Previously known as Free Comic Book Day, I returned Lawrenceville for DTL CON-Quest, a celebration of nerd culture! Another one of my favorite local shows, I was excited to see how much they’ve grown.
Applications
Lawrenceville opened applications on Eventeny in January. This is when I learned that Free Comic Book Day would be renamed to DTL CON-Quest and expanded to two days. Fortunately, the Artist Alley would only be on Saturday, so I wouldn’t have to take off work to participate! I applied for an indoor space again, to avoid the unpredictability of weather.
In early March, Lawrenceville messaged me through Eventeny to let me know that they planned to accept my application. They have a habit of marking accepted applications as “waitlisted” before moving them to “accepted.” I think it’s to give vendors time to make sure their payment information is correct. My indoor spot cost me a cool $42.84, about a five dollar raise from last year. They had the option to include a lunch at additional cost, but I skipped it as I planned to pack my own.
Two weeks out we got our load-in details via email. Similar to previous years, we got parking instructions, our booth assignments, and a map. They also invited us to partake in Friday evening’s activities, which included a live D&D performance followed by a Dad’s Garage improv show. We even got a discount code for Friday’s ticketed events, but I wasn’t able to partake since I work a little ways from Lawrenceville!
DTL CON-Quest
Since I live in Smyrna, I left early to have plenty of time to get to Lawrenceville. I ended up at the garage about 20 minutes before staff would let us in just like last year, haha. A few other vendor cars showed up, then right on time a couple of CON-Quest staff showed up and lifted the barricade.
Fortunately, the parking garage is right next to the Lawrenceville Arts Center, and I prepared my setup to only take two wagon trips. I was assigned the same spot so I planned to use a similar L layout as last year with some updates like my new corner button display. Setup went at a leisurely pace, I wasn’t completely done until 10:20, a bit after opening! We officially opened at 10 AM, but there were only a few folks trickling in so I don’t think I lost too much in my slowness.
DTL CON-Quest is a free-to-attend family friendly event so there were lots of kids and parents. I think it’s appealing to local nerd parents who want to share comic conventions with their kids, since it’s much less overwhelming than larger shows like Momocon or DragonCon. With attractions like the cosplay contest and itacar show, there’s still plenty to drawn in young adults as well. I did even get the odd elderly group who happened upon DTL CON-Quest because they were just regular visits of the downtown Lawrenceville area, they were just excited to find a free event.
With all the younger fans in attendance, it’s no surprise that my buttons were the bestsellers. My button bin was decimated! I usually bring at least 5 of each design but by midday both my Deltarune and Amazing Digital Circus buttons were visibly picked over. It was definitely a good wake up call for how I’d stock my fanart buttons before Animazement. My new TADC buttons did do well at the Goblin Market but with all the teenagers present at DTL Con-Quest I definitely could’ve stocked more. I got to meet lots of fellow fans who are excited for the last episode coming in June!
I heard from a customer that there were Avatar Legends comics right outside in the courtyard. Turned out the DTL CON-Quest information booth was stationed there with the comics, brochures, and a few other freebies. There were a lot of local businesses were participating in Free Comic Book Day, so they provided a helpful map of where to find the giveaways and a schedule with all the day’s activities. Across the downtown area there were zine workshops, cosplay and video game panels, arts and crafts, and even a live wrestling after party.
Overall, the crowd flow felt similar to last year, slow in the beginning, a big swell around the lunch hours, and then quieter again in the afternoon. I was on track to hit the same numbers as last year around 3 PM, which would’ve given me two more hours to pass them! But then…
Fire Alarm!
Just when I was on track to pass last year’s numbers, at 3 PM the fire alarm went off. Without an obvious source of smoke, we vendors were tempted to wait before leaving our booths… There were even a couple of cops who’d just come in and they said they were on their way to confirm if it was true alarm. A few minutes later, a staff member coming from the opposite direction told us everyone had to leave the building for real, yes, even us vendors.
I made sure to have valuables before going out to the courtyard, where a crowd was starting to form. The guest cosplayers allowed us to rest at their crafting activity tent as we waited for answers. The initial word was that the ceiling in the basement auditorium had collapsed due to a waterline break just before the cosplay show was about to start. Fortunately, nobody was inside the auditorium when it had happened, but some unknown amount of unattended gear may have been damaged. More police officers and fighter fighters arrived to check on the building’s structural integrity, and as we waited on their analysis, the Cosplay Show was able to redirect and host themselves in Aurora Theatre next door.
At this point, it was just us vendors waiting to get the okay to retrieve our things. I took the opportunity to walk around and see more of the outside portion of DTL CON-Quest, which hadn’t been disrupted. It’s funny, usually when there is an option of outdoor versus indoor spaces for the same event, I favor indoors to avoid the possibility of inclement weather. I hadn’t ever accounted for the inclement interior. The weather was beautiful, and most people didn’t even seem to realize that something had happened to the Lawrenceville Arts Center.
Around 4:15 we got official word from the event staff that indoor vendors would be let back in to gather our things. We had the option to either move our setups outside and continue selling or we could pack up early to go home early. With the official end time at 5 PM, most of us picked the latter from what I could tell, haha. In a way, I was a little relieved, I got close to last year’s numbers with two hours less work. Plus, I could get started on a dinner adventure much earlier. As far as emergency early tear downs go, it could’ve been a lot worse.
Side Quest: Dinner
Since I had extra time I decided to stop by Galactic Quest, a nearby comic shop and one of Lawrenceville’s original Free Comic Book Day hosts. They had plenty of copies when I showed up and were still replenishing the shelves. I grabbed a few issues that I’m still working through now, haha! I guess I read slower as I get older.
Then I wanted to stop by Pear’s Tea, which I hadn’t visited since my very first Free Comic Book Day market in 2023. I’m a sucker for seasonal specials, so I ordered their strawberry matcha cloud with lychee jelly.
Finally for dinner, I stopped by Man Chun Hong on Buford Highway. I really love their jja jjang myun and they were on the way back home from Lawrenceville so I couldn’t turn down the opportunity. Turns out there was also a Pearl’s Tea in the neighboring plaza, and after I’d walked several blocks!
Billie’s Vendor Rating
| Foot Traffic | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Attendee Vibes | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Restrooms | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Pokémon GO | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Organization | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
Despite the hiccup, I was still satisfied with my sales at DTL CON-Quest. My revenue hit more than 10 times the booth fee, which is a win in my book. A few days afterwards, I received a partial refund of 20 dollars from the City of Lawrenceville through Eventeny. I appreciate that they tried to make things right with us indoor vendors!
I really look forward to seeing DTL CON-Quest continue to grow, and hope they’ll have me again in the future. It’s one of my big recommendations for any local nerdy artist, especially comic artists!
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