Whew! Our team just got back from an action packed week of hanging out with the coolest comic con fans around, living it up with a great lineup of artists at Pittsburgh’s new Ace Hotel, and diving into a ginormous pile of LEGO bricks!
Hear our about the awesome partners we work with and our experiences in this next edition of the ShowClix Road Journal!
New York Comic Con – Kyle Wetherald
An event like New York Comic Con has a lot of moving pieces. It’s not just about getting people in the doors. There’s onsite fulfillment of will call orders, troubleshooting invalid badges, and signing fans up to attend panels at the main stage. All of it requires us to maintain robust network to keep the devices communicating. Even some exhibitors use our equipment to generate leads through the lead capture mode of out Axess android application. Adding to the complexity is the fact that badges get scanned at multiple venues.
Seeing it all work flawlessly is a sight to behold. It takes fourteen ShowClix employees waking up early and staying late, spending long days on our feet at the entrance and exit gates, and walking the four-city-block length of the Jacob Javitz Convention Center to deliver scanners to the queue hall.
Events like this are what it’s all about, though. Seeing the excitement of fans in cosplay once they’ve made it through the entrance gate, witnessing the joy of a child dancing in front of one of our photo stations, and high-fiving a panel attendee as they enter the main hall make all of our hard work worth it.
Being in the role of technical support gave me the opportunity to have my hand in many of the moving pieces. I’m thankful for the opportunity to have worked with such an all-star team including the fine folks at Reed (Here’s to you Allison and Chelsea). I relish our team dinners and the late night partaking of the Brooklyn Defender IPA at the New York Beer Company. Big thank you to all the great fans, I hope you had a great time at NYCC 2016. We’ll see you next year.
LEGO KidsFest Milwaukee – Brandon Lehman
I traveled to Milwaukee this weekend for LEGO KidsFest. The last time the fest visited Wisconsin was 2012 so needless to say, families were eager to come back. Because of where 
the state is geographically located, we saw many families from the surrounding states of Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana and even Michigan.
Staff members used our ticket scanners to get families into the event quickly and safely, while box office staff used Crowd to sell more tickets.
LEGO KidsFest is coming to city near you! Visit their website for a complete list of upcoming tour stops!
VIA 2016 Festival – Christina Lee
VIA is a Pittsburgh-based collective that is dedicated to presenting innovative music, art, and culture. Founded in 2010 by Lauren Goshinski and Quinn Leonowicz, they launched an annual music and arts festival that offers an eclectic lineup and diverse programming. Since its inception, VIA Festival has occupied various non-traditional venues, such as sound stages, former voguing clubs, and an unoccupied skyscraper.
This year, VIA Festival featured 4 days of robust art and music programming, with their main showcases located at the new Ace Hotel Pittsburgh. As a ShowClix representative, I assisted box office operations by scanning pre-sale tickets and handling on-site purchases.
I always look forward to attending VIA Festival because the event brings a unique roster of artists and musicians to Pittsburgh every year. This year’s lineup featured Negative Gemini, Rakim, Empress Of, Juliana Huxtable, Ben UFO, and Midland. The highlight of my weekend was seeing one of my favorite bands, ESG, play in Pennsylvania for the first time. I danced the night away listening to “You’re No Good” and “My Love for You”!
VIA Festival was a blast, and I’m excited to see what they have in store for 2017. Keep an eye on the VIA homepage for updates on next year’s festival!