Sonic Boom 2014 "I wanna be apart of it, New York! New York!"

[Turbo the Punk]

Damn, I already planned to attend the Summer Nationals at Terminal 5 this August, so making a second trip across the country may be out of the question. Still I'm more willing to attend Sonic Boom 3000 miles away then I was back when it was in California. As such that's the way it goes. That and the fact that a new business venture is forcing me to head out east regularly anyhow. Crap, searching for advanced Greyhound tix.

[Irish David]

Do we have an approx start and end time, i might consider going on the way back from my Florida holidays if i get the train from Newark into Penn and back before my flight back to Belfast

[Tani Coyote]

Do we have an approx start and end time, i might consider going on the way back from my Florida holidays if i get the train from Newark into Penn and back before my flight back to Belfast

Just says "evening" for now. The event usually lasts from 5 to 10 PM. I'm hopeful that means they're trying to extend it slightly.

[RobotOmega]

I live in kansas, so attending might be a problem for me. Really hope I can still go though..

[Double Agent Motobug]

I'd like to go, but I doubt I'll be able to. There's a chance I may be able to bunk with friends and split a hotel though. Hype, but alas, it all really depends on what happens this summer, for me.

[SoundBunnie44]

Personally I'm really looking forward to Sonic Boom. If nothing else, like AOSTH/SATAM & X before it, might get some more kids/peeps interested in Sonic.

I mean AOSTH of all things is what introduced me to Sonic as a kid believe it or not. If Boom can do the same for today's kids & create new life long fans. More power to it!

[Tani Coyote]

Personally I'm really looking forward to Sonic Boom. If nothing else, like AOSTH/SATAM & X before it, might get some more kids/peeps interested in Sonic.

I mean AOSTH of all things is what introduced me to Sonic as a kid believe it or not. If Boom can do the same for today's kids & create new life long fans. More power to it!

This thread is about Sonic Boom the convention/party/event, not the new sub-series.

That sort of confusion happens an awful lot, though! They really should change the event's name to something else...

[SoundBunnie44]

Whoops. My bad. *le blush*

[Tani Coyote]

So someone pointed out over at Sonic Retro that October 4th is Yom Kippur. During Yom Kippur, Jews normally spend a good deal of their time at synagogue services.

There's a lot of Jewish people in the northeast, so that's going to be one hell of a scheduling conflict. It shouldn't impact attendance too terribly (I'm still highly convinced this event will sell out or come pretty close), but that's one heck of an oversight.

Not that I'm one to talk since Sonic Revolution didn't realize June 15th was Father's Day until after booking it, either.

[Sapphire]

Ugh, still unsure if I'm going or not. I wish my class syllabuses would just get posted already so I could figure this out. I should try to start looking at hotels for my brother and I though. I guess it's easier to cancel a hotel reservation if it's not needed rather than scrambling to find one at the last minute.  I just really really hope I can go! Besides, it's been about 8 years since I've been to NYC, I'd love to get to see it again.

 

In other news, I'm curious as to who will MC the event. Aaron did such a great job last year (it's still a shame to see him leave Sega), so I really hope whoever steps up can fill his shoes!

[Tani Coyote]

Hopefully we'll hear about who the new main brand manager is here soon!

With regards to hotels, it is indeed better to book now since they're usually generous with cancellation. The exception being where a hotel offers you a cheaper rate in exchange for being non-refundable, of course!

This is probably the best place to post this so here I go...

It’s 5 PM here on the West Coast, July 13th, 2014. Exactly two years ago from right now, I wasn’t sitting at home in Las Vegas, but was in a line that wrapped around the building to enter the San Diego House of Blues. Why do I tell you this? Well, because the reason I was in said line at all was because it was to enter Sonic Boom 2012, its doors opening at 5 and the event ending at 10.

It was a surreal experience from the moment I was in line to the moment I had to leave the place so many hours later. Was it finding so many people I could talk about Sonic with and not feel like a nerd for a change? Was it the Crush 40 concert, both in hearing that music played live rather than over my tiny home speakers… or was it how people could not only sing the lyrics to those songs perfectly, but even add “Up and down and all around” to Speed Highway’s live performance? Perhaps it was, as a whole, the fact my fandom was significant enough that an event would be held for it at all.

Sonic Boom 2012 was probably the greatest night of my life to date. Every penny spent on that San Diego trip was well worth it, having experienced great fun like never before, and having made friends when I had been convinced I was destined to be a loner who dwells in his room all day. I had missed Sonic Boom 2011 despite an opportunity to be in Los Angeles the week of, not having discovered there was general admission for those without tickets until well after my father had taken off for the city. That SEGA announced the event would happen again utterly shocked me, and I made sure to drop everything I was doing and make plans for it that time around.

The effect Boom 2012 had on me was long lasting. I now look forward to Hedgehog Day every year and am always hopeful that event details will be released that day because of it. Even if they aren’t, I’ve actually calculated the likelihood of a Boom reveal date for every week after Hedgehog Day, as those who know me as Ogilvie on the Sonic Stadium or follow me on Facebook might recall. Beyond that, it’s actually the one day a year I look forward to most – my birthday, Christmas, and everything else on the calendar are secondary to my event attendance. 2013 was a low point for me emotionally, in fact, as I nearly went into depression in the months leading up to that year’s Boom reveal, anxiously pondering if the event would be held at all.

Fortunately, one was, and I attended that year’s Boom as well as the West Coast fan gathering, Sonic Boom West. It was my love for Sonic Boom that encouraged me to become more involved in the Sonic community, first as an active poster at several Sonic websites, and later helping with events like Sonic Revolution, while also lending my time and effort to supporting Sonic events around the world. I likely have something of a reputation for criticizing where I think the various Sonic events could be improved, but let it be known that I still hold great respect for those who invest time, labor and funding into these events, no matter where they are. The Sonic Boom team, the Summer of Sonic team, the Sonic Revolution team, and all others are an immense source of inspiration for me in my goal to spread Sonic events the world over.

So that’s my story. What’s yours? Looking forward to seeing everyone in New York City this October.

[LilMissSam]

I can say Yom Kippur won't be keeping this Jewish lady away maybe some others, but we'll be heading to our Temple for about 2 hrs and that's about all.

[TCB]

Things can change between now and then, but overall the chances of me attending are still good.

 

And, if things go better than expected....hohohoho...

[Tani Coyote]

Aiya, stepping into this thread feels amazing.

 

I thought Aaron was gonna host this one back in June... nope.

 

It goes without saying that I had a good time though... albeit I felt it was an inversion of 2013: while 2013 had too little content for its timeframe, 2014 had far too much. It was like an amusement park with the inability to squeeze everything in one day, except it didn't have the perk of being able to come back tomorrow.

 

Or even next year, given 2015's probably not happening. Such is life though, no?

 

Just figured I'd drop this in here before I unpin the thread.