MasqueCon

Convention
Name:	MasqueCon
Dates:	October 20-24, 1991
Frequency:
Location:	Crescent Hotel, Phoenix, AZ, US
Type:	fan con with guests from the show
Focus:	Beauty and the Beast (TV)
Organization:
Founder:	Lisa Stubblefield, Sylvia Watson
Founding Date:
URL:
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MasqueCon was a Beauty and the Beast (TV) convention that took place October 1991 at the Crescent Hotel in Phoenix, AZ.

Attendance was limited to 600. The hotel only had 344 rooms, so fans were advised register early. It is unknown how many fans attended, but it was almost certainly less than that.

It was also pointed out that one's registration was non-refundable.

first part of a flyer printed in Whispers in December 1990: "Spend three fantasy-filled days in a world of Shadows and Light, where "Vincent" awaits you and "Father" has stories to tell. It's All Hallow's Eve, when the veil between the worlds grows thin and your ultimate fantasy Below awaits you. Join us for a wonderful time...." Note that "Vincent" and "Father" and "Narcissa" are all in quotes, as they would not be the real people, but cosplayers instead.

second part of a flyer printed in Whispers in December 1990

A November 1990 blurb in Pipeline:

MasqueCon I in Phoenix, Arizona to be held October 25-27, 1991 sounds unique. Run by experinced conventioneers, its purpose "is to create, for the space of 3 days, a sanctuary for Beauty and the Beast fans and stars, by recreating the Tunnels ...a buffer from day-to-day life, personal hardship and worry... It is our sole and only intent to recreate the Tunnels lifestyle for all participants to the best of our ability."

Guests of Honor

At one point, Ron Perlman, Roy Dotrice, Jay Acovone, Terrylene, and Ritch Brinkley were schedule to appear.

From a fan in July 1991:

A small word to you about MasqueCon I. According to Sylvia Watson, as of July 1st, Ron Perlman is still on the attending guest list. Contracts are signed and back for Jay Acovone and Roy Dotrice.

Negotiations are still going on with Ron. We'll keep you posted on details about this convention as we can.

Perlman, Dotrice, and Terrylene bailed, and Brinkley was dis-invited.

This meant that the only guest of honor was Acovone.

This means that when con reports refer to "Vincent" and "Father," they are referring to fans who cosplayers of those characters.

For Many, Kind of a Mess

It ended up being, by many accounts, a somewhat disastrous event. It isn't even listed at Beauty and the Beast Convention History!

The con was held at a time of GREAT TENSION in this fandom due to the Beauty and the Beast Wars.

These tensions were stirred by changes in the third season of the show which included the cruel death of a main character, introducing a new "Beauty," and TPTB retooling things to appeal to fans who wanted more action and less romance.

Many fans felt extreme grief over the death of Catherine Chandler and turned on the show, as well as fans who did not feel as they did.

Letterzines and in-person gatherings were filled with strong language, blame, harsh decisions, and anger between fans.

Other controversies and tensions included some fans feeling angry about other fans' access to the celebrities and their involvement in Creation Con, stress from the recent letters from Republic Pictures that some fans had received in March 1991. Anger over the pain and delight of Beauty and the Beast and The Family Channel Controversies that began in September 1990, fights and strong words regarding the explicit zine, Black Cover, and more.

These tensions, fears, and jealousies spilled over in many ways and into other venues, and MasqueCon was one of them.

Some Reasons for the Disaster

A letter sent to Ritch Brinkley's agent dated October 1991 which dis-invited Brinkley to the con. This letter was printed in Dancing Lights in November 1991, shortly after the con occurred.

1) The con sponsors appeared to be inexperienced, disorganized, and in over their head on nearly every level.

2) The con sponsors over-promised on some very ambitious events and sets. The con was advertised almost as a cosplay presentation, where fans could be a part of fantasy sets. These sets did no materialize. This was due to both lack of money, and lack of time, energy, and planning.

3) Some fans sabotaged the event by bad-mouthing it, and by making malicious phone calls to the hotel and other official venues, spreading rumors that the con was canceled. Fans also made unauthorized change-of-address to divert mail away from fan's rightful business and into postal limbo, the result being purposely misdirected mail and loss of business.

4) Like all cons, attendance often relied upon the promised guests of honor, and these guests of honor had their own attendance caveats. The hoped-for guests for this con were Ron Perlman, Roy Dotrice, Jay Acovone, and Terrylene. Ritch Brinkley was also an invited guest, and he was summarily dis-invited when three of the other guests bailed, and the con committee ran short of funds. This mean that Acovone was the only guest. While he appeared to be mostly a good sport, the burden of carrying this con was high; he ended up leaving early.

