively, often finding the accommodations far more adequate than standard hotel rooms. After a few years of using the service, I found that although the home prices are quite fair, the service fees added to the final bill can drive the price far higher than hotel prices. In this particular case, the prices were fair and affordable. The neighborhood where the property is located seems quiet and is easily accessible.

As always, if you are looking for a new gaming experience, try our free download at Tortured Earth (www.torturedearth.com).

Information on OzCon: www.oz-con.com


 




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