Aside from the obvious costs of deposits, renting meeting spaces, and the like, there are numerous other things that will require money. For instance, I mentioned the cost of program books in another post- they run about $2 a copy. Selling ads can help offset that, but it’s still a cost. Hospitality suites are another possible cost, as are badges, and any advertising for the conference itself.

All-in-all, I expect the total cost to be several thousand dollars. Did I mention my pockets not being filled with combustible currency?

This gets us back to the question of dividing up that cost amongst the attendees in the form of a registration fee or “membership” as many non-profits call their admission charge. If the total cost is $10,000, then divided up amongst 100 attendees, we’d be looking at $100.

Is that reasonable?

It seems steep to me, but then again I’m a cheapskate.

Based on some advice from one of Hestia’s servants on our Facebook group, I decided to take a look at some major events with similar components- namely Pantheacon and Paganicon. While these are broadly-based events that draw a large number of non-polytheists and laity, they are a reasonable starting point for comparison.

Pantheacon costs $80 at the door or $70 pre-registered. Its hotel costs $289 a night (before block discount)- way higher than I was looking to go! Gods willing, we might someday have a Hearthingstone that needs 48,000 sqft of meeting rooms, but I’ll probably die of old age before then.

Paganicon costs $90 at the door and as low as $60 for early registration. Their hotel is much cheaper at $95 a night (also before any discount).

One of the hobby conventions I used to work on is now $55 for the weekend, while some of the bigger, professional events are now over $100 for four days.

At the same time, Hearthingstone is (in a sense) a professional development conference. Those things can easily run several hundred to over a thousand dollars… not that I think anyone in our target audience is likely to drop that kind of cash!

Out of curiosity, I decided to check out the cost to attend a regional Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church (my parents are Methodists, so sue me). The standard fee for clergy or elected lay leaders to attend the Minnesota Annual Conference is $250-275 depending on when they register. This is not unusual- I found a number of others in the over $200 range.

I then decided to do a larger comparison, more specific to esoteric events. Here’s a quick sampling:

The more expensive ones seem to include some kind of accommodations- usually in bunkhouses or a campsite. Some of them are also much longer than a weekend.

In an aside, I noticed that November through early February seemed pretty empty.

One last thought, before I set this down for the night…

Hearthingstone is not intended to be a one-time event. My goal is to be able to keep it running, which will require being able to not only cover the first conference’s costs but also to set aside something for the next one.

Thoughts?

-In Deos Confidimus

The post Registration Cost – A comparative approach appeared first on Hearthingstone.

Traditions long recondite are emerging into the polytheistic landscape- familial faiths, circles and hearths who practiced quietly for many years, aging shamans and spiritworkers called alone to their paths…

We are not ready.

As these formerly hidden servants of the Gods reach out, monotheism and its “pagan” analogues stand prepared to receive them, deceive them, and undermine the restoration of humanity’s polytheistic heritage.

Leaders in our world’s various polytheisms are, on the sea of world religions, often as flotsam- individuals widely separated by dangerous waters and only occasionally drifting past another of their ilk.

A polytheist leadership conference could bring scattered servants of the Gods closer together and help them in forming liferafts to catch those now emerging before they fall into hostile hands.

Sadly, there has not, to the best of my knowledge, been a national, or international conference focused exclusively on polytheist leaders since 2014.

I am not ready.

The mundane concerns of modern life press down upon me- job, money, health, car, groceries… My spiritual house is as untidy as my corporeal one. Connections to the land that I once enjoyed in the valley of my ancestors are unavailable in this new city in a seemingly indifferent land.

Only occasionally do I perceive anything of spiritual import.  I see not the dead and hear not the spirits.

I am no great priest or wise shaman.

I cannot do the esoteric work of healing our polytheistic traditions.

But there is work for me to do.

I am a leader.

In college, I shepherded an organization from 50 members to around 300. The last time I checked in with them, they had over 750. I have held elected public office and chaired a committee that built a $66 million high school.

I am a convention organizer.

I founded a hobby convention that ran for more than fifteen years. I worked on a dozen or so others, ranging from about a hundred to thousands of attendees.

I am not ready, but I can help us to be ready.

Where the money will come from, I know not. How I will summon the energy to do the work, attract the right presenters, or build the necessary goodwill to deliver a successful conference… I cannot say.

I feel called to this by the Gods and for now, that must be enough.

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