An Exclusive Interview with Leonard Pickel about the upcoming HAuNTcon Convention
May 3-7, 2012 in Pittsburgh, PA
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HAuNTcon
Apr 032012
WE ADDED MORE HAUNTS TO THE PRE-SHOW TOUR!
The Overnight Pre-show Tour leaves from the Doubletree Hotel in Monroeville on Wednesday, May 2nd at 8am. The price includes transportation, meals, lodging and lights-on and/or lights-off tours of over 20 haunted events in Pennsylvania and Northeast Ohio.(I know, this used to say 13 but we added a few)
Attractions on the tour include: Kennywood Amusement Park’s Ghostwood Estate, Ghost Lake’s 9 Levels of Fear, Forsaken’s Wheaton Manor, Quarantine and The District attractions, Fear Forest’s INSANE-A-TARIUM and Ghoul Mansion and Carnevil Fear in 3D.
Our spotlight on the pre-show tour is the “World’s Largest Haunted House” according to Guinness World Records, the Factory of Terror, where attendees will tour Portal 2 Insanity, Massacre on Mahoning, Judgment Day in 3D and Industrial Nightmares, both light-off with actors AND for the first time ever, lights-on backstage. Over 20 different attractions in two days! There will never be a haunt tour like this again! With the other tours you can see over 25 haunts in 5 days. Get your tickets before they run out through TicketLeap!
If you haven’t checked out the newest SyFy blockbuster reality show, MONSTER MAN, take a look! More than makeup and props, this show is about movie special effects.
Cleve Hall and Constance Hall will be appearing at HAuNTcon 2012 in Pittsburgh, PA from May 4-6th. The stars of MONSTER MAN will be in attendance, signing autographs, taking photos with fans and offering a prop building demo.
Get your ticket now to meet Cleve and Constance, at HAuNTcon.com
Due to a date error, the Early Bird Pricing for HAuNTcon 2012 was cut off too soon, AND the pre show tour pricing was not uploaded to the ticketing company when scheduled.
SO!
We will (as soon as I can call someone who knows how to do it) change the ending date of the Early Bird Special pricing to March 16, 2012 at midnight.
In other words: you still have 5 days to get the cheapest possible pricing on HAuNTcon 2012.
I look forward to seeing everyone in Pittsburgh, May 3-7 2012 for HAuNTcon!!
Leonard
Mar 072012
(not to mention fingers, eyeballs and skulls)
As HAuNTcon approaches, we’re trying to program seminars that are perfect for our attendees. Leonard Pickel, the original Hauntrepreneur with 35+ years of experience in over 100 Haunted Attractions, wants to know what YOU would like to learn about at HAuNTcon 2012! Each of these sessions is designed as a Monday all-day workshop. (May 7th from 8am to 4pm at $200)
So…which one appeals to YOU?
1) Getting Started in the Haunted Attraction Industry:
What makes a Halloween event successful? Attendees will learn how a winning haunt is designed; what works in haunting and what doesn’t. Success is what it’s all about!
2) Haunted Attraction Design…from the Inside Out:
Hands-on instruction about how to tackle a haunted attraction design project like an architect or Imagineer. Attendees discover the ins and outs of the “Triangular Grid System,” Leonard’s design key to engaging attraction design.
3) Computer Aided Drafting for Haunters:
Attendees explore the basics of drawing with TurboCAD Deluxe.
Turn your haunted attraction designs into three-dimensional presentations using a specialized software add-on, developed by Leonard.
4) Create a Business Plan for Your Event: A business plan is not just for getting funding! It is a living document that plots the future of your business, warns you of problems before they become critical and keeps you on the path to prosperity.
Failing to have a business plan is the same as planning to fail.
Send an email to: hauntcon@gmail.com
or vote on our http://www.facebook.com/haunted.convention page
We are thrilled to announce that the Thursday Night Kick-Off Tour for HAuNTcon 2012 will be Fright Farm. Now in its 23rd year, Fright Farm has been a Pittsburgh Halloween tradition for over two decades, growing in size and detail every year since its inception. Fright Farm is now the largest multi-element Halloween event in Western Pennsylvania. For this not to be missed tour on the HAuNTcon schedule of events the massive Haunted Mansion will be available for touring by attendees.
