Geek Craft PDX 2024
Well, Geek Craft PDX 2024 has just wrapped up. It was a 2-day event that was held on the west side of Portland in Hillsboro. This was a new location for me and the event and I was so happy it happened. I think more events need to be held at this place in Hillsboro. It's a really nice venue and it's close to where I live.
This event is very well organized! The people who run the event are very organized and have good communication with the vendors. There are people at the loading dock to help vendors load their booth. They have an option where you can contact one of the coordinators to have someone come and watch your booth while you use the bathroom or get food. They even had a scavenger hunt for the all the visitors to take part in. So, there's so much that was done well by the people that run the event.
Despite all of these positives, there just weren't that many people that came to the event. The event should definitely draw a much bigger crowd. I talked with quite a few other vendors about this issue. I think the Father's Day weekend has too much competition (Father's Day + Renaissance Faire). If the event was in August, it might do better. Plus in August, the weather is hotter, so an indoor event that has A/C could attract people. The other thing that would help is a bigger marketing push months prior to the event. The event coordinators spend a lot of time pushing the event on social which is great, but I think there needs to be more done outside of social media. Maybe more local advertising. So many people that I've talked to outside of the event (vendors and non-vendors) had no idea this thing even exists.
Overall, in terms of sales, the event wasn't that great. It's a lot of work for a two-day event and a small crowd. I did make my booth fee and then some, but not enough for me to consider doing this event next year. Despite that, getting chances to meet and chat with other vendors is always great and the people that run Geek Craft do an excellent job. Below are some snapshots from the event.
