Vape In The Fort(convention)
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Three of us are coming up from the Greenfield area. Looking forward to my first big meet!
I'm not going to make it for breakfast after all. To bad we don't have ECF shirts or something so we can recognize each other at the convention.
Wow.... And I'm not sure if I'm saying this in a good way. I got in line at 10:00, and there were already hundreds of people in line ahead of me. At one point, I heard a staff member comment that he'd taken a "half-baked" count, and there were 2,000 people in line. The venue could only hold 900, and even at that, there was absolutely NO room to walk around. The booths were tightly packed, and there was so much vapor in the room, you could hardly see!
The Fire Marshall had (very nicely) asked that no one vaped outside the event room. Unfortunately, there were a healthy number of "non-conformists" who were too "less-than-intelligent" to acknowledge the rules. @Pennysmalls and jnnfrlsw - I think you folks were behind me in line?
REALLY!!!! If we want to be taken seriously, is it that freaking difficult to not vape for a short (well, o.k. in this case kinda long) amount of time? Are you that incapable of abstaining because you want to "look cool"????? DON'T SCREW UP MY RIGHTS BECAUSE YOU'RE AN IDIOT!!!!!
I'm disappointed for a buddy of mine. She and some friends drove down from Michigan and never did make it into the event - they were about 50 people away from getting in, but because the parking was insufficient, had to move cars from a nearby restaurant's lot or else they'd get towed. They had pre-paid tickets, too.....
I hope the planners learn from this and are able to make better accommodations next time (if there is one....) I think this could be a really cool event, but when it's next to impossible to move from one vendor to another, it doesn't make for a very great experience.
Never did get to hear PBusardo. Would love to see "break-out" sessions where people can go to learn how to build coils, clean and maintain their gear, etc.
(Was kinda hoping for more "goodies" in the goody bag, but at least I did get one.....)
All-in-all, I'm giving it a 3 out of 10 stars. I hope they can improve on this experience. I'd come back.
The Fire Marshall had (very nicely) asked that no one vaped outside the event room. Unfortunately, there were a healthy number of "non-conformists" who were too "less-than-intelligent" to acknowledge the rules. @Pennysmalls and jnnfrlsw - I think you folks were behind me in line?
REALLY!!!! If we want to be taken seriously, is it that freaking difficult to not vape for a short (well, o.k. in this case kinda long) amount of time? Are you that incapable of abstaining because you want to "look cool"????? DON'T SCREW UP MY RIGHTS BECAUSE YOU'RE AN IDIOT!!!!!
I'm disappointed for a buddy of mine. She and some friends drove down from Michigan and never did make it into the event - they were about 50 people away from getting in, but because the parking was insufficient, had to move cars from a nearby restaurant's lot or else they'd get towed. They had pre-paid tickets, too.....
I hope the planners learn from this and are able to make better accommodations next time (if there is one....) I think this could be a really cool event, but when it's next to impossible to move from one vendor to another, it doesn't make for a very great experience.
Never did get to hear PBusardo. Would love to see "break-out" sessions where people can go to learn how to build coils, clean and maintain their gear, etc.
(Was kinda hoping for more "goodies" in the goody bag, but at least I did get one.....)
All-in-all, I'm giving it a 3 out of 10 stars. I hope they can improve on this experience. I'd come back.
I just drove 2 hours back home from the Vape in the Fort event and I feel like I wasted my money on the tank of gas, the ticket, and the Ticket Master fees. I didn't even get a kiss. I was expecting the line to get in to be long and in truth if you had a ticket in hand it wasn't too bad a wait. However once in the door it took me 20 minutes to move about 25 yards all the while being jostled, elbowed, toes walked on, in fact I was knocked down to one knee by one sweaty behemoth of a vaper at one point. The conference hall was far to small, I would say too small by at least 60%. Btw, parking was non existent as well There were zero, none, nada, tables or chairs were you could sit and take a break. I turned around and spent 20 more minutes fighting to get out and drove home. I have been to vape event in half a dozen cities and the Vape in the Fort was the Worse. Event. Ever.
Guess I will stick with a free event like Vape Bash from now on, Windy City Vapers know what they are doing and do it well.
Guess I will stick with a free event like Vape Bash from now on, Windy City Vapers know what they are doing and do it well.
The post I made on the Vape in the Fort FaceBook page (same as I posted here) lasted about 7 minutes before being removed....guess the people running the event don't want the truth to be told while they are still grabbing 5 dollar bills from the patrons...
Well, I sadly have to agree that this event wasn't managed well at all. Very sad if the VITF people are removing posts... luckily, we can all post to our own facebook, tag VITF and then share it on VITF. I think if you go this route, they are more likely to reach out versus delete.
So... we were in line before 10... I wasn't paying attention to ECF while there, wish I had now as I would have liked to met more of you.
VapExpo is in June in Ann Arbor, Michigan... check out the info online and stop on by if you can make it. Maybe we can make a bigger effort (given more time) to have a plan for identifying other ECF'ers and such.
So... we were in line before 10... I wasn't paying attention to ECF while there, wish I had now as I would have liked to met more of you.
VapExpo is in June in Ann Arbor, Michigan... check out the info online and stop on by if you can make it. Maybe we can make a bigger effort (given more time) to have a plan for identifying other ECF'ers and such.
I drove two hours, got inside the hotel and stood in line for 30-40 minutes before I was told that I could go on in because I already had my ticket, got in and made it about 3/4 of the way around the room before I left out a side door that was sitting open to let all that vapor out. So about 2.5 minutes total in the convention for me before I began my two hour drive back home. We were packed like sardines in there, shoulder to shoulder. It was horrible.