CLICK HERE to check out their web site.
The Haunted Mansion, where the real nightmare begins – Expect the unexpected in the Haunted Mansion, which almost doubled in size for 2011. The path winds in and out of the large multi-story building and grounds. With state-of-the-art special effects, custom digital soundtracks, computerized lighting and talented actors the Haunted Mansion is a horrific experience unlike any other.
CLICK HERE to buy your tickets NOW!
Feb 192012
HAuNTcon is proud to announce a new set of classes at this year’s event. In the past, HAuNTcon has offered sessions called “Make-n-Takes,” where attendees pay a materials fee and are instructed how to turn those materials into a haunted prop of some kind. Our new “Hands-On Workshops” teach attendees a technique that they can then use on larger projects when they get back to their haunts.
The classes have always sold out, but we have decided that while “Make-n-Take” is a cute name, it does not accurately represent the technique-teaching aspect of the sessions. With that in mind, we have changed the name of this educational thread to “Hands-On Workshops.” We are also moving the location of these sessions to a designated area on the show floor to provide attendees a chance to view the classes in session, and to give our exhibiting companies a chance to teach some of the classes. Attendees will still get to take their creations home with them, but the classes will be more advanced and may take a longer time frame to complete. As before, there will be a fee for each workshop to cover materials, and seating is limited.
Each year that Haunters attend HAuNTcon, they get better and better at what they do, and have asked for more and more advanced classes. The goal of this change is to raise the bar on the old “Make-n-Take” sessions and transform them from the home haunt level to a professional haunt technique learning session.
Stay tuned as we roll out the 2012 HAuNTcon “Hands-On Workshop” schedule. We look forward to seeing you in several of these advanced classes.
If you would like to offer a Hands-On Workshop, please contact the session coordinators Jeff & Chris Davis: hosts@davisgraveyard.com
We are thrilled to announce the HAuNTcon Sunday Night Haunt Tour will be at Haunted Hills Estate in Uniontown, PA. The event has been called an “Interactive haunted adventure,” with high levels of realism and detail. In season the event is a full scream park with three attractions, 2 of which will be set up for HAuNTcon attendees staffed with actors in October show levels.
CLICK HERE to get your DISCOUNT tickets to this not to be missed event. (Price includes admission to attractions and social gathering. VIP tickets include transportation.)
We are thrilled to announce that the HAuNTcon 2012 Friday Night Haunt Tour will be Hundred Acres Manor!
Hundred Acres Manor is a massive “nose to tail” multi-themed attraction. Intense and in your face, this run for your life, scream bloody murder, haunted attraction features brutal displays of absolute carnage and chaos. Prepare yourself for a full sensory assault on your psyche…leaving you in a state of panic and dismay.
CLICK HERE to get your DISCOUNT tickets to this not to be missed event. (Price includes admission to attractions and social gathering. VIP tickets include transportation.)
CLICK HERE to read more about Hundred Acre Manor tour.
HAuNTcon 2012 will be at the Monroeville Convention Center, 209 Mall Boulevard, Monroeville, PA, (a suburb of Pittsburgh) May 3 through May 7, 2012. With the pre-show haunt tour May 2nd and 3rd.
This is the first year HAuNTcon will be in a convention center rather than a hotel. The host hotel is the Monroeville Double Tree, 101 Mall Boulevard Monroeville, PA and the hotel will be the location of THE social event of the haunting season, the 2012 HAuNTcon Costume Ball, Saturday May 5. This hotel is a upscale Hilton property and HAuNTcon discounted room rate will be a low $114 a night.
This location just happens to be next to the Monroeville Mall, most famous for its appearance in the George A. Romero horror film Dawn of the Dead (1978).
We are still working out the details but stay tuned for hotel and ticket registration info. We are in discussion with several Haunted Attractions in the Pittsburgh area about tours during the convention, but let us know which Haunts you would like us to tour at HAuNTcon 2012 in Pittsburgh, PA!
And mark your calendars now to make sure you don’t miss HAuNTcon 2012, May 3-7 in Pittsburgh, PA!
DandyID
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