Community Love During COVID-19

Posted March 12, 2020

Hello Kumo Fam~

It's breaking our hearts watching all the concern and worry that our community is experiencing right now as events that are very near and dear to us are having to cancel or postpone due to the pandemic. As event runners, we know how heartbreaking the decisions being made are for our fellows. Having to delay is hard enough, having to cancel outright is devastating as it can affect future prospects for that event.

We'd like to suggest a couple of things for you to consider to support those most affected if you are able:

• Checking out the confirmed exhibitors and artists for that event and purchasing something from their online store. Many of these small businesses order or make extra products in order to vend at these events and the cancellation/postponements are making it difficult to recover financially.
• If that con has merch available online, consider buying it as most merchandise is year specific.
• If you are financially able, consider your ticket as a donation instead of asking for a refund. The events that we, as an event, choose to support are nonprofits and your purchase is what helps keep the lights on for them.
• Try to look at the situations with a kind and objective eye. It can seem like the events are being slow to publicly respond as the situation progresses, but in our experience, there is a lot going on in the background as they work through their grief and try to get answers for the community in a timely and complete manner. Delayed responses can be for reasons ranging from setting up a competent process for those requesting refunds, to working with the venue and securing answers on if they need to delay or cancel, and even determining if cancelling might make it their last event. Securing a new date for an event is a complex and uncertain process and can make the difference between whether costs spent planning an event can be recouped or whether they are lost. These are such difficult decisions that none of these event runners had a chance to prepare for.

We were looking forward to seeing everyone at our favorite events this spring, but the health and safety of the community is always our priority. Some folks have started reaching out to us, asking if we're going to cancel Kumoricon. At this time, no, we are not planning to cancel. We are monitoring the situation closely and working with our venues, but we are still planning for Kumoricon 2020.

As things progress, we'll update everyone if there's plans for something more we can do to support those that are affected.

We love you all. Stay healthy <3

#TeamKumo