To Our Treasured Attendees, Artists, Guests and Members of the Heroes Convention Family,

As of Thursday, April 23, 2020, the State of North Carolina has extended the “Stay-At-Home” order effective until Friday, May 8, 2020. 

Guidelines for the gradual reopening of our State have been laid out in three phases, which at this time suggest that any mass gathering of more than 10,000 would be incredibly unlikely by June of 2020.

In light of these developments and the current unprecedented and unpredictable nature of the 2019 Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic, and with the best interest of everyone’s health and financial wellbeing in mind, we have made the difficult decision to bypass a 2020 Heroes Convention in favor of fast-forwarding our focus to our 39th Anniversary show to be held June 18-20, 2021.

This decision is not made lightly, and is made with the careful consideration for everyone’s safety at heart.

It would be reckless and irresponsible of us to expect our attendees, vendors, legendary creators, and our valued supporters to put themselves at risk by traveling at this time. It would also be irresponsible of us to presume that our vendors and artists would see positive sales during this time of economic uncertainty. We are hopeful that by giving as much notice as possible, our attendees and artists may be able to avoid costly airline reservations and may be able to alter any current travel arrangements without penalty.

Out of respect for an already crowded and uncertain convention schedule going into late 2020, we have decided to shift our focus forward to our June 2021 Heroes Convention versus attempting to reschedule for later this year.

Heroes Aren’t Hard to Find and the Heroes Convention are, at their core, a small business with a big heart, operating year-round from our brick-and-mortar comic-book store in Charlotte, NC. Our store, as well as the Heroes Convention, are managed by a team of four full-time employees, six part-time employees, and a small group of dedicated volunteers. We keep our store and convention operations running simultaneously during the months leading up to our convention, as well as during the event itself.

Normally, at this time of the year, we would be deep into HeroesCon preparation with most of our daily finances from the store being dedicated to producing the best Heroes Convention possible. 

Since Monday, March 23 (which also happens to be Shelton’s birthday), our store has been closed to the public. We are currently maintaining and surviving based solely on telephone and online sales from our loyal customer base. While we are endlessly appreciative of these sales, this change in our daily operation has affected not only our finances but the time which would otherwise be dedicated to organizing the Heroes Convention. Even if the country were able to open without guidelines and restrictions in the next week, the time left for us to produce a Heroes Convention on par with our standards would be insufficient. 

We are not receiving a refund from the Charlotte Convention Center, we are transferring our deposits from 2020 toward a 2021 show. Putting on a show the size and scope of the Heroes Convention is extremely expensive. All the money we have received from the purchase of 3-Day Advance Tickets, Artist Alley Tables and Exhibitor Booths is currently tied up in the cost of renting the Charlotte Convention Center, our decorator, and several other items that facilitate the show each year. 

We understand that everyone is experiencing hardships at this time, and we are no different. All 3-Day Advance Tickets, Artist Alley Tables and Exhibitor Booth Reservations for the 2020 Heroes Convention will automatically transfer to our June 18-20, 2021 show. Requests for refunds will be addressed on a case-by-case basis as soon as possible, but will need to be postponed until the country, and our store, have reopened and finances have stabilized. We will do our best to issue refunds if necessary, but it will take us time to do so. We appreciate your understanding and patience.

We look forward to hosting an incredible Heroes Convention in 2021 with a Guest List for the record books! We hope that you will join us next June 18-20! In the meantime, we ask that you stay safe, stay well, and stay home until it is safe for everyone!

We appreciate each and every one of you.

Sincerely,
The Staff of Heroes Aren’t Hard to Find and the Heroes Convention