5) The con com had to pay a lot of legal fees to manage the various disasters that had happened even before the con had started; one of them was dis-inviting Ritch Brinkley.

"Not Associated"

In April/May 1991, two fans distanced themselves from this con:

NOTICE: Lisa Swope and Kimberly Prosser (writers & publishers of "Light & Cloudshadows" & other various BATB fanzines) are not associated in any capacity with either the Masquecon Committee or the convention scheduled for October 1991 in Phoenix, Arizona. All inquiries & correspondence regarding this convention should be addressed to Masquecon Committee members Lisa Stubblefield, Lyve Oakwoman, &/or Sylvia Watson,c/o MasqueCon.

Similar Disaster Cons

• New York Star Trek '76 (1976)
• Con of Wrath aka Houstoncon, (part of a series, the 1982 one collapsed)
• MasqueCon (1991)
• Slanted Fedora (part of a series; the 2003 collapsed)
• Tentmoot (2003)
• Flanvention II (2006)
• JumpCon (2008)
• FedConUSA (2008)
• DashCon (2014)

Some Advertised Programming

Note that "Vincent" and "Father" and "Narcissa" are all in quotes, as they would not be the real people, but cosplayers instead. Paracelsus is not in quotes, but he wasn't there either.

• Magical Beauty and the Beast Guests To Be Announced.
• Dealer's Tables Galore To Thrill You!
• Haunted Tunnels to Chill You, And a Seance With "Narcissa" Herself!...
• Masquerade
• Musicians From the Tunnels
• Samhain Banquet
• Dramatic Literature and Poetry Readings
• Art Show and Auction
• Costume Masquerade and Contest
• "Friday Night Live" Skits
• Panels with "Vincent" in Attendance
• Little "Vincent" Contest
• Paracelsus' Whodunnit
• Treasure Hunt Panels by the Fans for the Fans
• Professional Writer's Workshop
• Beastly Videos

Descriptions of the Con in Advertisements

A paraphrased quote from a newsletter:

Spirit of the Tunnels: ... Ron Koslow ... showed us a warm, caring world where people could turn for a place to live and for companionship. We say that someone cared about us and our families...there was always a place to go for support and strength. We could ask for help when we needed it, and to give it when it was asked of us.

It has always been Masque's purpose to stage events, not conventions. The difference is in the way you will feel before, during and after the event. At MasqueCon, you will enter the Tunnels and be an active participant in the lives of its people. The sets are being built, the candles lit and your chambers are being prepared.

What will we do there?

Hear the prophecies of Narcissa.

Father's Treasure Hunt - Help Father solve a most baffling mystery that plagues the Tunnels.

Browse the picturesque shops of the Market Tunnel.

The Well of the Legacy: Gifts beyond compare spring from this well, offered to all who wish to part with a little coin and take a chance on fate.

One night of dreams - Tarry awhile near Catherine's balcony one night. Be able to at last comfort Vincent when he goes to Catherine's balcony and finds her gone away on business. ...

If you have a friend, a family member or if you yourself have reached out and shown compassion to those in need, please let us know. MasqueCon will be holding a special awards ceremony to recognize these people for the good that they have done...

The Council has assigned Vincent to finish construction on MasqueCon's chambers. He has chosen the time around October 20-24 to do this.

Masque presents The MasqueCon Sweepstakes - one lucky winner will get to party with the stars; second prize is round-trip airfare to MasqueCon....

The Market Tunnel Auction - Here you will find some one-of-a-kind items created especially for MasqueCon by some of the most renowned artists and craftsmen of our time.

Comments from the Concom

It sounds like some attendees of MasqueCon in Phoenix felt it "didn't live up to its advertising." What they didn't realize was there nearly wasn't an event at all, thanks to criminal mischief on the part of some as yet unidentified fans. The business office of the hotel was bombarded with anonymous calls claiming that the hotel was going to be 'stiffed' out of its fees. If it weren't for some very adroit handling by the convention's lawyer, the convention, its charity and all the attendees would have been out of several thousand dollars and have probably had to set up in a public park! "Walking under the stars with Vincent, indeed!" As it was, set-up was so delayed that attendees themselves had to pitch in and take over from the beleaguered committee, saving the day very well considering. There was at least one totally happy camper, word is guest star Jay Acovone had a fantastic good time and is already considering other up-coming events run by MasqueCon personnel.