Then the vapers in line vaping after being told not to because they can, or because it's just water vapor after all, or because it's cleaner than room air because of PG's antibacterial properties etc etc.
They didn't stop until they were threatened by the fire marshall, I guess the $500 dollar fine trumps their right to vape where ever they want lol!
The convention room was absolutely tiny and, like DingerCPA said, the vapor in there was horrendous. Combined with the dark theme of the room it was very difficult to see. I was so damn disappointed in my first vape convention visit. Colossal waste of my time and anticipation.
Then the vapers in line vaping after being told not to because they can, or because it's just water vapor after all, or because it's cleaner than room air because of PG's antibacterial properties etc etc.
They didn't stop until they were threatened by the fire marshall, I guess the $500 dollar fine trumps their right to vape where ever they want lol! The convention room was absolutely tiny and, like DingerCPA said, the vapor in there was horrendous. Combined with the dark theme of the room it was very difficult to see. I was so damn disappointed in my first vape convention visit. Colossal waste of my time and anticipation.
Tell me why the
would the the fire marshal concern himself over vapers vaping? Occupancy limits yes, but not vaping..There is no harm with vaping so what's up? It's time vapers start suing governments over things like these over reaching acts of antagonism. and enforcement of vaping laws.
Smoke alarms were going off all over on that floor of the hotel and they were getting several false alarms. I noticed the closer we got to the convention room the smoke detectors were covered with paper and tape, which in itself is not safe thing to have going on with a hotel full of that many people.
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Jules, the volume of vapor was setting off alarms all over the hotel. They did shut down the alarms in the venue (which was disturbing to me). So the rest of the hotel patrons were being affected. I am all about vaping rights, but I also want to be considerate of those around me. The vapor was so thick, you could cut it with a knife!Tell me why the
I would hate to be participating in negative publicity when we're trying so hard to be accepted. So, if "Fire Marshall Bill" asks not to vape until we can get to an appropriate spot, I'll comply
Just A LOT of people in too small a space. If held elsewhere, I think the issues would be substantially lessened.
Sent from.... ooh look! Something shiny!!!
Plus he was a little miffed at the dude who blew a big cloud in his face.....
Sent from.... ooh look! Something shiny!!!
Sent from.... ooh look! Something shiny!!!
Really sorry to hear this... they are not normally like this. It was a bad venue and bad planning. Well, that's how it seems to me... I have no inside information, etc. I only know what I experienced as someone who brought money to spend after driving 2.5 hours to get there.
Sounds like you may have been just a half-hallway back from us in line... as I remember hearing someone ask if we saw that happen.
As far as the smoke detectors being shut off, it's fairly common practice when there will be too many alarms... it's either that or they have to take the system off of auto-alert... in either case, the hotel has to have rolling patrols AND respond to each alarm in-person. Both of which I have successfully seen done.
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Again... VapExpo in Ann Arbor. Last year was VapExpo's first time and it was so many times better than VITF's first. Now the organizers of VITF know what to expect, albeit a very hard lesson to learn. I over-heard vendors complaining as well.
I don't plan to attend anything organized by the same people at this time
the massive turn out for this event was mind blowing to say the least, talking to some of the exhibitors and organizers the amount of presale tickets was well trumped by at the door sales. the event was samll, yes, but it was the only local business that was willing to cater to the event. they have already started plans for one next year, they are going to do an outdoor/tented event to overcome the lack of room they had this year. for a first year event who would have expected a well over 4000 patron turnout in the first 2 hours. overall, crowded, mismananged and did i say crowded. but it was nice to get out and mingle with my fellow vapers
Fire Alarms !! Ouch... you didn't mention that part..there's always more to the story..
I'm sure if somebody would have smelled smoke - they would have yelled fire!
I'm sure if somebody would have smelled smoke - they would have yelled fire!
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I am trying to post a pic I took when I first walked into the event. This was less than 15 min of them opening the doors.
It was my first big vape meet and not what I expected. The biggest disappointment were the idiots in line who insisted on vaping even though they were asked not to. I saw one lady who was asked to stop. She did, until the fire marshall walked around the corner. He happened to come right back and see her blow another cloud. He wrote her a 500.00 ticket and escorted her out. With all the attention we are getting right now fighting for our rights to continue to vape in Indiana, it really ticked me off to see vapors disregarding the rules and making us all look bad.
I had planned on going to Vape Bash in Chicago later this spring but after experiencing today I am hesitant. It was scary at one point. I couldn't even turn around or move. If someone had fallen or started any trouble it could have been really dangerous. Though over all I was impressed with how everyone was trying to be respectful and patient with each other inside the room Unless they move it to a bigger venue, I wont go back next year.
I kept looking for others with a REO but it was just too crowded. Also, there was nowhere to sit down. It would have been nice to have been able to meet some of you and actually been able to visit. I ended up finding the nearest exit after about 30 min and left for a couple of hours. When I went back around 1:30 I was finally able to walk down the center of the aisles and visit the booths. I was looking for some REO or other bottom feeding accessories but didnt have any luck. I did purchase alot of new juices to run thru my REOs.
Overall I am glad I went and experienced it, but if I knew what I was walking into I would have waited and went later in the afternoon after the crowd died down. Was it the fact that they were giving away gift bags to the first 500 that caused everyone to go so early, or is it this way at all the big meets? The gift bags were not even close to being worth fighting that early crowd.
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