Who Party
| Convention | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Who Party |
| Dates: | 1978 |
| Frequency: | irregular |
| Location: | Ontario, Canada |
| Type: | |
| Focus: | Doctor Who |
| Organization: | Doctor Who Information Network (1980-?) |
| Founder: | |
| Founding Date: | |
| URL: | |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
While we wait at the verge of another WhoParty, it seems a good time to take a backwards look at the history of this popular DWIN event, and the response to it from some of the fans. The first Who Party actually predates the founding of DWIN. While the club was formed in 1980, the groups that formed it were already meeting. Who Party 1 took place in November, 1978 (almost 20 years ago!). The event (more of a party as it was named) continued annually until Who Party 5 with guest John Levene, who is of course one of the guests for Who Party 11. Who Party 6 was not to be. In the words of DWIN historian Geoff Toop (Enlightenment no.32), 'Dean Shewring planned a bigger convention with actress Louise Jameson.. Two weeks before the convention was scheduled to begin, the hotel decided to back out of its contract with us, and found a loophole in the request for a banquet ... and demanded thousands of dollars in advance to pay for it. The hotel would not listen to reason, and with two weeks to the convention, alternate venues were not available. Who Party 6 had to be cancelled. The club managed to pull together 5.9, which was followed by the club's first full-scale convention, Who Party 7 with the late Jon Pertwee.[1]
Who Party 7
From issue #9. Saturday May 25th and Sunday May 26 saw the first full-scale DW convention ever held in Canada. Who Party 7 was held at the Valhalla Inn in Kitchener, Ontario, with Jon Pertwee, the third Doctor, as guest of honor. Jon was a perfect guest; he was full of the most wonderful stories, and extremely entertaining... The traditional convention goings-on and well-attended panels (Sex in DW...), and an excellent art auction, the proceeds of which went to the Waterloo Mental heal Association. I Think the best part of the convention was having the opportunity to meet some of our members from all over North America; from such diverse locales as Oregon, British Columbia, Colorado, Alberta, and Quebec, just to name a few.Kudos and congratulations to convention organizers Christine Mak and Derwin Mak, who for the last year have been living this convention day-in and day-out. They resourcefully handled what problems there were and really made sure we all had a good time. Bruce Morton.[2]
Who Party 8 (1986)
Who Party 8 was held in Toronto on August 10, 1986, at the Howard Johnson's, Airport Road (now the Delta Inn). It was another one day event, chaired by Louise Hypher. Although there was no guest from the series, a good time was had by all. In order not to miss out of the fun of the East coast DWIN members, the Vancouver chapter started Who Party West in 1987, very much like the Eye of Harmony's recent Eye of Orion mini-cons. It did, however, adopt the name of the Eastern convention and continued on for some years, with guests including John Levene and Nicola Bryant.
From issue #21
The first Doctor Who convention in western Canada took place on May 9th at the Sandman Hotel in downtown Vancouver, British Columbia. Restrictions of time and budget prevented the booking of a professional guest., but as a first effort this small convention, run mainly by members of the Time Meddlers of Vancouver chapter, was quite successful. Altogether it was a well-run convention, and the organizers should be congratulated.[3]
Who Party 9
The same year saw Who Party 9. Fraser Hines (Jamie) was the guest of honour.
From issue #21
The con's schedule was literally chock full of programming, which ran into the wee hours of the morning. This led to some complaints from people who were unable to attend everything they wanted to see. It also taxed the concomm a great deal (in the future, Who Parties could use some more volunteers). The panels were generally interesting, if not always well attended. Worthy of special mention is the Sex in Doctor Who Panel which could have easily gone on for an entire day, if schedule had permitted. Another important panel was the Patrick Troughton memorial, conducted by Dean Shewring. Dean's presentation was enhanced by impromptu comments by Fraser Hines. Due to the supreme efforts of the people running the convention, most enjoyed themselves, although a bit of doom was cast on the last day of the convention when Andrew Specht announced that the con may have lost money. An auction was then held - the proceeds of which were to pay off the deficit, and spirited bidding resulted. This along with donations from some big hearted fans were nearly enough to eliminate the deficit. All in all, Who Party 9 was an enjoyable, if flawed convention. Here's to Who Party 10.Kevin Schlueter.[4]
Who Party 10 (1993)
After a wait of five years, Ed Charpentier decided it was high time for another convention, and in 1992 took on the responsibility for Who Party 10, held at the Ontario College of Art with guest Nicola (Peri) Bryant.
