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Fans and supporters of the Albuquerque Comic Expo will be donating and fundraising alike this month to participate in the all-new ACE Kickstarter forum.
Fans who donate $5 or more will be given access to the Funder’s Forum, an entire network of other fans and participants who are looking to voice their ideas and collaborations for the upcoming convention.
ACE, which happens every June, will be a completely fan-produced event this time around.
The convention will now be a “convention for the fans, by the fans,” said ACE Director Greg Derrick.
Monday marked the first day of the fundraising. ACE has a $10,000 goal. At press time, $1,831 have been pledged.
But the contributions that fans make aren’t reflective of how much they are able to participate in the open forums — pitch $5 or $500 and you have the same voice in the planning process.
However, fans who donate to the Kickstarter are given other benefits depending on the amount of their donations.
For the next 30 days of the fundraiser, Derrick will be creating a schedule for which participants can vote, discuss and collaborate in the Funder’s Forum.
According to ACE’s Kickstarter page for the project, the Funder’s Forum will include Google Hangouts and access to ACE multimedia content in addition to polls and comment threads.
“The biggest challenge will be handling how we present which guests we are able to bring down and basically communicating with the funders the process in which we go through to get our guests to come,” Derrick said. “I think that guests are going to be the biggest part of the entire process.”
The fan base, however, is still given an opportunity to voice their ideas directly.
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In prior years, an open discussion has been held at the end of the convention so fans can let Derrick and other ACE staff know what they liked and what they didn’t like.
This time around, fans will be implementing what they want to see and ultimately what they will see when the convention actually happens.
“I really hope that people actively participate in the Funder’s Forum process because I think that it’s something that people will really take pride in. They will be able to say ‘This is our show, we planned this convention and it isn’t just some event going on in Albuquerque,’” Derrick said.
Brandy Yeazell, a participant and volunteer at previous ACE conventions, said she was optimistic about the success of the Forum.
“Albuquerque is a very tight-knit community and everybody knows everybody. Having this personal, community-oriented input will be fantastic,” Yeazell said. “Greg Derrick is really a fan of everything. He tries so hard to please everyone with the quality of people that he brings in.”
Guests are not the only factor that fans will be voting on.
Pitching ideas on activities and various selections will also be on the agenda.
ACE will take place at the Albuquerque Convention Center June 27 through June 29.
Potential contributors can find information about the Kickstarter at abqcomicexpo.com. The fan forum will not begin until the fundraising goal is successfully met.
