Information for vendors
Thank you so much for your interest in Happy Valley Comics and Collectibles Con. Below is the pertinent information and if you have any questions, don’t hesitate sending an email to vendors@happyvalleycomiccon.com.
When and Where:
Saturday and Sunday, February 24 and 25, 2024 at the Nittany Valley Sports Centre in State College, PA, 3 miles from Penn State University, University Park Campus. Load in will be Friday, February 23rd.
Vendor Cost
Offering some of the least expensive booths for a comic convention in Pennsylvania, vendors will be able to choose between a full booth space or half-booth space. Half-booths will be 5 x 10 feet and come with 2 vendor passes. A full booth will be 10 x 10 and come with 3 vendor passes. Each additional booth provides one additional vendor pass.
Booths are empty spaces and vendors need to provide their own tables and chairs. Vendors will be able to purchase tables at $10 a table and chairs for $3 each if they would like to.
To make sure the con has a good variety of merchandise; vendors are limited to only 2 booths.
REMINDER: Booths do not come with any tables or chairs (unless purchased as an Add On).
Free wifi and electricity will be available all 3 days. Please specify if you need electric so we can group those that need electric near outlets.
Vendors will have a Vendor Only Wifi signal to use during the convention. Attendees will be on a different signal.
Add-Ons
You can add the following onto any vending space:
Want to stand out from the crowd? You can have an advertisement on the many television screens throughout the facility throughout the weekend. About a month prior to the convention, you will be asked for your logo or any other graphic.
Need to bring some extra help to the Con? Buy an extra pass!
You can purchase Pipe and Drape for your booth if you would like. We would have it set up before the doors open for vendors.
Placement
Placement will be on a first come, first served basis and vendors will be able to choose their booth location. Once the space is paid for, you will be placed in a queue and will be contacted as soon as possible. The maximum number of booths allowed will be 250 full booths or 400 half-booths.
Limitations
The Sports Centre is a family friendly center and has some limitations to what can be offered.
Weapon Vendors - No firearms will be allowed at the convention. Obvious toy weapons such as those used for LARPing or superhero based items like Thor’s hammer or Captain America’s shield will be allowed. Swords and other steel weapons will also be allowed to be sold but please be careful. We ask that if a weapon is purchased, it is wrapped and the person is escorted to an exit immediately. The person can then put the weapon in their car and return to the convention. No one will be allowed to walk the convention with a sword/dagger, mace, etc.
Food Vendors - The Centre will have a concession stand but other food vendors will be allowed to vend as long the vendor is not selling hot dogs, hamburgers, chicken fingers, sodas and the like that would directly compete with the concession stand. Feel free to ask if your items are being offered by the concession stand. Candy, hot sauce and similar items will all be acceptable. A sample menu from the cafe is available here.
Pornography/Adult Material - The Centre will not allow any content that would be considered adult. This convention will be family themed. If you have any material that could be classified as adult in nature, please do not bring it.
Non-Comic or Collectible Vendors – As of now, we are not accepting vendors that are not sellers of collectible merchandise. If you sell roofing, siding, bathrooms, cable TV, phone services or the like, please do not apply. The Nittany Valley Sports Centre hosts the Centre County Everything Home Expo later on in the year.
Attractions
The convention will hold two different Magic the Gathering tournaments and three different Costume Contests. Prizes for those events will be in “Con Cash”. The winners can use the Con Cash at any vendor and we would immediately reimburse the vendor with real money. If a vendor does not want to participate, that is perfectly okay and we would then advertise at the event which vendors are participating.
The convention is planning to host some celebrity guests as well.
Attendance
The University Park Campus of Penn State has roughly 46,000 students and there are clubs that have convention interests. There is a: Comic Book Club, Star Wars Club, Anime Club and Magic the Gathering Club. There are many sports clubs on campus as well. The Nittany Valley Sports Centre is merely 3 miles away and the convention will host a daily shuttle to and from the university.
There are approximately 82,000 Penn State students and alumni that live within 90 minutes of the Center. We cannot guarantee attendance but we are expecting numbers in the thousands.
The cost for attendees will be $15 for Saturday, $10 for Sunday or $20 for a two-day pass. Early Bird Online Reservation will be $13 for Saturday, $8 for Sunday or $18 for a two-day pass.
Advertising
At every event the Nittany Valley Sports Centre has (basketball, wrestling, homeshows, etc.), the center would advertise the Comic Con on the multiple TV displays throughout the building. The event would also appear on the Nittany Valley Sports Centre’s website, social media pages and numerous email listservs.
In addition, the convention will be advertised via social media, website and local papers including the Centre Daily Times and Penn State’s student newspaper The Daily Collegian.
Two campus buses will have advertising on the outside of the bus while 30 buses in the Centre County area will have advertising for the con inside the bus. Advertising will start in October during the Penn State football season.
Happy Valley Comic and Collectibles Con hopes to cross promote with other conventions throughout the state and country.
Cancellation Policy
Vendors have until 60 days before the convention to cancel their booth/table and receive a full refund. During the 60 days before the convention, vendors may still cancel but will forfeit their booth/table deposit unless another vendor is found to replace them. If a replacement were to be found, the vendor would receive half of their funds back.
If the show were to be canceled for any reason, the vendor will have the option of the return of funds or roll over to the next year’s convention.
Protecting the Floors
If you have something heavier than a table (such as gridwall) to be placed on the floor, the Nittany Valley Sports Centre requests you put something down first to protect the floors. Carpet, carpet runners or heavy cardboard are acceptable.
Taxes
The sales tax rate for Pennsylvania is 6%. It is the sole responsibility of each vendor to collect and declare state tax.
Contract
A written contract will need to be signed before load in. When you arrive, contracts will be available at the check in desk.
If you are ready to reserve a booth, click the button below to complete the vendor application.
