Conventions, be they for comics, pop culture, horror, or another focus, are a thriving industry for many fandoms. Immersive and interactive events with one of a kind experiences, cons give attendees the opportunity to meet their favorite actors or creators, buy collectibles that are rarely, if ever, found in stores, and bond with fellow fans. Cons are also hundreds of hours of work for the people who plan and run them.

Creature Feature Weekend is a Gettysburg-based horror convention that began in 2019. Created and run by husband and wife duo Craig and Sandy Yastrzemski, Creature Feature hosts celebrity guests and authors, collectibles dealers and artists, as well as activities like special effects demos and concerts.

The Yastrzemskis, who are now in the thick of planning and promoting their August 2022 con, took a break to speak with Scoop about what it takes to run a convention. In this first part of the interview, they talk about why they created the convention, their goal of providing activities at the con, and the work that goes into booking guests and vendors.

Scoop: Since you host a horror con, let’s start with how long have you been a horror fan and what do you like about the genre?
Craig Yastrzemski (CY): Oh man. I’ve been watching horror movies since I was a kid. First one was Night of the Living Dead when I was in first grade. I still remember my dad bringing it home. From there it went to watching Elvira on TV, catching movies like The Children and Tombs of the Blind Dead to the franchise and major slasher films, zombie films. By the time I was in third grade, my brother and I would go to the local video store, and we couldn’t find any movies to rent because we’d seen all the horror films. It’s always been a part of my life. Those were the movies my brother and I watched. It’s just always been a part of me.

Scoop: When did you start attending conventions?
CY: I went to my first one in 2004, I believe. It was a Night/Dawn/Day [of the Dead] reunion at Horrorfind Weekend. It was down in Maryland, and I went there because Night of the Living Dead is my favorite movie, it was my focus. I really wanted to meet [George] Romero; [Russell] Streiner was there, [John A.] Russo was there, Kyra Schon was there. It was a huge deal for me. I was really excited about that one. After that, I went to another Night/Dawn/Day a few years later. Then I really started going to conventions pretty steadily about nine years ago.

Scoop: What do you like about going to horror cons?
CY: When I first started out, I enjoyed meeting a lot of the celebrities, increasing my collection for the movies that I loved the most and the monsters I’ve known since I was a kid. The slashers, the creatures, stuff like that. Now, I find that I enjoy going through the vendor area as much, if not more. I have a great time all around attending conventions. I love seeing the different Q&A panels or effects applications or performances like Joe Bob [Briggs] when he did his “How Rednecks Saved Hollywood” and stuff like that.

Scoop: When did you first think about creating your own con?
CY: 2018. My wife and I were discussing things. We looked at the fact that I’d be leaving my job because of when I hit my point of retirement. We wanted to start something that we could build upon, something we could enjoy. Something that in my retirement I could focus on.

Scoop: What were some of the things you wanted to do differently with your own event?
CY: I wanted more activities. I wanted to have more things for people to enjoy; to make it more of a weekend getaway instead of going there, getting done what you needed to and heading out. You know that whole “stay and play” mentality. Putting in the effects applications, the film festival, showing a movie with live commentary, it’s all just a part of giving people things to do. It’s more for your dollar that you’re paying for admission. Being able to immerse yourself in the environment.

Scoop: So, you had the concerts, movies with commentary, and other activities in mind from the beginning. Do you envision adding other activities for future editions?
CY: As much as I can. We have a few ideas for this year, we’re still working on them. We try to increase it every year. We have a lot of very creative friends of ours that come up with ideas and we go back and forth about it and try to create the best activity we can.

Scoop: I think it’s worth noting too that these are all events people do not have to pay any extra to enjoy.
CY: Correct.

Scoop: Another interesting aspect of Creature Feature are the food trucks. What made you think of providing those and did you get any pushback from the host hotel?
CY: Not from the hotel. I honestly just thought it was a great idea to have a variety of food to give people options. There was a restaurant onsite, an Appalachian Brewing Company, but aside from that, anything else was down the road or in town, so I wanted to be able to provide food for vendors and celebrities – people who couldn’t necessarily get away.

Scoop: I think it’s a mistake when conventions don’t have adequate food options to keep people there.
Sandy Yastrzemski (SY): It creates more staying power. You don’t have to go out to get what you need.
CY: The other thing to keep in mind when talking about food trucks is that a big, big show, they probably wouldn’t be able to provide for everybody. We’ve had numerous food trucks run out of food.
SY: Over multiple years.
CY: Our first year we had a truck run out of food. Last year, I think we had two trucks run out.
SY: One truck didn’t return because they couldn’t prep food fast enough to come back on Sunday. They not only ran out, but ran out of the timeframe to prepare for the next day.

Scoop: How did you generate buzz to get vendors at your show?
CY: That was a team effort. I was going to as many conventions as I could to talk to vendors, give them cards, tell them about the show. My wife was scouring Etsy.
SY: There are craft vendor websites where people will list themselves and what kind of merchandise they sell. It’s a lot of footwork between attending shows and getting a feel for the baseline of what we were looking at – if we wanted it to be more like a collector’s show or more of a fan merchandise thing, and try to find the best balance of what we were looking for.

