Staying Safe At a Convention

For my first blog of the month I am giving advice and tips on how to stay safe at a convention you attend. A lot of conventions have their own security and do their best possible to ensure their attendees enjoy their time at an event as safe as possible. For example Anime Expo has x-ray metal detectors, the fire marshal is on site the entire event, K9 bomb sniffing walk around the entire premise, there are security that do walk throughs and guard back entrances. This guide is more to keep yourself and your group safe and prepared.

When you attend a convention with a group you don't always stay together all the time. Before arriving at a convention I recommend taking pictures of their outfit/ cosplay so it becomes easier to notice a friend in the crowd. This becomes easier if they are wearing something bright color or off color, it's really easy to see a white outfit in a sea of black shirts. Make sure you set up a meeting place and time at least once during a convention, usually a panel you all want to attend or lunch time. This allows you all to update each other and check up on each other. I also recommend to take note of the various exits and entrances that exist. It makes it easy to tell everyone to meet at a certain exit when it's time to head out. 

Another helpful feature is to turn on your emergency feature on your phone. Both iPhone and android devices have an emergency feature that will send coordinate location, a picture from both front and back cameras, and a 10 second audio recording to your select emergency contacts. This feature is really useful and it is hard to trigger automatically. This feature is built into most phones under the name Emergency SOS; here's the instructions for IOS devices and Android Devices. While on the subject on phones, I recommend calling and texting instead of using an online messenger. Calls and texts use a different connection type and are more reliable at a larger event where there's thousands using online service like for taking digital payment.

If you are carrying valuables in your backpack or plan on buying some exclusives in a convention I recommend getting an airtag or similar small tracking device like the tile. Once paired with your phone they will give you very accurate location information. They are also helpful to locate your car, some conventions have a large separated parking garage. Especially if it's your first time attending. You could use a friend locator app but some people are not comfortable with that. Costco currently has a tile tracker combo that comes with two that I recommend. They are useful for you after the convention too.

I recommend personal safety equipment if you are going to a convention by yourself, but some conventions have rules about bringing them into their event. Pepperspray would not be ideal to use indoors for example because it would hurt others. A good alternative would be an emergency safety alarm that would emit a very noticeable sound when activated. Because I am extra cautious and know that sometimes large events become targets of attack I create a rendezvous spot away from the convention for my family in case we get separated. I choose a public location a couple blocks away from the event. I also look for emergency exits not just the ones listed. These usually are bright red, or very noticeable if you start looking. I hope some of my tips have been helpful to you. Thank you for reading.

Read some of my other blogs:

• Daily Cost of Attending a Convention
  
• What can you find in an Artist Alley?
• How early should you arrive to a convention?