If you heard or saw unauthorized announcements made on behalf of either "South of Oz" or "MasqueCon" — to the extent that one or the other had been canceled, or their celebrities weren't coming, or that their membership quotas had been filled to capacity — you may well be a witness to something legally actionable. The creation of rumours to the effect that monies collected for a charity might have been embezzled by a con committee falls under that same heading. (In this case the charity itself had to come to the defense of the committee so falsely accused!) because of this kind of vindictive, thoughtless behavior, no convention can now afford to be without a hotline phone number (wary convention-goers have come to expect one), nor can conventions afford to be without legal counsel on retainer, and that is money spent out of charity's pocket.

Fans: You're Just Lucky You Had a Con at All!

In Fall 1991, Stephanie Wiltse, ever the voice of fandom, scolded fans:

It sounds like some attendees of MasqueCon in Phoenix felt it "didn't live up to its advertising." What they didn't realize was there nearly wasn't an event at all, thanks to criminal mischief on the part of some as yet unidentified 'fans.' The business office of the hotel was bombarded with anonymous calls claiming that the hotel was going to be 'stiffed' out of its fees. If it weren't for some very adroit handling by the convention's lawyer, the convention, its charity and all the attendees would have been out of several thousand dollars and have probably had to set up in a public park! "Walking under the stars with Vincent, indeed!" As it was, set-up was so delayed that attendees themselves had to pitch in and take over from the beleaguered committee, saving the day very well considering.

There was at least one totally happy camper, word is guest star Jay Acovone had a fantastic good time and is already considering other up-coming events run by MasqueCon personnel.

If you heard or saw unauthorized announcements made on behalf of either "South of Oz" or "MasqueCon" — to the extent that one or the other had been canceled, or their celebrities weren't coming, or that their membership quotas had been filled to capacity— you may well be a witness to something legally actionable. The creation of rumours to the effect that monies collected for a charity might have been embezzled by a con committee falls under that same heading. In this case the charity itself had to c ome to the defense of the committee so falsely accused!) because of this kind of vindictive, thoughtless behavior, no convention can now afford to be without a 'hotline' phone number wary convention-goers have come to expect one). Nor can conventions afford to be without legal counsel on retainer, and that is money spent out of charity's pocket.

Anyone reading this who depends more on her/his postman than they'd like to admit should call the post office and request that no address change be accepted without permission and the use of a password. This is to advise our readers that there has been an unsuccessful attempt at an unauthorized change-of-address to divert mail away from a fan's rightful business and into postal limbo. Take this simple precaution, and we can nip this latest dirty trick in the bud.

This is this editor's least favourite column. Dirty tricks? Criminal mischief!! The sane question is "why!?" It appears that that which cannot be ruled is to be ruined. It probably seems unkind or worse to say it but we do have an adult or two who treat B&B and/or its fandom with all the grace of a "Firouka" coveting that golden ticket to the Willie Wonka factory. Worse yet, come to find out, no fandom, or community for that matter, is without 'em. "Slugworth" has many spies.

...and BatB is one heck of a gobstopper.

Con Reports

Let me preface this review of our trip to MASQUECON I by saying that I have supported Beauty and the Beast fandom since its inception and continue to do so through its growth as well as its trials and tribulations. Furthermore, I pride myself on giving 100% to any project I undertake; and when things do not go as they should, I may be disappointed but I do not throw up both hands and immediately pick up my bal and jacks and go home. However, I think it is important to let fans know that you can pay $85 plus airfare and hotel expenses for a convention at which your ball and jacks are stepped on and crushed before you even have a chance to play with them!

Almost a year ago, I received my first flyer regarding MASQUECON 1, soon to be followed by a second one describing the wonderful new concept this event offered -- "living for three days in a recreated Tunnel World as originally foreseen by Ron Koslow with Tunnels actually being constructed by Helpers". In this setting, participants would live as those Below did through a sharing of ideas, art, and marketable goods. To quote from their newsletter:

[...]

At the time of the mailout, they also hoped that Ron Perlman, Roy Dotrice, Jay Acovone, and Terrylene would be in attendance.

This sounded like the dream event--creatively unique, something that had never been! Just imagine MasqueCon -- sets recreating the Tunnel World and events intertwining around the mystique of Halloween! We just had ot get a group together for this one! So 14 people from the Austin/Waco area banded together ot make the trek to Phoenix!

