VCON
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VCON is a fan run fantasy, gaming, and science fiction convention held annually in the metro Vancouver area of British Columbia, Canada. It has been hosted by the West Coast Science Fiction Association (WCSFA) since 1993,[1] and by the Western Canadian Science Fiction Convention Committee Association (WCSFCCA) before that.
History
VCON is the oldest fan run science fiction convention across Canada and in the Pacific Northwest, spawning other fan run conventions in these regions (especially the Pacific Northwest) including Norwescon, OryCon, Con-Version and KeyCon. The first "VCON" (which was actually called the Vancouver SF Convention) was held April 9 and 10, 1971 at the Hotel Georgia in Vancouver. Its sponsoring organisations included the University of British Columbia Science Fiction Society (UBC SFFEN), the B.C. Science Fiction Association (an offshoot of the UBC club) and the Simon Fraser University Science Fiction Society (SF3).[1].
Although 2011 was the 40th anniversary of the first VCON event, the event held in that year was VCON 37. This oddity in numbering occurred as a result of two things:
- For several years in the mid-90's no official VCON event was held (though it was sometimes replaced by another WCSFA sponsored event without the VCON name, such as "The Science of Murder" in 1994 and "The Science of Survival" in 1995),
- Due to various time and resource constraints there were two VCON events that were deliberately organized to be smaller and more intimate and which were given the "half numbers" of 18.5 and 19.5.
VCON has hosted Canvention, Canada's national science fiction convention several times: VCON 14/Canvention 6 in 1986, VCON 26/Canvention 21 in 2001, and VCON 32/Canvention 27 in 2007. VCON has also hosted two Westercon, the travelling science fiction convention for Western North America, with Westercon 30/VCON 7 in 1977 and Westercon 44/VCON 19 in 1991.
Schedule
At present VCON is regularly held one weekend prior to the Canadian Thanksgiving long weekend which, as the observed Canadian Thanksgiving holiday is the second Monday in October, means that VCON is typically the first weekend with a date in October (although it will be the last weekend in September whenever October 1 falls on a Monday). The registration desk and the member hospitality room opens at noon on Friday, with programming starting in the mid afternoon, and the event continues until early Sunday evening.
Features
At VCON the Elron Awards for most dubious "achievements" in science fiction are presented, often with selected passages from the offending winners publicly read to the delight of attendees. R. Graeme Cameron, president of the British Columbia Science Fiction Association (BCSFA), has stated publicly that the name "Elron" is not an allusion to science-fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard. The awards are reported each year in the BCSFA's science fiction fanzine BCSFAzine.
Another VCON tradition is the Turkey Readings, during which panelists read selections from the worst published science fiction and fantasy books that the group has been able to collect. At the same time, volunteers from the audience act out the story being read, and artists make a poster inspired by the story (and the actors.) After the first 30 seconds, audience members can bid to make the reading stop, but other audience members can bid higher for the reading to continue. The bids must be deposited in cash in order to be counted. The reading continues until there are no more bids to make it continue. After the Turkey Readings, the "art" is auctioned off. The funds raised go to CUFF, the Canadian Unity Fan Fund.
Guests of Honour
VCON typically has multiple Guests of Honour. If the second GoH is a prominent fan, the author GoH is referred to as the "Pro" (professional writer) GoH. If there is another professional (perhaps from film or science), he is referred to as an "Author" GoH.
