Mad May Market - Vendor review

Forwarded to me by a friend who had asked a vendor how Mad May Market was...

 

"There was zero to no traffic, most of the people I saw were staying at the camp grounds. The regulars at the bar had no idea that there was an event going on. Zero to no signage for the event. 

...

If they sold 100 wristbands that day, I'd be shocked."

"I feel bad, I met this one woman who traveled from Philly and paid to stay at the resort, hoping to make a profit. No one made any money." 

As per usual, if anyone else has more information about this event or others, or about Blackthorne as a venue (I'm hearing some interesting rumors currently), please feel free to comment. All comments are moderated before posting. 

Halloween Oddities Market

 Yet another JM event: Halloween Oddities

Halloween Oddities Market, at Blackthorne Resort. 

Please be aware, friends! 

Vendor gift certificates

 I was recently contacted by someone who was considering vending at the Oddities Market at Blackthorne. Since they were on one of the email threads, they got a chain email called "Good luck getting Jeff to Pay you"

This email brought up the vendor gift certificates (formerly known as "Jeff Bucks") and:

"In this email it details how he's telling vendors there's no money left to pay them, trying to get them to roll over their credit to next year, threatening to ban them from every even in the north east, etc."

According to JM, he paid out $13,000 in vendor gift certificates. 

Per the email snippets I was sent, it sounds like some people were paid and others were not. 

Can vendors please confirm this information? Were you paid? 

I would also like to share this snippet from a conversation on the Discord server:

Handler:

you helped spread the message that we were short on cash and wanted people to roll over their gift certs into next year. 

which is exactly the message I wanted you to spread. 

but I love catching you people and dissecting you. The wounded innocence. The pretended noninvolvement. The coincidental nonanswers. The way you say one thing to me, then I have screenshots of you saying other things to other people. 

JM: email to vendors

 A reminder to everyone to steer clear of JM and his events. This is the type of email he sends out. This email was sent out to former vendors:

"Hello!

Have you vended with me before and made a ton of money?

Yes, you have.

Behold! Your last chance. 

Come vend at the Halloween City Vendor and Oddities Market! It's got 3,000 people and you'll do very well. 

Otherwise, I expect to never, ever see a single one of you complain that I took your money, stole your money, or cheated me, and I'll sue you if I see you say it without documentation, because it's not true. Tammy Shipps, Silver Phoenix, and Michael Whitehouse took your money. You can believe what you want; but because this is what I do, my vendors make money, their vendors make nothing, since they do nothing. 

Come vend with us. Email me.

Or, you know, claim that I robbed you, which is both libel and slander, and no good between friends. Up to you! 

Last chance. Email me back and make money, or ignore me and lose money. Your hoice [sp]. 

Sincerely,

Jeff Mach,

greatest promoter in the Northeast"

Also, a reminder about gaslighting (i.e., "when someone intentionally twists your perception of reality for their own gain"). I'm not saying that JM is gaslighting anyone, but please consider for yourself:

Blackthorne Resort question

 Question for all, since EE 2021 will be "live" from Blackthorne Resort. What is the wifi like up there? It is a location in the northern Catskills, with a lot of outdoor space. Their site says "Free Wifi within the Main Lobby" so I am curious as to how JM thinks this event is going to work... unless, of course, it isn't, and there are no refunds (but tickets will be good for a summer event?). 

EE Update (and reminder of business practices)

 Evil Expo is now online for Feb 18-21... except the portion that will be live at Blackthorne Resort (https://www.blackthorneresort.com/covid-19-update/ states: "Gatherings of more than 50 people are not permitted.")...

Quote from the event page on FB: 

Evil Expo is The Villainpunk World’s Fair, the only multi-genre geek event devoted solely to live entertainment, discussions, panels, workshops, games, comedy, film, art, writing, creation, cosplay, and every aspect of science fiction/fantasy/comic/fandom Villainy!

Evil Expo Online is the standalone, self-contained, simultaneous digital Evil Expo convention. Because what’s the good of living in a dystopian future if you can’t cyberpunk your own event?

We hear you! You want to experience the unmitigated Villainous joys of Evil Expo, but you can’t be there in physical form. We understand! Many of our own guests will be there in non-corporeal formats. Some are spectral figures; some are malevolent artificial intelligences which exist only digitally; some of them simply enjoy life more when there’s a keyboard in front of them. We don’t judge.

Likewise, some of you have lairs on tropical paradise islands, and you don’t want to leave. Some of you are busy enjoying the lovely weather on Jupiter and don’t want to brave the New Jersey winter. Some of you are only on the astral plane, some of you are trapped in alternate universes by those damned heroes; some of you might just want to experience Evil Expo from the comfort of your own homes and/or secret laboratories.

And that’s how Evil Expo Online came about. In the last year, a time which has been pretty horrible for Villains and Heroes alike, we’ve gained at least one thing: We’ve learned the power of online connection. Evil Expo has a vast lineup, and many of our amazing guests are already telecommuting to the show; and we’ve got our own Villainous camera crew onhand to capture our fair share of the scoundrel that’s about to ensue!

EVIL EXPO ONLINE IS GOING TO BE THE MOST FUN YOU CAN HAVE ON THE INTERNET WITHOUT HACKING DIRECTLY INTO SKYNET! (Please don’t hack into Skynet; we don’t want the Robot Apocalypse until after the event is over.)

GOOD NEWS FOR ONLINE ATTENDEES!

We’ll be broadcasting a livestream all weekend long, every hour that the Event is open. While it’s impossible to capture this much Villainy all at once (even if you were attending in person, you simply do NOT have enough clones to take in the whole event. Trust us. We’ve tried)—we’ll be bringing you an entire weekend of entertainment. Visit the rest of the website to get a feel for the things you’ll be able to see and do.

Vendors! Performers! Speakers! Gamers! Creators! Entertainers! Art! Books! Humor! Readings! DON’T MISS THE VILLAINPUNK EVENT OF THE CENTURY!

You’ll be able to enjoy tons of our guests, including many of our Guests of Honor. We’ll be broadcasting at least one of our stages continuously, plus special digital-only content, plus online chats and meet-and-greets.

WHY DO EVIL EXPO ONLINE?

Come on. Which would YOU rather take over One part of one country…or the entire World?

We know: You’re a Villain. So you want (and deserve!) to rule the World, and not just one small place. ESPECIALLY if that place is New Jersey.

Get your tickets now! For a limited time we’re doing HUGE discounts on all the online tickets. Evil Expo is the most incredible Villainpunk event in the known Multiverse.

COME BE A PART OF IT! Get tickets here!

The website still shows in-person tickets: 

As does the Facebook event page: 

Rumor has it that the in-person event will be in August instead of February, and all tickets for Feb will be accepted then. There are, of course, no refunds.