Well, last night our IndieGogo campaign closed, with a balance of $1010. It may not be as much as we initially were asking for, but it’s enough to let us do some pretty great stuff. We want to thank all of our donors, and let you know how much we appreciate everything you’ve done.

You are all super awesome.

Regular preregistration and vendor registration will open in the next few weeks, so we’re pretty excited about that. If you still want to sponsor the convention, but didn’t get a chance to contribute to the IndieGogo campaign, we’ll also be opening up some opportunities to do so as well.

Hey, we said we would launch a crowdfunding campaign for the Nerd & Tie Expo… and we have! Today we are happy to present to you our IndieGogo campaign for the Nerd & Tie Expo.

We’re currently asking for $5,000, and it’s because we think that extra boost to our budget could really help us secure some great stuff for the convention next year. If we can exceed that though, we can find even more stuff to do too, so don’t view that number as a limit.

We’re really excited about this convention, and we hope you can help us make the best event the Chippewa Valley could hope for.

We’re all super excited about the Nerd & Tie Expo, and we think you are too. If you want to make sure that you’re always up to date with the latest news about the convention though, all you have to do is join our mailing list!

It’s super easy — just put your email address into the form, and we’ll add you to the list! It literally can’t be made any easier than that.

Those of you who regularly read our site or listen to our podcast know that Nick, Pher and I (Trae) have an extensive background in running conventions in Wisconsin. I co-founded No Brand Con, and Pher and I are both former con directors of the organization. Nick is no slouch either, having co-founded Daisho Con.

All three of us have tried to step back from our days as con runners. Seriously, we’ve tried to quit. We’ve tried to just be attendees… but like many addicts, we’re relapsing.

That’s right, Nerd & Tie is starting a convention.

We’re calling it the Nerd & Tie Expo, and it will take place September 23-25, 2016 at the Plaza Hotel & Suites in Eau Claire, WI. We are going to do our best to become the Chippewa Valley’s cornerstone Geek event.

We’re bringing together a really great team too of veteran con staffers – it’s the best of the best, including people who have held high level positions at pretty much every con that takes place in America’s Dairyland. We’re working as hard as we can to provide the best con possible by working with the best people, from our Video Game Room run by World 9 Gaming to events run by Otaku Tonight Productions.

It’s going to be pretty great.

We’re also focusing on community and becoming a long term fixture in Eau Claire. One of the reasons Eau Claire no longer has a convention is because the venues available can’t handle cons over a certain size. We also think that some of the best convention experiences any of us have had have been at smaller shows. With both of those things in mind, we’ve come to a rather important decision…

We’re limiting attendance of the Nerd & Tie Expo to 1,000.

That’s right, we’re only going to sell 1,000 attendee badges, and that’s it. We came to this number because we believe it’s just big enough to let us provide the best experience to you guys while still keeping the con small. In an atmosphere where cons are designed for almost constant growth, we think it’s a bit revolutionary in fact.

Because we’re putting this limit on ourselves, we’re going to need your help though.

In the upcoming weeks, we’re going to be launching a crowdfunding campaign so we can add even more stuff that we haven’t announced yet. With your help, I know we can make the Nerd & Tie Expo in Eau Claire one of the most unique events the Wisconsin con scene has ever seen.

We hope you join us.

So, you’ve discovered the official website for the Nerd & Tie Expo. If you’re reading this before Geek.kon 2015, we’ve accidentally let the URL slip somewhere!

Whoops!

Well, if that’s the case, please understand that we’re still getting ready to make our public debut, so not everything is locked down yet. We hope you decide to come to the Nerd & Tie Expo though once we open stuff up.

Because that’d be awesome.

If you’re reading this after the official announcement… well… umm… good on you for scrolling all the way to the bottom?