Hi all,
I’m pleased to announce that this year will produce a net profit for the first time in our group’s history. As a result, there will be no pricing increases for 2027.
We still have a long road ahead, as everything is being reinvested into more events in more parts of the state and shifting existing events into even bigger spaces. But we’re on the right path. Cost savings will continue to be passed along to vendors and attendees in the form of lower table rates and more free event days.
You can see our calendar of events for the remainder of the year here and register for our Spring 2027 convention here. We plan to release a full 2027 calendar by the end of this year.
If you care to read on, here’s my rambly personal story for how we got here and the help we still need to keep these events going…
When our two group leaders approached me last year about taking things over to try to keep these events going, I agreed with the hope there could be a pathway to financial stability to make these gatherings work. So the first step I took was sending out a survey to gauge the pulse of our members.
The message I received last year was loud and clear: People wanted the group to continue and were overwhelmingly willing to chip in anywhere from $5-10 for our smaller events to help foot the bill for our NC Disneyana convention.
Over the past 14 months, we’ve doubled the number of events across the state and have seen a 2-3x increase in turnout for our bimonthly Raleigh Triangle meetups. This presented us with a very high-quality problem: Could we find spaces to meet the rising demand without breaking the bank or passing additional venue costs onto our attendees?
Thanks to this weekend’s turnout, I’m proud to announce that this will be the first profitable year this group has had to the best of my knowledge. But this is by no means the time to declare mission accomplished. We’ve got a lot of work ahead. Next year, we’ll have six Triangle meetups in Raleigh, 4-6 partnership events in different parts of the state and a semiannual convention spanning two days each, all of which come with added operating costs.
Yet at a time when prices for just about everything are rising, I’m pleased to share there will be no pricing increases for any of our 2027 pin events. Convention tickets will remain $20 for VIP ticketholders and $10 for Door Admission. Smaller meetups (Triangle and Partnership Events) will remain at $5. Entry for kids 12 an under will remain free of charge. Meanwhile, we’ll be lowering the costs for NC Disneyana tables to incentive more people to take advantage of tables and register sooner.
Our continued success heavily depends on every member of this community supporting a unifying vision that brings people together. Bringing a friend to an event, inviting someone to our Facebook group, buying a table, creating a TikTok, talking about our events with your colleagues, spreading the word on social media, and sharing your pin haul posts after events does so much more than you know.
So whether you are a first-time attendee or a veteran in our group, thank you for helping to sustain our operations. Huge thanks to our amazing volunteers this weekend: my supportive wife Laura, Arletta and her husband Tony, and Katie and her husband Dan. Rest assured, Zac should be back for our Spring Convention to do trivia! Big thanks as well to Ashley for being our graphics guru behind the scenes all year and a tremendous thanks to Guinevere, Amren, Alexis Currie, Carrie Grannis, and Kelly Crews for our partnership events running through the end of this year and hopefully beyond.
With gratitude,
Bryan