We all want a Vanafest over here in North America (mostly).
What I'm not sure people realize is that we don't really have to wait for SE to give us one. We could have given ourselves a Vanafest whenever we wanted and we still can.
The FFXI community has matured over the years so I'm sure that it's well within the realm of possibility to organize and successfully operate a fan-based FFXI convention. Convention planning isn't exactly easy, but given some of the virtual challenges that we've had to overcome, I do not think that those real life challenges would be all that different.
From what I gather, it would probably be a smallish convention at first, and we may have to extend the reach to maybe both online FFs, or maybe a general FF-convention that centers on FFXI, but it's still feasible.
Also, if the complaints from the NA community can get an 18+ hour NM fight reduced to something manageable (sort of), just think at what an organized statement of goodwill and love by us could do?
(And of course, the same could be said for our EU comrades as well.)