Since one of our group, Teri Johnson, had procured a dealer's table and had been told set- up time was 6:00 p.m. on Thursday, many of us arranged our work schedules so that we could arrive on Thursday evening ni time to help. Being assured by the Crescent Hotel that rooms would be held on a credit card, many of us arrived to find that our Chamber reservations had been cancelled! As Teri was the first ot arrive, she had the "pleasure" of trying to restore some of our rooms.... we could find no mention of MasqueCon in the hotel. When we asked the Concierge, we were told that the hotel had no information on the convention, but they thought that MasqueCon was scheduled to set-up between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. on Friday! Finally finding Teri, she informed us that she had been told no one was around to set up so dealer set-up had been moved to 8:00 a.m. on Friday and al of her things had been placed in storage!

[Friday]: MasqueCon opens! Our group gets up at the crack of dawn so that we can go set up the Texas booth in the Market Tunnel. The people at the check-in table when we arrived seemed totally frustrated, as they had no registration materials yet. So after telling us ot find our tables on the chart we could just go get started setting up and they would come register us later. I inquired fi the dealers had to register again later for packets at the regular registration and was told yes. Well, we walked ni the Market Tunnel to find a large room with only space for approximately 25-30 dealers. Where were the sets? There were no decorations ot suggest Tunnels or anything else and at that point no tablecloths or skirts. Many of the dealers were also concerned that the center tables were arranged so that participants would be able to walk all the way around booths, whereas normally only the front of booths are accessible. In the next twenty minutes, organization was chaotic and rumors ran rampant. First, Teri was told that she had not fully paid for her booth, so she had to produce her copies of the paperwork to prove otherwise.The Heart of Texas Beauty and the Beast Network members had gone to great pains ot create a booth to be proud of--from a Texas-size airbrush banner to gold and black skirted tablecloths. While skirting the tables, we were told that our own tablecloths could not be used as the Fire Marshall required tablecloths to only hang 4 inches from the sides of the tables with no skirts and that ours would break fire codes even though they were made from flame- retardant materials! I have been to conventions, business meetings, antique shows, and doll shows across the United States, and I have yet to see banquet tables, or dealer's tables set up without table skirts! And fi this is a Phoenix requirement, then that should have been worked out months ago and the dealers alerted. (Later the rumor flew that the skirts were available but would have cost more.) Our whole side of the room immediately began complaining about the lack of privacy space for storage, purses, etc. that skirts provide. After explaining that we did not intend to break any fire codes, we were told that if we used our own cloths, we would have to dismantle our display should the Fire Marshall instruct us ot do so when he made his inspection; and we agreed to do so. Then after getting the display almost completed, another member of the Steering Committee came over and confronted us again that we could not use the skirts and we told her that the previous person had told us we could wait for the vote of the Fire Marshall. She informed us that the Fire Marshall was already in the room and would probably make us remove the tablecloths. Well, the "Fire Marshall" they indicated stood in the center of the room, then walked right past our fully-decorated booth and kept right on walking, not saying one word about fire codes! Next, in order to establish a work schedule among the booth Helpers, we walked out to the front desk to ask for an agenda of activities. No one wanted to give us one, telling us to go back to the dealer's room and they would bring us registration materials soon. We finally begged one worker for a schedule so that we could get organized, and she gave in.

[complaints about no free goody bags.]

Next, a representative of the Steering Committee came to the table to tell us that due to unscrupulous fans earlier in the week notifying the hotel that MasqueCon had been cancelled and that the Masque group was the same one who pulled out of an earlier Chicago convention, the hotel had tried to break the contract and that until after much negotiating on the part of Masque committee members and lawyers all through Thursday, there had been no MasqueCon guaranteed until after 5 p.m. Thursday! This had thus held up convention planning for two days! But whether it was blamed on rumors, fans, the hotel, or the Phoenix Fire Marshall, where was the planning, where was the organization, where were the sets that should have all been completed and ready to go regardless of whether the event had been held up two days or not?!

A photographer arrived in the Dealer's Room and set up for picture-taking, posting signs of how much charges would be for different size photos. We were told that there would be participants dressed up as "Vincent" and "Father" and you could pay ot have your pictures made with them (the same thing we had done at other conventions for free)! But when the photographer went out to inquire about when he was to start, he was told that "Vincent" would not be arriving until Saturday! So the photographer had to post a note that he would be back later! However, no one ever saw the photographer return to take a single picture at any time during the event!

