Convention Etiquette Tips for meeting your favorite Celebrity Guest (part 1)

I have worked (read:volunteered) many a convention dealing with guests and Guests alike, and most of the time it is awesome. I keep lines maintained, entertain myself by entertaining crowds, and spend the majority of the convention with my back to the guests and really only ever interact with the handlers, who have the most thankless job (in my opinion) of the entire con. You should thank them for what they do when you hand them your money before going into raptures of delight over the Talent. They deserve it. Seriously.

Getting back to topic, every convention has it's rules and regs and every Guest has their quirks. Respect that. These people are actually living, breathing human beings who deserve your respect and understanding. They are allowed to have bad days, bad moments, they are allowed to take an unscheduled break to go to the bathroom or grab some food or just be in a silent, empty space for two minutes to ground themselves before coming back out to see you all. They are people like you and me, they just have a seemingly glamorous job.

So! With that in mind, let's talk about some proper con behavior!

A lot of people go to conventions to meet celebrities. That's great! They are awesome people who love their fan base and you should definitely go hit them up and say hey and buy an autograph.

Note that I said buy.

Celebrities do convention circles to meet fans, yes, but they also need to be able to pay their managers, handlers, drivers, the hotel and for airfare. That means you should be courteous and not ask for free things, because the more free things they give out, the less conventions they will be able to afford. That means the other people, who love this person just as much as you do, won't be able to meet their hero. It's pretty selfish of you to do that. Don't be that guy.

"I know they said this wouldn't happen, but I'm going to ask anyway. I mean, what could it hurt?"

Let's start with high fives, fist bumps, and handshakes, shall we? If someone working the line says so-and-so doesn't do these things, believe them. Not only have they told you, they've told everyone else in line as well and all of those people have decided to ask that very same question. So they go up, they get told no, they try to wheedle it out of someone anyhow, get turned down, and have wasted a minute or two of everyone else's time.

I know what you're thinking, two minutes? That's nothing! Only the fifty people ahead of you in line did the same thing. So did the 2 hundred behind you, despite constant announcements that these things would not be happening! Suddenly we have killed 4 hours on useless questions that everyone already knew the answers to! That is at least 100 more people who could have gotten to see their hero if you hadn't been such a jackass.

On top of that, there are reasons people say no to hand shakes, high fives, fist bumps, pinky hooks, and the like. Sometimes it is a totally understandable fear of con crud and the inability to trust that every person who comes up drooling like a slavering dog to meet the character of their dreams has actually been washing their hands. Or even bathing. Conventions are rife with germs and awkward smells you hope to every god in existence aren't coming from you. The guests aren't any different, and them getting sick could mess up a shooting schedule they are contractually obligated to meet. Do you want to be the person who ruins the day of everyone on your favorite show because one of the main characters couldn't go in? Do you!?

And, as if that explanation and the fact that they said no and are allowed their bodily autonomy the same as everyone else weren't enough, sometimes it is physical. A lot of our older guests have arthritis. They already hurt signing your autographs, but they deal with it because they support and appreciate their fans. However people don't always know how strong they are or how tightly they are gripping someone's hand in the midst of their mind blowing excitement, and that is physically painful. So if someone says no to hand shakes or high fives, or any other iteration your smart ass brain wants to make up in an effort to touch the celeb of your dreams, remember that makes you a jackass, not a comedian.

"But I wanted it personalized!"

Yeah, that's great, but time constraints, people! They want to meet as many people as they can in a very short window of time and that means they are often only signing their names, or signing a "to so-and-so, all the best, ~Special Person!" and leaving it at that. They won't write a letter for you, they simply don't have time time. Sometimes, yes, they do have time and they still won't do more than sign just their names. Let's go back to that Arthritis thing. Some of our favorite guests are older. They shaped our childhood, made us change careers, we have children (Furry and fleshy) named for them or their characters! They are older and their hands hurt. They have arthritis. Stop getting upset that they are trying to take care of themselves. That makes you a jerk. Again, don't be that guy! With that being said, it's been a pleasure, Stevie