Forget the ‘bitchy’ aspect.
Don’t worry about that – the WHOLE hobby can contribute, be you black , yellow, AA associated, AP associated , brindle, short , tall – it DOESNT MATTER.

What  I personally  DONT think should ever happen at ANY event is for EITHER FORUM to have ANY direct involvement ( as in any control ) in a show – a show needs to be as independent as possible and ALL about the game of pinball. Once new people get drawn to the game and potentially become new owners/ members of our games community then THEY can then discover for themselves the forums and the on-going back up assistance available at either place or other places.
 
Forums don’t need to part of the exhibition – games do.
Enthusiastic people that can promote the games and the enjoyment they bring need to be involved and the games can do all the talking.

A general competition however ( no AA Vs AP stuff ) could be a great part of the show, to show Joe Public that there is more to the game these days than just bashing a ball around for the heck of it.