When we opened the agenda, we had to smile, as there were absolutely no "events" scheduled for Friday! The agenda read like this: Registration, Market Tunnel Open, Painted Tunnels Open, Costume Room Open, Meditation Chambers Open, Video Room Open, and Children's Room Open. There was not even a scheduled orientation; so fi they had one, we missed it. As notices began to go up and down constantly on their message board, if you didn't happen ot check the board every 30 minutes or so, you often didn't know what was happening! From noon to 6p.m., we experienced DealerCon, as the only people there basically were the Dealers buying from one another and grumbling.

[...]

An ambidextrous caricature artist also came in Friday morning and set up in the middle of the Dealer's Room.After sketching for only a very short time and seeing that only dealers were in the room, he packed up, left, and never returned. What a shame more people were not there to see his work, because he was really talented!

The word quickly came down that the art could not be hung for the Painted Tunnels because there were no hooks. And when some of us went up to the Art Room in the afternoon, it was chaos, with most of the art sitting on the floor and the lady in charge discussing how this assignment had just been turned over to her! Again, nothing to suggest we were in the Tunnels!

The Costume Room was a nice idea--providing Tunnel clothes that could be borrowed and worn if you could not afford to or did not have the time to make your own. However, when I opened the door to see the room, the clothes were not hanging on a rack for selection, but were all dumped on a table that looked like some department store bargain basement! There was no check-out system and on Sunday they were asking people to please return what was borrowed!

[...]

[Saturday]:

The only scheduled activities on the agenda in addition to the Market and Painted Tunnels and the Costume and Video Rooms were Character Qand Aat 11:00, Writer's Workshop at 2:45, Artist's Workshop at 3:45, Vincent's Interlude at 1:00 and Raffle Drawing at 3:00. Part of our group went ot open the Dealer's Room booth, hoping for an influx of participants for Saturday. When only an additional handful of people showed up, we were told that many people had backed out of MasqueCon when Ron Perlman cancelled (Terrylene and Roy Dotrice had also cancelled previously due to scheduling conflicts). Personally, I think it sad that fans can only support an event when the star of choice si there. There were still so many possibilities for this event with or without Ron, fi they had only been carried through! The other part of our group went for breakfast and were pleased to find Jay Acovone dining in the hotel as well!

After breakfast, we were told an unscheduled reading of "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" was being delivered by "Father," so off we went. The only "set" of MasqueCon was here--a small hodgepodge of props, drapes, and tables creating Father's study-- drapes, mind you, that skirted the tables and fel on the floor! (Where was the Fire Marshall?) The illusion of "Father," however, was excellent, as the person playing him greatly resembled Roy Dotrice. But there the illusion stopped. If I had not knownthat "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" was a Halloween ghost story, I would have assumed upon entering that he was reading from the Business Section of the Wal Street Journal. There was no feeling for the story, no emotion in his voice, no air of mystery or excitement-just a monotone delivery. It would have only taken a little inflection of tone to create the setting he needed. After he stopped, Jay Acovone's Q & A should have started; but an announcement moved Jay to 1:00 and Vincent's Interlude was moved to 11:00. We went back to relieve workers at the Dealer's Table, but the people who attended Vincent's Interlude said it went much like Father's reading.

Jay made an appearance ni the Dealer's Room. When a Steering Committee member was asked if he could be approached for pictures and autographs, she said that he would be quickly leaving but would be returning ni 30 minutes and would be signing. He did leave, but he never came back.

At 1:00, we went to hear Jay and got another shock. The Steering Committee had arranged for "Vincent" and "Father" to sit on the stage with Jay and field questions! Now, I'm sorry, but this had to be the most juvenile thing I have witnessed adults do. At least Jay was a good sport when he said: "I will play this game but as Jay not Joe!." When all attention was focused on Jay and his wonderful stories, it took a member of the Steering Committee to ask the first question of "Father" (who we later learned admitted had only watched 12 episodes of Beauty and the Beast!). And when a question was directed at "Vincent" or "Father," they answered ni short, very general answers. But how could they do otherwise? These people didn't play the characters--this was the same as if I paid some of my friends to interpret the characters on the show for me. Everyone around us in the audience was so embarrassed for Jay, yet at the same time, we respected him more knowing that he would tolerate such a situation and be such a good sport about it! Jay, however, stole the show and captivated the audience. He had spoken to Ron Koslow the day before and said that the feature film was still in the talking stages and a script was being worked on. No new news there, and he went on to say from a personal viewpoint he didn't really think they would make the movie without Linda Hamilton.

[...]

