I found out about this event when it was posted in the Anime Detour discord, signed up and later met the coordinators at Geek Craft Expo (which was fun!). Also made it really easy to recognize them when I showed up the day of since we'd already had some conversation between discord and the last event I was at.
They sent out one email with the details about when to be set up by, what time the event started/ended. I've been so busy I didn't get a chance to make my own advertisement for this unfortunately.
Before the Event & Setup
I didn't really unpack anything from GeekCraft Expo (and apparently didn't restock either). I left a box of plush at home that was prepared already since in my previous experience, I did not sell a lot of plush at small local events usually.
I've been having some medical issues so my energy has been pretty low lately, so I planned to get coffee and forgot to get cash on the way since I am just the worst about having cash for some reason. You'd think this many events in I would remember.
The event was about 40-50 minutes from me to get some perspective. So it was nearly equivalent to me driving for events out in St Cloud.
Tables were provided and I noticed in the email we didn't have assignments. Turns out it was pick your own space so I picked a spot next to Wisparia so I knew I'd be in good company. Later on once the owner introduced himself to us, he pointed out there would be livestreams and the TV was showing it later in the day. I guess the stream had gotten stuck or wasn't working there but was in the other room, either way the tables facing the TV would have been nice to have selected for this particular event. I also finally got to meet Emerald Raven from discord as well as talk to the guy who had been across from me at GeekCraft Expo. I guess they had approached him and suggested he attend. Not sure about the rest, but either way, vendors were all different - everything from an author to someone who looked like they designed their own environmental items for D&D maps or something.
I didn't put the full cubes up for this since I didn't expect much from the plush sales anyways. Since I didn't restock my pins entirely, Wisparia suggested I hang the magnets on one side. I was trying to put them in the nail polish display and it didn't work but you can see how it all played out in the end.
The magnets hanging on the once empty side since I am really running low on pin designs now. The bookmark protectors worked so nicely for this.
The Event Itself
Once the doors opened, it was up and down throughout the day about how busy or slow it was. Obviously the main draws were the live armored combat and the Star Wars Unlimited Draft, so I wasn't expecting it to even be as busy as it was.
Honestly, the event met so many checkmarks I liked as someone who may have swung by. Good location, plenty of parking (there was overspill next to the building at the cub parking lot), food truck, entertainment, activities and shopping.
The food truck was also very good. I had a chicken burrito and it kept me full most of the day. It wasn't until 6pm I finally started getting hungry. I don't know if food trucks apply or are found or how any of this works, but good choice either way.
It was randomly busy throughout the day in spurts so when it wasn't busy, I was getting lunch or talking to other vendors. I even tried to buy a drink at the event and the owner was extremely nice. I do wish I lived closer to Chaska because this is really the kind of game store you want to have access to. Everything was so clean, the staff was extremely friendly and welcoming, the event coordinators checked in on us as well as the owner!
For me this event was also going to be a test of these small dividers my husband printed to separate the stickers in this nail polish tray. Lizbie had originally requested them and after several different designs, I told him exactly what I personally wanted despite what many creators had online and these worked nicely. They just wedged into the plastic holders and didn't move even with all the kids who were touching things. I probably should have gotten a picture of it being completely set up but you get the idea haha.
There weren't an overwhelming number of vendors which was also very nice. I wish I had more to say but I chatted during the event, ate good food and really just enjoyed everything despite being rather out of it.
What Worked & What Did Not
The location had two entrances so people could walk through either side. One side was where vendors were and the other side was like the main entrance for the store itself. Either way, distance from the parking lot to where we would go inside was not very far. If your items are heavy, still recommended to bring a wagon or something.
Tables were provided. I honestly really just like not having to bring a heavy table. Since it's traditionally a gaming store, they just moved things around for us. Either way, I liked this!
They have a discord! This matters because that means they also have a community and following. A lot of smaller events suffer from lack of reach/advertising for their events. This one did not.
Length of time (as a vendor). Most of my sales were between 11:30am and 3pm with 2 last minute buys around 5pm. I do think the event would have been fine having vendors leaving around 4pm but I also think because of the other activities, they needed us to be there longer so the room wasn't empty. Just something to note, not necessarily change.
The hours were a little confusing since it seemed to range from 10am to 7pm but the advertisement said 11am to 6pm. Either way, we were allowed to head out around 6pm and most of us did.
Conclusion
I was actually interested in attending myself because there was going to be a fun activity outside, but it ended up being much better than expected. Between the Star Wars Unlimited Draft, the outside food truck and the armored combat event outside, a lot more traffic came through than I had expected.
It wasn't a big money maker but I had a good time and that is really all that mattered for me!
The Details (TLDR)
Event: Game Knight
Dates: April 28, 2024
Location: The Forge, 230 Pioneer Trail, Chaska, MN 55318
Hours: 11am-6pm CST
Total Vendors: 11 (counting the outside vendor)
Attendance: ~50-100
Travelworthy: Worth it if you're within 10-20 minutes drive or just trying to expand your audience. Not worth it for out of state.
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Booth Cost: $0
Total Sales: $165.50
Transaction Fees: $4.88
Taxes: $12.23
Total Profit: $148.39