From issue #53. On August 15th and 16th of 1993, Toronto had its first Who Party in five years. 155 people attnded and had a great time with our guests Nicola Bryant and Larry 'the Doctor' Stewart. The convention raised $285.35 for our charity, The Canadian Foundation for the Study of Infant deaths. I would like to thank everyone that attended and helped out.-Ed Charpentier.
Edward Charpentier, Chairman of the Who Party 10 and Doctor Who rap artist extraordinaire as well as his colleagues in DWIN... did a great job with the con and were very personable. We were made to feel really welcomed at this event... Thanks and hats off to the people who put this on. I had a fantastic time and can't wait to go to more conventions. Hopefully future cons were planned. Knights of the White Guardians.
Thank you!!! This past weekend I attended Who Party 10. I only wish my written skills could properly reflect how much of a good time I had. The best way, I thought, I could show my thanks by sending in membership form to join DWIN. In an effort to encourage chances of WP11 happening I would like to formally VOLUNTEER my time in anyway! This is my way of saying thanks for a great show and Ill do my part for the next one! Stephen Christian[5]
Who Party 11 (1997)
While Canadian Doctor Who conventions aren't as big as American conventions, I like to think we have twice as much fun! I know (thanks to Lloyd Penny who was working registration) that there was at least 150 in attendance at Who Party 11, of which there was at least one American and an Australian present. Fen from three different countries. An excellent turnout!
Attending guests were were John Levene (Sgt. Benton) and Anneke Willis (Polly) from the series. Unfortunately, Sophie Aldred (Ace) was unable to make it, but we had lots of fun. Both John and Anneke were very entertaining guests, and made everyone feel welcome. The one thing I really like about Canadian cons is really get to meet the guests and talk to them, unlike larger conventions like Visions (convention), where the struggle to get an autograph alone can be an ordeal of a few hours (while missing many panels). At WP11 autograph and photo periods were easily combined for each guest, and very little, if any waiting. The other great thing about Canadian cons is the con suite, of course. With the exception of MediaWest*Con in Lansing, MI, no other American cons I've been to had this feature. Lisa did an excellent job with the con suite, having many interesting and yummy goodies on hand, ranging from sandwiches and home baked goods, to chocolates and tons of tea. With the short time the convention ran, and the excellent programming schedule, I spent very little time there unfortunately.[6]
Who Party 12 (1999)
I'll tell you this: any day that begins with a conversation inspired by the Paul McGann trailer on the latest Big Finish audio and ends with dinner at the Madison Pub with Terence Dicks himself is one that's going to stick in your memory. The setup it self was pretty standard; a main panel room which also held a dealer's area and , in my opinion, a spectacular art show by none other than Martin Proctor. The rest of the con consisted mainly of a video room in which I personally did not spend a lot of time. Still Who Party's 12's video boasted a schedule of documentaries and previous news coverage as well as the rarities that are synonymous with video rooms nowadays. One of the interesting choices for the video was, in fact, The War Games episode 10. Although this a regularly viewed serial, it was an excellent choice to help kick off the day because it provided an excellent place to start our chat with script editor and Target novelist Terence Dicks. Terence was a wonderful guest to have for such an event; his involvement with the show is well established.
[snipped]
There was a relaxed air of joviality to the party; one of the most enjoyable events was, in this writer's humble opinion, the special trivia panel Doctor Who wants to be a millionaire. Not only did the ten contestants seem to thoroughly enjoy themselves, but the audience also got very involved, whispering quietly amongst themselves whenever confronted with one of the more baffling questions. Luca Di Rocco was the day's winner, hands down. The day ended with an auction at which many of the more rare Virgin novels and other memorabilia were bought up by eager fans (this one included)! And, of course, we had cake. For a fan that has been unfamiliar with the changing face of DWIN over the past decade, it was wonderful to see that the face had really not changed that much. It is still a club that consists of people who hold a genuine love and respect for the ideals on which Doctor Who was formed. It is a group that demonstrates a genuine love for the fantastic, and a continuing sense of wonder.[7]
Who Party 13 (2001)
The fact remains that Doctor Who fandom has, by the nature of the available product, become fractured over the past few years - some fans like the novels, some the audios, some like both, and some firmly declare that Doctor Who was only ever just the TV series, and nothing else matters ... And with this fractured fandom, there's a distinct risk for a Doctor Who convention, especially a smaller one such as Who Party (whose attendance falls somewhere in the 100 people range), to fall into the trap of not catering to all aspects of the fandom it celebrates. I'm very happy to say that Who Party 13 avoided that trap perfectly. The organizers of Who Party 13 managed to have something for everybody, and for this they deserve top marks. They managed to do this by carefully balancing the convention on four separate fronts. The first front on which this balance could be seen was in the choice of guests, with one of the official guest representing the TV series (John Leeson, the voice of K9), and the other representing both the novel and audio series (Lance Parkin, author of several of the novels as well as an upcoming Big Finish audio adventure).
