Mack Sennett studio exteriorI am excited to announce Mack Sennett Studios for CoffeeCon Los Angeles 2014. We were visiting many different venues in the area, but Sennett Studios won against them all. Here’s a bit more about why it’s such a great choice for us:

CoffeeCon is a consumer coffee festival, not a trade show. Our needs are different. Every CoffeeCon location is chosen for its ability to host our unique event. We need a great exhibit and mingle space, one that gives you the range of coffee tastes and a visual impact when you enter. We want a bright well-lit environment. Ideally, we want to be able to easily walk and taste everything. We also want the exhibit space to allow relaxing and meeting with friends.

We have our lineup of top expert presenters and so an attached auditorium is a must. We have our intensive tasting seminar given by George Howell, which includes tastings throughout, so we need space to sniff and swill those golden samples, at least one hundred of us, while still affording everyone a good seat.

Finally, we’re continually growing our list of hands-on classes and labs. Perhaps the toughest search is for event spaces that have on-site class spaces. We want everyone to really brew better coffee after CoffeeCon, using new and advanced methods. Our classes are a virtual on-site coffee university.

Mack Sennett Studios has it all. Our exhibit hall will be on their largest sound stage. That’s right. We’ll be setting up our thirty-plus local roasters and coffee maker exhibits on a motion picture sound stage – more clear, unrestricted space than ever! We’ll be able to light our exhibits overhead just like a film. I’m expecting some Oscar-winning selfies and product shots!

The second-largest sound stage will host our main auditorium. We’ve never before had access to such fine acoustics and sight lines. Not only our tasting seminar, but Sustainability and The Future of Coffee panel discussions will take place here.

The classrooms will be scattered throughout the rest of the space. Some of the spaces are eclectic, such as Sennett’s makeup and styling room. One is a massive creative think tank used for production brainstorms. All have excellent sound, oversize power for coffee brewing and comfortable accommodations.

Imagine this space filled with the world's greatest coffees, every brewing method and a thousand or more enthusiasts.

Imagine this space filled with the world’s greatest coffees, every brewing method and a thousand or more enthusiasts.

I’ve been saving my personal kick out of this for last. Did you know that Mack Sennett was a famous Hollywood director, actor and innovator of slapstick comedy in film? Mack Sennett’s real name was Mike Sinnott. We grew up in my family hearing that he was a distant relative. Truthfully, I never met Mack Sennett nor do I know if these stories were real, but it’s likely with such a rare surname that there’s something to it. In any case, I’m very proud that we are in a studio where innovative ground-breaking cinema history was made. I feel we’re continuing that fine tradition by bringing our innovative grounds-brewing coffee history-making event here in Los Angeles.

If you’re in Southern California and want to try all the world’s and the region’s best coffee in one caffeinated day, CoffeeCon is for you. If you want to try all the various coffee brewing methods under one roof, CoffeeCon is for you. If you want to meet other enthusiasts, maybe some you already know online, CoffeeCon is for you. We have a the best presenters, all experts. We have top baristas. Frankly, we have everything coffee.

And, we’re at the Mack Sennett Studios in Los Angeles’s Silver Lake neighborhood. Saturday November 8th, from 9 am to 4 pm.

Some were surprised when our first event was at an electrician’s training center, but it was perfect for us. Then we found some art galleries and we got lots of compliments. People always expect the unexpected from us with our locations. Part of CoffeeCon is an interesting space. I don’t think anyone will be disappointed.