BlooMN'Con

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Star Trek Convention
Name: BlooMN'Con
Dates: 1982, 1983
Frequency: annual
Location: Bloomington, MN
Type: fan-run fan con
Focus: Star Trek: TOS
Organization:
Founder: Joan Marie Verba, Carol Christensen, Kay Brown and Cynthia Levine
Founding Date: 1982
URL:
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BlooMN'Con was a fan-run Star Trek: TOS convention.

Joan Verba's Descriptions

Joan Verba, one of the main organizers, described these cons.

From Boldly Writing (1996):

It was an "...all-Star Trek, fanzine-oriented convention, returning to the tradition of the Se*KWesterCons. The committee consisted of Kay Brown, Marilyn Johansen, Cynthia Levine, Carol Christensen (Reeg), and I. We expected to get 500 attendees easily. When we found only a handful of registrants by February, we discussed canceling the convention, but ended up agreeing to hold it anyhow. Thus, BlooMN'Con I was held on July 2–5, 1982, at the Ramada Inn, Bloomington. The hotel no longer exists, and neither does the large drive-in theater that was next door at the time—and which was showing The Wrath of Khan during the convention. We could see the movie from the window of the hospitality suite. Our final attendance was 70, but everyone reported having a delightful time. In addition to the usual panel discussions and art show, we had a dealer's room. In order to bring more fanzines, we started the tradition of agenting fanzines at the convention for other editors. Conventions in future years picked up on this practice, and it is now fairly common. We also had popular fanzine writers in attendance read from their own work, which was well-received but, unlike agenting fanzines, was not imitated.

From Media Fandom Oral History Project Interview with Joan Marie Verba (2017):

BlooMN'Con. The memorable part of that was that that was the year that Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan was out. And so we had to take everybody at the convention to that. So, I arranged everything. I called and, rented a bus and a driver to take the convention members, and bought the tickets.... And everybody who wanted to go, which was just about everybody, piled into the bus, went to the theater. We had a blast. Everything went like clockwork, it was amazing. Things can go wrong at conventions and something they can go spectacularly wrong, but this went spectacularly right.

[...]

We put on BlooMN'Con as a response to the fact that Media*West Con was no longer an exclusive Star Trek convention. After Star Wars, Media*West, and the conventions in that tradition quickly became multi-media conventions, and were no longer Star Trek. Before 1980, '81, they were mostly Star Trek, and maybe a little Star Wars, maybe a tiny bit of other fandom. But after 1980, it, they pretty much became where Star Trek was not the largest part of the convention.... So we put on BlooMN'Con, to be an exclusively Star Trek convention. And the first year it was. The second year, even though we tried to make it an exclusive Star Trek convention, many of the people at the convention spontaneously organized meet-ups for their other fandoms. And, as I said, that was fine. But it wasn't an exclusive Star Trek convention anymore. And we weren't getting enough people for the convention, for it to perpetuate after that. So for those and other reasons we decided to not have a BlooMN'Con Three.

BlooMN'Con 1

BlooMN'Con 1 was held July 2–5, 1982.

front cover of the 1982 program book
back cover of the 1982 program book
  • con committee: Kay Brown (chairman), Carol Christensen (programming), Marilyn Johansen (publicity and program book), Cynthia Levine (art show), Joan Verba (registration), Barry Brown, Pat Gonzales, Jane Kaufenberg, and Garfield (helpers)
  • the con program book contains 20 pages

Programming:

    • there was a trivia contest, a banquet, costume party, and art show, a dealer's room, film room, panels, and an art auction
    • ST: TMP Suffers the Wrath of Khan... or Does It? (Linda Deneroff, Rosemarie Eierman, Joan Verba)
    • Is McCoy Being Overlooked in Fan Fiction? (D. Booker, Lynda Carraher, Marilyn Johansen)
    • Spock is Not Superman (Rosemarie Eierman, Cynthia Levine, Ginny Thorn)
    • Why is Kirk So Often Depicted Inaccureatly in Fan Fiction? (Kay Brown, Carol Chirstensen, Rosemarie Eierman, Beverly Knapp)
    • ST: Past, Present Future. Can Fresh Ideas Keep Coming? What Keeps Us Interested? (Cynthia Levine, Joan Verba, Virginia Zanello)
    • Other Regulars: Supporting But Never Minor (D. Booker, Cheryl Petterson)
    • slideshow "on the live-action STAR TREK TV production (Ruth Berman)
    • Graphics Instruction (Rosalie Blazej) "So You Want to Start a Zine? Artists and Editors discuss zine production (Ann Crouch, Linda Deneroff, Marilyn Johansen)
    • Writers' Panel (Dave Petterson, Lynda Carraher, J. Richard Laredo, Carol Christensen)
    • Trivia Contest (Linda Deneroff)
    • Star Trek as Science Fiction
    • Pro-Trek: Are the Novels Getting Worse or Better? (Carol Christensen, Joan Verba)
    • Post Con Wrap: This is Your Chance to Tell the Committee What You Thought About the Convention
    • Dead Dog Party

Readings in the Con Suite:

    • Virginia Zanello read some of her poetry including, "Don't Stare at His Ears," "The Unknown Technician," and "I Didn't Go to Space to Do the Laundry"
    • Ruth Berman read "And Burned is Apollo's Laurel Bough," "Pre-Occupation," "A Rose for Miranda," and "T'Pring and Sarek"
    • Beverley Zuk read from "Third Verdict"
    • Lois Welling read from Transition
    • Lynda Carraher read from "Curses, Jhikkarr, Foiled Again"

  • 1982 flyer printed in Spin Dizzie

  • a 1982 flyer

  • a 1982 flyer printed in In a Different Reality #13

  • from the 1982 program book

  • from the 1982 program book

  • from the 1982 program book

  • from the 1982 program book

  • from the 1982 program book

  • from the 1982 program book

BlooMN'Con 2

convention program book for the second con, front cover, Marilyn Johansen
convention program book for the second con, back cover

BlooMN'Con 2 was held July 1–4, 1983. There was filksinging, two con skits, several slideshows, a banquet, a costume party, and art show, a dealer's room, film room, panels, and an art auction.

From Boldly Writing:

Again, we had about 70 members. Again, most reported having a good time. The theme still centered on Star Trek fanzines; in addition, some who attended initiated their own 'media' events. The Dark Shadows fans took over the smoking lounge, and a non-Trek party ran at the same time as the hospitality suite. But the membership numbers were not growing; our committee of five chose not to hold another one.

  • there was a smokers' lounge set up in room #206; no other smoking was allowed
  • the banquet menu: fruit cocktail au Kirsch, mixed greens, back half of chicken, au gratin potatoes, glazed carrots, and sherbet
  • the con suite was the scene of a DeForest Kelley film festival
  • panels were: "Why Was Kirk Grounded Twice?," "Creating New World and New Civilizations," "Where is the Magic in Star Trek?," "Zine Publishing," " Reviews, Critiques, and LoCs,"Star Trek III from Star Trek II," "Humor in Written Trek," "McCoy," "Poetry: What is and What Isn't," "Spock," "Death Stories," "Trek: Are We Taking it Too Seriously?," "Star Trek Mysteries: Explaining Away Errors in Continuity," and "Enterprise"
  • slideshows were: Welcommittee Slide Presentation, "Ruth Berman's Slide Show: Inside Star Trek"
  • the two con skits were "In Search of Spock" and a musical called "Skit of Con" (the latter with a cast of 12)
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