| Last Name | First Name | Guest Type | VCON # | More Info |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abbey | Lynn | GoH | 26 (Canvention 21) | Lynn Abbey |
| Ackerman | Forrest J | Fan GoH | 15 | Forrest J Ackerman |
| Alexander | Rob | Artist GoH | 20 | |
| Barr | Donna | Artist GoH | 17 | Donna Barr |
| Beagle | Peter S. | Author GoH | 32 | Peter S. Beagle |
| Benford | Gregory | Science GoH | 37 | Gregory Benford |
| Berry | John D. | GoH | 13 | |
| Betz | Al "Mr. Science" | Toastmaster Fan GoH |
25 26 (Canvention 21) |
|
| Beveridge | James | Artist GoH | 35 | |
| Bigelow | Betty | Fan GoH Costuming GoH |
22 26 (Canvention 21) |
|
| Bigelow | David | Costuming GoH | 26 (Canvention 21) | |
| Blaylock | James P. | Author GoH | 27 | James P. Blaylock |
| Bloch | Robert | Author GoH | 13 | Robert Bloch |
| Bova | Ben | Author GoH | 10 | Ben Bova |
| Brom | Gerald | Artist GoH | 27 | Gerald Brom |
| Brust | Steven | Author GoH | 22 | Steven Brust |
| Byrne | John | Author GoH | 8 | John Byrne (comics) |
| Cameron | R. Graeme | Toastmaster | 21 | |
| Carr | Terry | GoH | 5 | Terry Carr |
| Cherryh | C.J. | Author GoH | 19 (Westercon 44) | C.J. Cherryh |
| Clement | Hal | Author GoH | 16 | Hal Clement |
| Coney | Michael | Toastmaster | 20 | Michael Coney |
| Cook | Monte | Game Design Special Guest | 27 | Monte Cook |
| Cramer | John G. | Science GoH | 16 | John G. Cramer |
| Crispin | A.C. | Author GoH | 24 | A.C. Crispin |
| Dale | Heather | Music GoH | 35 | Heather Dale |
| de Lint | Charles | Author GoH | 20 | Charles de Lint |
| DeBrandt | Don | Author GoH | 19.5 | Don DeBrandt |
| Delany | Samuel R. | Author GoH | 12 | Samuel R. Delany |
| Desjardins | Shane | GoH | 25 | |
| deSouza | Lar | Webcomic GoH | 34 | Lar deSouza |
| Dick | Philip K. | GoH | 2 | Philip K. Dick |
| Dockrey | Michelle "vixy" | Music GoH | 32 | |
| Dorsey | Candas Jane | Canvention GoH | 26 (Canvention 21) | Candas Jane Dorsey |
| Duncan | Dave | Author GoH Author GoH |
18 29 |
Dave Duncan (writer) |
| Dyson | George | Science GoH | 26 (Canvention 21) | George Dyson (science historian) |
| Ernest | James | Gaming GoH Game Design Special Guest |
26 (Canvention 21) 27 |
James Ernest |
| Fabris | Tony | Music GoH | 32 | |
| Fahnestalk | Lynne Taylor | Artist GoH | 30 | |
| Fahnestalk | Steve | Toastmaster Toastmaster |
19 (Westercon 44) 36 |
|
| Finkbiner | Beth | GoH | 14 (Canvention 6) | |
| Finkbiner | Mike | GoH | 14 (Canvention 6) | |
| Friesner | Esther | Author GoH | 28 | Esther Friesner |
| Gajdecki | John | Media GoH | 27 | Gajdecki Visual Effects |
| Gerrold | David | Author GoH | 23 | David Gerrold |
| Gibson | William | Author GoH Fan GoH |
19 (Westercon 44) 21 |
William Gibson |
| Giguère | Georges | GoH | 11 | |
| Gustafson | Jon | Author GoH | 9 | |
| Hambly | Barbara | Author GoH | 30 | Barbara Hambly |
| Hiebner | Constantine | GoH | 18.5 | |
| Hendricks | Aaron | Podcasting Special Guest | 34 | GeeksOn Podcast |
| Herbert | Frank | GoH GoH GoH |
3 7 11 |
Frank Herbert |
| Hogan | James P. | Author GoH | 16 | James P. Hogan (writer) |
| Hopkinson | Nalo | Author GoH | 28 | Nalo Hopkinson |
| Howes | Katherine | GoH | 14 (Canvention 6) | |
| Hughes | Matt | Author GoH | 32 | Matt Hughes (writer) |
| Hyde | Stan | Artist GoH | 22 | |
| Jackson | Michael | Media GoH | 23 | Michael Jackson (actor) |
| Jackson | Steve | Gaming GoH | 19 (Westercon 44) | Steve Jackson (US game designer) |
| Kare | Jordin | Science GoH | 28 | Jordin Kare |
| Kaufmann | Jerry | GoH | 19 (Westercon 44) | |
| Kernaghan | Eileen | Special Guest Author GoH |
14 (Canvention 6) 18.5 |