[snipped]
The second front was the discussion panels, and this is where the day's balance was perhaps best demonstrated. The panel topics were well split between fandom, novel, and audio topics,with each panel touching on connections to the TV series to hook in that part of the balance (and doing it well enough that, until I specifically thought about it at this moment while writing this review, it hadn't even occurred to me that there was no panel at the convention that was specifically about any aspect of the TV series).
[snipped]
Often forgotten in the reviews, the third front of Who Party was the video room. And while of course this wa a difficult front on which to demonstrate the new balance of Doctor Who (not too much video of the novels or the audio available!)' there was still an opportunity for a different kind of balance here, as the room featured episodes and videos going as far as 1967's The Faceless Ones and as recent as 2000's Cyberon BBV video.
[snipped]
And the fourth front, interestingly enough, was the dealer tables, where the balance could be seen again in the fact that everything from old Doctor Who magazines and toys through a wide variety of the novels through several of the new audio adventures could be purchased. The audios were a particularly welcome inclusion, in my opinion, as it was for many people present their first opportunity to buy these gems, and at a relatively reasonable price! The other aspect of the convention that deserves strong mention and some definite praise was the contributor's party on Friday night. This was an opportunity for those who were willing to shell out a few extra dollars to sit down in a more intimate environment with the guests and drink, snack and chat. [8]
Who Party 14 (2009)
"I really enjoyed myself at Who Party, thank you everyone who made feel welcome and came up and said hello. For a fair number of people reading this, this will be the first issue of Enlightenment you've received in the post, I hope you're enjoying it. What fascinated the most, I thnk, is the day showed how Doctor Who has lasted so long, and constantly renewed itself.
[snipped]
The really striking thing about Who Party was that there were families there - This was a Doctor Who convention with a room for kids to colour in Doctor Who pictures and play with an inflatable Dalek. These parents were old school parents with kids who genuinely love the new series, they weren't being dragged along. Logically I knew the new series has to have brought in a new audience, but it's still something of a shock to see it. Kids are into Doctor Who. Teenagers are into Doctor Who. . People at university now. All of them at Who Party. There are Doctor Who fans with descendants who are Doctor Who fans. To paraphrase David Tennant, how weird is that?
[snipped]
Back in the seventies The making of Doctor Who noted that some people who watched the first episode were old enough to have children themselves. But it didn't predict that in 2009 someone who saw the first episode would produce a light up Dalek toy from 1965 at a Toronto convention , lighting up to a round of applause from the audience. Taza McDoom did that at Who Party. He won it in a competition and keeps it in the original box. A hundred feet away, people were snapping up Colin Baker action figures, Dalek voice changer helmet and sonic screwdriver toys. Toby Hadoke's autobiographical one-man show, Moths ate my Doctor Who scarf is marvelous. Who Party ended with a performance. This isn't the sort of elevated geek-as-hero thing that flatters us that we all look like Alyson Hannigan or Tom Welling and that we were, like, the life and soul of the party when we were sixteen. It's awkward and spiky in places. There are some great one-liners, but the heart of the show is a father-son journey.
[snipped]
One of the rules of Doctor Who is that we always seem to be on the cusp of a change, and it's obviously true with this year. The consensus amongst everyone at Who Party was that Moffat is the right man for the job, That Matt Smith's a bit young but we trust it'll work out. Everyone involved in making the show (three of them - including Rob Shearman and directors Colin Teague and James Strong - were there in Toronto) knows they've got a challenging job just to keep the show to the standard Russell Davies has overseen. Rob Shearman pointed out in the unlikely event of the show bombing next year, the BBC would try to fix it, not throw it away. Russell Davies has generously handed the show over to a fan favourite with his own vision, rather than do what a lot of us would surely be tempted to and given it to a Mini-Me who'd d it all the same but not quite as good. [9]
References
- ^ Enlightenment no.79
- ^ Enlightenment no.79
- ^ Enlightenment no.79
- ^ Enlightenment no.79
- ^ Enlightenment no.79
- ^ Enlightenment no.81
- ^ Enlightenment no.101
- ^ Enlightenment no.107
- ^ Enlightenment no.152