Howler Con – One Last Howl

By starrymag | July 15, 2016

By: Cade Taylor

 

One Last Howler

I know some of you are thinking “What the hell is a Howler?” and that’s justified if you’ve never attended a “Teen Wolf” convention so let me explain. Howler Con (or Howler, get it?) is a fan run convention for the show “Teen Wolf” that is set in Elizabeth, New Jersey. Next June will be Howler Con’s fourth year of running and it was recently announced that it will (sadly) be its last year. It will be June 23^rd-25^th, 2017. This con is ran by co-owners Amy (@amehmancini) and Betsy (@SouthernBets) along with their magnificent staff. The staff includes: Amanda (@amandahmaki), Nadia (@nadialovesstuff), Lori (@bserlori), Ashley (@mellowmerrin), Alyssa (@adamparrshs) and Tina (@tina_tambourina). As someone who has been to many “Teen Wolf” conventions, I can safely say that these eight women put on the most magnificent, safest and calmest con in this country. And, because this convention has done so well, they are moving to a bigger hotel next year! The new hotel will be able to hold twice the amount of people than the old one to meet the demands for passes. This year’s Howler Con sold out in a little over a month. There is an ongoing list of reasons as to why you should attend this convention and I’m going to share a few.

 

Guests:

 

The guests are the obvious main attraction when it comes to choosing which convention you want to start handing your paychecks over to. For the past three years, they have had at least seven guests attend each convention and altogether they’ve had sixteen different cast members attend. Those cast members being:

Crystal Reed, Holland Roden (2 years), Daniel Sharman (2 years), Ian Bohen, Ryan Kelley (2 years), Arden Cho, JR Bourne (2 years), Sinqua Walls, Tyler Hoechlin (2 years), Linden Ashby (2 years), Melissa Ponzio (2 years), Shelley Hennig, Orny Adams, Eaddy Mays, Charlie Carver and Haley Webb. I don’t know about you guys ,but I love every single person on this list and thanks to Howler Con I’ve had the pleasure to meet each of them in a warm and welcoming environment. The amount of guests is based on how well sales go so if you want as many celeb attendees as possible then be sure to snag those tickets and buy your extras (autos, M&Gs and photo ops)!

 

Panels:

 

These panels are something you don’t want to miss! If you’re a fan who has had a lingering question that you’ve wanted answered by a cast member well here’s your chance. As long as the question isn’t too out there, you will be able to ask the cast members attending. Now, just because your question is PG doesn’t necessarily mean that the cast members (*cough* JR, Ian, Ryan and Daniel *cough*) will keep it PG. There is a (much needed) mature content warning when it comes to the boys panel because no matter what it always seems to get off track and dirty within a few moments (not that we’re complaining). The panels are always a good time.

 

Vendors:

 

You come for the cast, but you stay for the vendors. Every year these gals come equipped with enough fan art to satisfy our wants and every little need. Not satisfied with what’s been brought to the table? Commission something right there on the spot and come back in a few hours to your very own personalized fan art by your favorite artist! Be sure to bring plenty of cash because when you have talented artists like Karina (@xKxDx), Daunt (@dauntdraws) and Kendra (@kendrawcandraw) you’re always going to be wanting more.

 

Charity Auction:

 

Every year each cast member brings something of their own to auction off to the fans attending. Some things that have been auctioned off before include:

 

Holland, in the first year, auctioned off a handmade Christmas ornament where she actually went to the store during Howler Con and spent hours hand making the ornament for the lucky fan who bought it.

 

Melissa, in the first year, auctioned off two hats that were signed by every cast member that attended that year.

 

Shelley, in the second year, auctioned off a set of claws that they use on the show so that one lucky fan could have their own pair. She also did a vine with the winners of the auction.

 

JR, in the third year, auctioned off a Dylan O’Brien signed jersey and handwrote a note to a fan.

 

All money earned from these auctions goes directly to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. This past year they totaled up an outstanding number of $13,065 and over $21k+ altogether to donate to charity.

 

The Staff and Attendees:

 

I know that I talked about the staff up above, but I believe that they deserve to have more recognition. Every staff member has a full time job while they work to put Howler Con together each year and every year they end up doing better than the year before. These women are tired, running on no sleep, and are going a mile a minute. Even with all of that happening, they still have time to make their presence known to everybody and put on a big smile to every person they see. An amazing staff is a crucial part to having a positive reaction with the fans attending the con and they have definitely gone above and beyond. If you’ve attended every year so far then you might agree with me that they’re no longer seen as just a staff member, but a special friend you get to see once a year. And as for the attendees, I’ve never seen a calmer crowd. Everybody who attends Howler Con has a mutual respect to the person next to them, everyone working together to have the safest, most amazing weekend ever. Like I’ve said, I’ve attended multiple cons and have seen my fair share of crowd yelling, twisting questions and just blatant rudeness. None of that seems to happen here. The atmosphere is something I’ll never forget and is something I will definitely miss after the last con ends next year.

 

Howler Con isn’t just another convention to me anymore, it’s like a family reunion year after year. Howler Con is where I, and many others, have met lifelong friends whether you already knew them online and had the chance to finally meet up or you had just met at the con. June 25^th will be a day full of happiness and, at the same time, sadness because it will be the end of one of the best things that has ever happened to some fans. If you get the opportunity to attend the very last con, I encourage you to do so! The date for ticket sales hasn’t been announced yet so be sure to keep an eye on @howlercon on Twitter and visit their website howlercon.com. Oh, and if you’ve had the pleasure of attending even just one year be sure to tweet them and show them all the love they deserve. I’m a Howler forever and always.