Great idea, great exhibitions, terrible production. The only saving grace of this show was when the Monks got on stage. The sound crew should never be hired for any gigs ever again. They literally ruined the show.

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The event was supposed to start at 1:05: It didn't start until 1:45 in fact they were still messing around with microphones and the stage until about 1:35 giving the appearance that they were not fully prepared to go. They only made one announcement that the show was starting in 5 minutes (about 1:30).
The stage was hard to see, add to that about 12 to 15 people taking photos and videotaping around the stage made things even harder to see. At one point one gentleman even said to the man leading the exhibition that he would like the camera people to have a seat that helped a bit but some photographers were still in the way.
Also the photo of the event is a bit misleading. I was expecting a nice stage instead of just a raised platform that they borrowed from a 6th grade spelling bee. The large projector screens to the side did help a little, but overall I'm unsure how anybody beyond maybe the 5th row would have been able to see anything at all.
The show started with a brief prayer, and then a martial arts demonstration. After that it went into a "pat ourselves on the back show" (the assemblyman who was supposed to have given them a certificate had already left because the show was running so late), Following that was a panel of martial artists, writers and publishers pushing their agendas. That was about the time I got bored and left. While the martial arts demonstration was impressive I didn't feel like sitting in chairs for 4 hours. Maybe I was expecting something else like being able to walk around and see different demonstrations but I left halfway through feeling extremely bored and disappointed.

What would have made this event better:
1.) Start on time or at least apologize and explain that it was starting late (none was given).
2.) Perhaps have the stage in the middle with everybody around it.
3.) Set up smaller stages and let people meander around checking out things that interested them. I felt like I was going to have to sit for several hours just to see the things I came for.

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First of all, I was very excited about this event. It was my birthday weekend, and it seemed like something fun and different.

This event was a bust though. It started 50 minutes late. The stage was not high enough - and in addition too many people with cameras and videocameras were right up at the stage -making it very difficult to see the demonstrations and making it seem like the event planners cared more about recording their event and letting audience members record it, than actually letting the paying audience watch the show. In addition, there were audience members in the seats with tripods blocking the view (Hello, don't you want to protect your show - or do you want the whole thing to wind up on Youtube?) as well as some security guard who blocked the bottom corner of the left screen - which the screens were also warped, not filmed in the correct ratio, which made them basically useless.

The panels were boring, walked out on the 1st one to get food. Then the 2nd one had a horrible translator - it seemed as though a lot was being lost in translation. They should have just had a script for the translator to read from.

In addition, the sound equipment was faulty, and it cut out quite often, making it really annoying to both the speakers and especially the audience. The LA Convention center really sucks on the weekend in terms of food and drink. The Galaxy Cafe closed around 3pm along with BOTH Starbucks. Seriously, you have two big events there, one of them all day long (there was some Sex Convention down the hall where you could learn about tantric and oral, etc.) - why would you not keep your cafe's open - you're going to make money... and you close early? Hence, had to walk a long distance to get a much needed sugar rush to try and stay awake for the remainder of the summit and try to make it to the finale.

We didn't. The 2nd Panel was so awful - one monk told a story that had no ending and no meaning, but again, possibly lost in poor translation - that we just left.

Also, the martial arts display was quite boring as well, as just one person got up and did a bunch of moves, rather than having 1 on 1 or a group put on a show. (Possibly the finale was more entering, but who wants to sit through 5 hours - yes 5 hours because they started 50 mins late, just to get to the finale).

If you're going to put on a show at the LA Convention Center, charge people $20 - $25 a ticket (or $16 per through Goldstar), with the extra parking fee and the drive, you better put on a good show.

And this wasn't. And in addition, it was just extremely unprofessional, with starting late, with faulty equipment, and with a bunch of people dragging it out by self-congratulating themselves. I won't return.

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A thought provoking event with amazing demonstrations. Good for those who wish to learn another culture (subculture) and great for those who have a background in Martial Arts and/or philosophy. More booths and activities needed to capture the general public's attention. Too much of a lecture in between the demonstrations. Look forward to growth and improvement next year.

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