Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society
This article or section needs expansion. |
| Fan Club | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society (was "Science Fiction League" until 1939) |
| Dates: | October 27, 1934 – present |
| Founder(s): | Hugo Gernsback, Forrest J Ackerman |
| Leadership: | |
| Country based in: | United States |
| Focus: | Science fiction and fantasy |
| External Links: | |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
The Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society or LASFS is the oldest continuously operating science fiction club in the world. It was originally founded as the Los Angeles branch of the Science Fiction League by Hugo Gernsback, who was editor of the magazine Wonder Stories, which ran from 1929 to 1955. In 1939, they spun off into their current organization.
The club owns its own meeting space, a rarity, located at the corner of Tyrone & Aetna streets, near the Van Nuys Orange Line station.[1]
In early zines like Voice of the Imagi-Nation, the club was sometimes personified as "Ellay Esseffell" (for LASFL) or Ellay S. Effess (for LASFS).
About
The Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society, founded October 27, 1934, is this world's oldest continuously-active science-fiction and fantasy club. Comprised of both old and young fans alike, it has grown from its humble beginnings as a tiny literary discussion club into a lively social group of science fiction and fantasy fandom readers, writers, cosplayers and in some instances, professionals in the literary, movie and television industries. Many of our members both run and volunteer at our annual West Coast Science Fantasy Conference (Westercon) and Loscon – the Los Angeles Regional Science Fiction and Fantasy Convention. These two long-running conventions are looked forward to every year, providing a place to hold science fiction, fantasy and genre art shows, charity fundraisers, blood drives and the renewing of fannish friendships of all types. Over its long lifetime, the LASFS has weathered the storms of World War II, fannish politics, the 1992 L.A. Riots, the 1994 Northridge Earthquake and the 2020-ongoing Covid Pandemic. While the names and faces of its members may change, the bonds of friendship through our mutual love of science fiction, fantasy and the popular arts have allowed us to endure in an ever-changing world and will hopefully continue on into the far future.[2]
Awards
The LASFS has established or is supporting the following awards:
Evans-Freehafer Award
Created in 1959, the annual award was named after two of the club's most influential and popular members, E. Everett Evans and Paul Freehafer. It is presented for service to the LASFS, recognizing hard work and dedication to the club.
The first recipient was LASFS member Al Lewis.[3]
Forry Award
Named after the society's cofounder Forrest J Ackerman, the award was established in 1966 and is awarded each year. The first recipient was Ray Bradbury, while Ackerman received the trophy in 2002.[4]
Rotsler Award
The Rotsler Award was created by the Southern California Institute for Fan Interests, Inc. (SCIFI, Inc.) in 1997 in memory of Bill Rotsler. The trophy is an award for lifetime work of outstanding fan artists. It is awarded yearly by a specially appointed panel and, by arrangement with the LASFS, it is presented at the Loscon.
The first awardee was Steve Stiles in 1998.[5]
Fanquet Award
The Fanquet was a now defunct tradition that lasted from 1949 until 1975.
Whenever a LASFS member made their first sale to a professional publisher in the SF community, they were honoured with a banquet, called the "Fanquet". The guest of honour was expected to give a speech and sometimes, another guest would response by giving a speech to praise the honoree.
The first Fanquet was held in honour of E. Everett Evans.[6]
Loscon
The Los Angeles Regional Science Fiction and Fantasy Convention (Loscon) is a convention founded by the LASFS in 1975:
In December, 1975 the Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society prepared LA 2000, a special convention to celebrate the club's 2,000th meeting. This was more a relaxicon than a standard convention (since it did not have guests of honor).
LA 2000 was so enjoyable that the event was repeated in 1976, but in October, to honor the club's anniversary and, for the first time, it was called LOSCON.[7]
Starting with LOSCON 9 in 1982, Loscon was held over the Thanksgiving weekend at various locations in Los Angeles, Pasadena, and Burbank.
Loscon 47 was scheduled for November 2021:
Loscon 47 Statement on Covid-19
We are looking forward to an in-person event in November 2021. In our efforts to maintain a safe and healthy environment for our 2021 event attendees, we will be following public health recommendations and policies on private indoor events with more than 100 people.
Loscon requires attendees to be fully vaccinated and provide proof of vaccination and attendees who can not be vaccinated to have a documented negative Covid test within 3 days (72 hours) of their check-in at the convention.
Public health guidelines and Marriott policies will require masks to be worn in all public spaces during the convention.
Failure to abide by public health guidelines and Marriott policies will be grounds for removal from the event.[8]
Further Reading
References
- ^ "lasfsinc.info - Buying and moving to the Tyrone Building". 2011-04-17. Archived from the original on 2021-03-05.
- ^ "LASFS Home". Archived from the original on 2022-03-03.
- ^ "lasfsinc.info - Evans-Freehafer Award". 2020-11-27. Archived from the original on 2021-09-24.
- ^ "lasfsinc.info - Forry Award". Archived from the original on 2021-05-08.
- ^ "lasfsinc.info - Rotsler Award". Archived from the original on 2021-01-20.
- ^ "lasfsinc.info - Fanquet Award". Archived from the original on 2021-04-11.
- ^ "lasfsinc.info - Loscon History". Archived from the original on 2021-03-05.
- ^ "Loscon 47 – November 26th -28th, 2021 ● Marriott Los Angeles Airport …". Archived from the original on 2021-09-09.