Convention - Fanlore

Convention

Synonyms:
See also: Slash Cons
Click here for articles related to this term on Fanlore.

A pre-arranged gathering of fans at a specific place and time. Conventions vary widely in their scope and size. Some conventions are small fancons, that is run by fans for fans, focusing on a specific topic or fandom, e.g., Vividcon, a 125-person convention devoted specifically to fannish vidding. [1] At the other end of the spectrum are procons like the commercially-run San Diego Comic-Con, with hundreds of professional guests and over 125,000 fans attending.[2] Comic-Con is also characterized by a huge corporate presence, with virtually every major Hollywood studio attending to promote upcoming television and films.[2] Middle of the road are non-profit fan run cons with invited professional guests, such as Scorpio or Anglicon

art by Sandy Chandler Shelton portraying a Beauty and the Beast con in Las Vegas, click to enlarge
art by Sandy Chandler Shelton portraying a Beauty and the Beast con in Las Vegas, click to enlarge

Contents

Distinguishing features of conventions

  • Are they fan-run cons or commercial cons? Fan-run conventions generally run on a break-even basis (or, commonly, at a loss) and are organized by fans in their spare time. Commercial conventions are generally professionally organized with the intent of making a profit. Some believe that commercial conventions exist to "rip off" fans.[3][4] On the other hand, some feel fan-run endeavors may be more prone to financial problems.[5]
  • Do they have professional guests? (Both fan-run cons like Anglicon and Scorpio, and commercial cons like ComicCon may have professionals as guests.) Pro guests are fun, but they tend to raise con costs (since they have to be paid for their attendance), and back in the day, cons with guests restricted some fan activities (such as selling slash zines, and showing songtapes) that were felt to be inappropriate around pros.
  • Are they for one specific fandom, or for all fandoms of their type (media, sf, slash, etc.)? Winchestercon is a Supernatural-only con, open to both gen and slash Supernatural fans; Escapade is an example of a general slash con, open to all slash fans. (Often, if a specific fandom con last long enough, it will become a more general convention: many general media cons started as Star Trek cons; ZebraCon started as a Starsky & Hutch con, but gradually became a cops and robbers media con.)

Early history of science fiction cons

"Con" has been used since before 1942 to mean a specifically fannish convention.

Science fiction writer Frederick Pohl claims that the first science fiction convention was a trip that he and seven other New York-area fans took to meet a similar group of fans in Philadelphia in 1936. A group of British science fiction fans had a more carefully planned public event on January 3, 1937. The first World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon) was held over the July 4, 1939 weekend in New York City and, aside from a few breaks during the second world war, has been held annually ever since.[6]

The first annual 日本ＳＦ大会 Nihon SF Taikai was MEG-CON in 1962[7]. (This convention became famous among international anime fans for the short opening videos at Osaka's 1981 and 1983 cons (DAICON 3 and DAICON 4)[8]. These fan animators went on to form the animation company Gainax, which produced Evangelion[9]) The Nippon 2007 convention in Yokohama doubled as World Con that year.

Early media cons

cover of early con program from 1968 University of Iowa Digital Library
cover of early con program from 1968 University of Iowa Digital Library

Newsweek:

Though it's commonly thought that the first Star Trek convention was held in 1972 at the Hilton Holtel in Manhattan, according to die-hard Trek historians, the first one actually took place in March 1969 at the Newark Public Library. Organzied by librarian Sherna Comerford Burley, the low-key, celebrity-free event featured slide shows of Trek aliens,skits and a fan panel to discuss "The Star Trek Phenomenon." [10]

The first major Star Trek convention, run by Joan Winston and others, was held in New York in 1972 and drew 3,000 people. The 1973 convention drew 6,000, and in 1974, 15,000 people attended and 6,000 more were turned away at the door. These cons vied to have the largest number of professional guest stars.

The first media fan con (i.e., run by fans, for fans, with no guest stars) was SeKWester*Con (pronounced "sequester con") in 1975, in Kalamazoo.[11] (At the second SeKWester*Con, the Fan Q awards were started to recognize Quality in Star Trek fan fiction, filks and art. As of 1981, they've been given out at MediaWest*Con.[12]

The first of the cons that would become MediaWest*Con was held in 1978 and organized by Lori Chapek-Carleton and Gordon Carleton, who were zine publishers. This first con was called T'Con and held at the Lansing Hilton Inn. [13]. The convention was formally re-established as MediaWest*Con in 1981.

The first unabashed slash con was IDICon in Houston, in 1984, run by Pam Rose, Linn O'Brien, Barb Lewis and others.

The current longest-running slash con is Escapade (2009 will be its 19th!) held every year near Santa Barbara, California by Megan Kent and Charlotte C Hill.

External Resources

List of Cons

(A list of slash and slash-friendly cons can be found at the slash cons page.)

References

  1. ↑ Vividcon. (Accessed 07 Aug. 2008.)
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Comic-Con is bursting at the seams by Geoff Boucher, July 2008. (Accessed 07 Aug. 2008.)
  3. ↑ Creation Entertain (Creation Entertainment spoof site). (Accessed 7 Aug. 2008.)
  4. ↑ Conventions That Don't Suck posted by psychodave on rec.arts.sf.fandom, 2006. (Accessed 7 Aug. 2008.)
  5. ↑ Personal Statement from Denise Adams posted by rowanceleste, 2001. (Accessed 7 Aug. 2008.)
  6. ↑ Francesca Coppa, "A Brief History of Media Fandom." In: K. Hellekson, K. Busse (eds.) Fan Fiction and Fan Communities in the Age of the Internet. New Essays McFarland, 2006. p 43.
  7. ↑ SF大会リスト (SF Taikai List) (accessed 23 January 2009)
  8. ↑ Gainax's official page for the videos (accessed 23 January 2009
  9. ↑ Fans Who Would Be Kings: the author describes Gainax as 'by fans for fans'. (accessed 23 January 2009)
  10. ↑ See the second slide in the series of Rare snapshots from early Star Trek conventions, Newsweek.com, accessed 15 December 2009
  11. ↑ Boldly Writing: A Trekker Fan and Zine History, 1967 - 1987
  12. ↑ List of Fan Q Winners each year
  13. ↑ http://members.aol.com/mdiawstCon/mwchist.htm
  14. ↑ NotJustAnotherCon list of guest speakers (accessed 24 January 2009)
  15. ↑ official NJAC homepage (accessed 24 January 2009)
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