Eileen Kernaghan |
| Kleinbergen | Adrian | Artist GoH | 28 | Adrian Kleinbergen |
| Lassek | Lisa | Media GoH | 36 | Lisa Lassek |
| Le Guin | Ursula K. | GoH | 1 | Ursula K. Le Guin |
| Lockwood | Todd | Artist GoH Special Guest |
29 30 |
Todd Lockwood |
| Lynn | Elizabeth A. | Author GoH | 18 | Elizabeth A. Lynn |
| McCharles | Randy | Fan GoH | 30 | |
| McIntyre | Vonda | GoH | 9 | Vonda McIntyre |
| Marshall | Don | Podcasting Special Guest | 34 | GeeksOn Podcast |
| Matthews | Jaymie | Science GoH Science GoH |
29 33 |
MOST Satellite Goodwill Moon Rock History |
| Metzger | George | Artist GoH | 8 | George Metzger (artist) |
| Moskowitz | Sam | Fan GoH | 15 | Sam Moskowitz |
| Ng | James | Artist GoH | 37 | James Ng Art |
| Nicholson | Ryan | Media GoH | 27 | Ryan Nicholson |
| Nielsen Hayden | Patrick | Editor GoH | 19 (Westercon 44) | Patrick Nielsen Hayden |
| Nielsen Hayden | Teresa | Editor GoH | 19 (Westercon 44) | Teresa Nielsen Hayden |
| Niven | Larry | GoH Author GoH |
5 36 |
Larry Niven |
| Normand | Jean-Pierre | Artist GoH | 36 | |
| Notkin | Debbie | GoH | 12 | |
| Oddsson | Warren | Artist GoH | 19 (Westercon 44) | |
| Penney | Lloyd | Filk GoH | 25 | |
| Penney | Yvonne | Filk GoH | 25 | |
| Pohl | Frederik | Author GoH | 14 (Canvention 6) | Frederik Pohl |
| Powers | Tim | Author GoH | 27 | Tim Powers |
| Priest | Cherie | Author GoH | 35 | Cherie Priest |
| Raupp | Roger | Artist GoH | 18 | Roger Raupp |
| Reichardt | Randy | GoH | 14 (Canvention 6) | |
| Robinson | Frank M. | Author GoH | 12 | Frank M. Robinson |
| Robinson | Jeanne | Author GoH | 17 | Jeanne Robinson |
| Robinson | Kim Stanley | Author GoH | 21 | Kim Stanley Robinson |
| Robinson | Peter | Podcasting Special Guest | 34 | GeeksOn Podcast |
| Robinson | Spider | Author GoH | 17 | Spider Robinson |
| Rothfuss | Patrick | Author GoH | 33 | Patrick Rothfuss |
| Runté | Robert | GoH | 10 | |
| Sawyer | Robert J. | Author GoH Toastmaster |
25 26 (Canvention 21) |
Robert J. Sawyer |
| Scarborough | Elizabeth Ann | Author GoH | 18 | Elizabeth Ann Scarborough |
| Schomburg | Alex | Artist GoH | 15 | Alex Schomburg |
| Shaw | Bob | Author GoH | 17 | Bob Shaw |
| Sheckley | Robert | Author GoH | 17 | Robert Sheckley |
| Silverberg | Robert | GoH Author GoH |
4 31 |
Robert Silverberg |
| Singer | Jon | GoH | 9 | |
| Sledge | Sharree | GoH | 13 | |
| Smedman | Lisa | Gaming GoH Gaming Special Guest |
29 32 |
Lisa Smedman |
| Smith Trestrail | Verna | GoH | 19 (Westercon 44) | |
| Snellings | Lisa | Artist GoH | 33 | |
| Sohmer | Ryan | Webcomic GoH | 34 | Ryan Sohmer |
| Springett | Martin | Artist GoH | 32 | Martin Springett |
| Teves | Miles | Artist GoH | 34 | Miles Teves |
| Tompkins | Suzanne | GoH | 19 (Westercon 44) | |
| Tweet | Jonathan | Game Design Special Guest | 27 | Jonathan Tweet |
| van Vogt | A. E. | GoH | 6 | A. E. van Vogt |
| Vance | Jack | GoH | 7 | Jack Vance |
| Walsh | Michael | Toastmaster Toastmaster Toastmaster Toastmaster Toastmaster |
10 13 15 30 32 |
Michael Walsh (film critic) |
| Warren | Bill | Fan GoH | 11 | Bill Warren |
| Warren | Elizabeth | Fan GoH | 11 | |
| White | Ted | GoH | 8 | Ted White (author) |
| Willes | Christine | Media GoH | 34 | Christine Willes |
| Willis | Connie | Author GoH | 37 | Connie Willis |
| Wood | Susan | Fan GoH | 6 | Susan Wood (science fiction) |
| Yang King | Matt | Podcasting Special Guest | 34 | GeeksOn Podcast |
| Zelazny | Roger | GoH | 8 | Roger Zelazny |
References
- ^ a b Emanuele, Matisse (September 30, 2012). "Vancouver Convention draws science-fiction fans back year after year". The Ubyssey. Retrieved 1 December 2012.