By J.J. Fryer
So, with Supanova being cancelled due the pandemic, our nerdy hearts were shattered until inCONceivable events came along. To tell us more about it is Megs, the founder and creator.
What is inCONceivable?
The current pandemic has hit us all pretty hard this year and I know of many indie artists and small vendors who have been struggling with not having any pop culture events to go to. I also know that a lot of the Australian geek community miss the fun and excitement of going to these events, so when I had the opportunity to do something about it, I decided to give it a go. inCONceivable is a new Australian-based virtual marketplace/convention that aims to fill some of the gaps left by being unable to have in-person events at this time. The first inCONceivable virtual con will be utilising the platform Eventeny which was recently used for Dragoncon goes Virtual. Our first event is planned for 14-15 November 2020. Not a lot of time I know, but we want to get this happening in time for attendees to buy Christmas gifts. Current plan is that ‘trading times’ (when exhibitors should be ‘available’ for contact on their virtual booth) is 10am-6pm AEST Saturday and Sunday. However, being a virtual event, hopefully with lots of global attendees, there is nothing stopping us from trading outside of these hours as well. I feel we have a unique opportunity here because the world is now used to (and hungry for) online content, so by marketing this well, and as a team, we won’t just be reaching the people who are able to attend the in-person event at whatever venue we are at. Let us expand our audience and show the rest of the world the amazing geek culture that Australia has to offer!
How did it come about?
The current pandemic has proved challenging to many small businesses, artists, authors and creators due to the lack of in person events, especially for those who would normally sell their wares at pop culture conventions throughout Australia. The impact on creators could already be seen in August, when inCONceivable convenor, Megs Drinkwater (Small Business owner and creator of cool things at PirateDragon), came across an American Platform called Eventeny. After having a quick look, she signed up but found the platform only gave the option to ship to America or Canada, so she contacted Eventeny to ask whether they were considering exploring Australian and New Zealand markets any time soon. With Megs’ vast experience exhibiting in Artist Alleys at conventions across Australia and New Zealand, she could see the opportunity for a virtual marketplace for the whole range of creators normally found in the Artist Alley at conventions. This first email led to a zoom meeting with the founders of Eventeny, Nausheen Punjani and Aly Hussaini. After Megs explained her idea to them, they said they would be happy to work on making Eventeny ready for Australia and encouraged Megs to consider including video content as a way to value-add to her online convention.
Where did the name come from?
Kylie Chan (Author – Dark Heaven Series) suggested inCONceivable (possibly as a joke), but the name resonated and so inCONceivable and Inconceivable Events were born.
What can people expect?
inCONceivable is a FREE online event. Virtual attendees don’t need to register to watch the panels or browse through the marketplace (though we do have the option to register for a general ticket for those that may want advance notice or reminders of things happening during the event). Sign up is only required if an attendee wishes to make a purchase or contact one of the exhibitors. With Eventeny you can shop all exhibitor’s stalls and pay for them in one transaction. It can be experienced entirely from the comfort and safety of your own home. Best of all… NO QUEUES!!!
How do people attend if they want to attend?
You can find our event page here: https://www.eventeny.com/events/inconceivable-762
So, there you have it what are you waiting for? Go get your tickets. If you want to follow inCONceivable events on social media you can find them on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram @inconceivableevents and also on Youtube.
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