Scoop: Since you were looking at Etsy, have you had first time vendors who’d never done a con before?
CY: Honestly, we have quite a few vendors that it was their first one. One that has always been a huge supporter for us is LB 3D. He creates these custom figures, models, and wall-hangers. He has boomed in popularity and is creating some incredible figures of obscure characters. He did a Shining figure of Jack frozen, the Creeper, Motel Hell. The most recent ones are Bram Stoker’s Dracula, he did the Babadook, Maniac Cop, and Twisty the Clown. He has an entire fanbase that follows him that scour for his figures.
SY: I started looking at Etsy as far as location to see who was in the Gettysburg area, because anybody local is going to promote in the area too. LB 3D is actually in New Jersey, so that was just a shot in the dark. I reached out, “Love your work, I’d be happy to own any of your pieces, is there a chance you’d like to do a show?” He was strictly online at that point. He was like “Why not, I’ve never done one before. I’ll give it a try.” Our show was a gateway for him, and he started doing more and more shows.
CY: For the last show he did an exclusive version of the Creeper. There were only ten.

Scoop: A lot of vendors returned for the second Creature Feature Weekend in 2021. What do you attribute to the positive return rate?
CY: We have a great group of people who come out to our show. They absolutely love the things that the vendors are bringing out. The vendors always do well, and they love coming back to the show.
SY: They comment on the vibe of the show too. They like that it’s a smaller show and as immersive as it is, they enjoy being next to each other. They ask, “Hey can I be in the same spot because I loved my neighbors.”
CY: They attend the concerts; some will go to the movies after their done with the vending hours. They enjoy the show as well. I think they like the overall environment, with having the food trucks, and everything right there. It’s an all in one and a lot of people say that it has that old school convention feel.

Scoop: You have vendors fill out a survey on the show at the end of the weekend. Why take that extra step?
CY: To get feedback. To find out if we can change the show to make things better.
SY: We can’t be everywhere at the same time at the show. The people involved with the show are critical to our success. So, they can see and hear if anyone had an idea or complaint that we can learn from for the next time around. We utilize all the feedback we receive. Our first year, it was suggested that for the next year that we give more time to set up for the show. The first year our options were a bit more limited where it was a same day set up. We could have people come in as early as 8 in the morning on Friday. But for some vendors, having a four or five-hour window just isn’t enough to unload, set up, etc. So, we were able to negotiate an earlier set up where we would have availability on Thursday. That really eased the tension by adding that small window to set up, making a more relaxed atmosphere for the vendors. It made them a lot more comfortable too.

Scoop: Starting from scratch as a new convention, how did you start booking guests?
CY: Honestly, a lot of it was based on my own personal interests. I didn’t know what would work for the area. A lot of it’s based on figuring out who’s popular in your area, who will people come out to see, and who does well, which helps figure out where you should look in the future. The first year I went based on personal preference.
SY: He had his wish list and he fanboyed over everybody who came out. [laughs] It seems like his interests are in line with everybody else in the area as to who they want to see come to the area.

Scoop: Did you find it difficult to get in touch with agents and managers?
CY: I think the hardest part was figuring out who the agents were. When you first start out… I didn’t know any agents. It was starting from scratch and trying to track through things on the internet to figure out who does what, who represents who. I’m still finding people to this day. A couple of weeks ago I found out about another agent who represents a bunch of people I’m interested in. You’re always finding this stuff out because some of them don’t have websites, don’t have lists out there, you have to know who they are and contact them.
SY: And sometimes the celebrities represent themselves. You’re constantly searching.

Scoop: So, it’s tons of research.
SY: Oh yeah, there’s a lot of foot work. It’s not a job where “If I do this in two weeks I’ll have a show.” You’re constantly devoting time to it on a daily basis because it’s a multifaceted event that you’re putting together.

Scoop: What are the important things you learned about booking guests?
CY: Trying to have people from a similar movie or genre, like having a couple different slasher killers together or a couple people who acted together.

Scoop: Last year you had three actors who played Leatherface in Texas Chainsaw Massacre movies.
CY: Yeah. It was a lot of fun. You can also expand upon that where you have other actors or actresses from those movies. We had Stretch [actress Caroline Williams] there from Part 2, so it all ties together.

Scoop: Something about guests that I imagine most people don’t know is how booking fees work.
CY: You find that it’s different depending on the individual. Some people are a guarantee where your saying, “I guarantee you’re going to earn this much.” Some people are a fee upfront where you are paying them outright and they keep what they make. Some are a fee upfront and they earn that money back and you recoup as they earn it. It’s all different. Some even buy out where you give them money upfront, and you can keep whatever comes in. It all depends on the individual.
SY: They found what works best for them and it’s part of our job to be flexible to accommodate.

Scoop: I assume that if a guest has a good show, their agent will be more inclined to book more clients for your show.
CY: Oh, absolutely.
SY: If it’s a good show the agents will let other people know and that really impacts each year as it goes on.

Next week in the second part of the interview, the Yastrzemski discuss how to promote a con, the complexities of show weekend, and what they’ve learned from planning the con.