Not being a writer or artist, I did not attend the two workshops. Kathy Cox, originally scheduled to conduct the Writer's Workshop was unable to attend; but I understand the Writer's Workshop went well. And a participant in the Artist's Workshop conducted by P. S. Nim, said it was excellent! But if you weren't a writer or an artist, there were no "Tunnel" activities scheduled except for the Dealer's Room. Needless to say, there are only so many times you can walk around the same 25 or so dealers. In the early planning stages of MasqueCon, many people were led to believe that upon registering for the event, you would be entered in the Raffle. However, after Jay's Q & A, it was announced that if you wanted to win a seat at Jay's or "Vincent's" and "Father's" Banquet table, you had to buy Raffle tickets, which would be on sale in the Market Tunnels. When a participant inquired about the fact that registrants were to be automatically entered in the Raffle, she was told that plans had changed.

Which brings us to the Banquet: Tickets were sent out prior to MasqueCon with a registration number and arequest that should agroup wish to sit together, aleter had ot be sent to the Steering Committee. Our group complied, but those were evidently never looked at. When asked about table sign-up on Friday, the Steering Committee said everyone had to wait ot sign up on Saturday. After waiting al day for table sign-up to be announced and overhearing some people talk about their table already being "Reserved," I inquired again about table registration and was told that it was on a first-come, first-serve basis unless you needed more than two tables. So, our group hurriedly dressed in order to get downstairs to get two tables close together. Earlier ni the week, Teri Johnson had inquired about bringing her parents just to the Banquet as they had just made a decision to come on the trip. She was told that Banquet registration had already closed. However, it was interesting to note that either there were quite a few no-shows or a lot of extra places set with food. Besides which, no one checked ti hotel could have joined us for dinner! ckets for the Banquet so anyone from the Garden area under a bill It was a lovely setting, however, outside in the owing white canopy, with some tables outside the canopy under the stars! And the weather was perfect! Half of the participants wore costumes and masks since no masquerade event had been planned. However, aside from that I felt like I was at a Spring banquet for my office. There was absolutely nothing about the Banquet related to Beauty and the Beast or the Tunnels except for Jay Acovone sitting in our midst. Asingle white candle provided light on each table, but there was no Tunnel decor and no decorations on the tables provided by MasqueCon. There was no announcement by the Steering Committee to start the Banquet, no program, no ceremony, and no closing words, except to announce that a Laser Show had been scheduled after the Banquet. People approaching Jay for autographs after he finished eating were told to wait, that he would be signing on Sunday after the Auction. The food, however, was good and the fellowship was great! A Laser Show! Great--no one can mess up a Laser Show! Everyone on our side of the room discussed what a great idea it was putting lasers to the music of the Tunnels and Beauty and the Beast in general! But never assume anything, because the first words spoken at hte show were "We figured on one just wanted ot se e the same odl lasers set ot music, s o . . . Instead we sat through a short demonstration of what a laser is, how many types there are, and how laser rays can be illuminated through such objects as smoke (which almost choked everyone in the room). This demo, plus a short-story reading about a fox with no tail (substituting the wrong letters in words to create funny word sounds) was geared to small children or an elementary-school science class. Where were the soothing sounds of the Tunnel music; where was the relationship to Beauty and the Beast? The best event was once again an unscheduled activity by the fans themselves. Clare Sieffert did an impromptu sight reading in a lounge area of the hotel, presenting two witty stories from a Star Trek zine. Her voice inflections and enthusiasm were quite entertaining!

[much about the auction]

Jay was also obliging about autographing each item purchased at the auction. Lisa Stubblefield and A.V. Wilde had donated several pieces of art and cast-autographed scripts from "General Hospital," "Star Trek: TNG," "Quantum Leap," and "A Day in the Life" were also auctioned. In fact, the "Star Trek" script autographed by Brent Spiner went for the highest amount, $400! The "A Day ni the Life" script was autographed by Ron Koslow andwhen it auctioned, it was mentioned that he was supposed to have also been at MasqueCon although this had never been brought up before.

There were also pieces of the real "Vincent's" face prosthetics donated as well as a copy of the "She Walks in Beauty" audiotape and the original art work-up for the album. Proceeds from the celebrity auction went to "The Make A Wish" Foundation. The auction went on until way past 2:30, with everyone anticipating Jay would stay, as promised, and sign a few remaining autographs. However, he announced he was going to eat and quickly left. A Steering Committee member told dealers he would be coming back in the Dealer's Room later to sign, but he never returned.

[...]

Well, it’s over now, and I've had time to reflect on this experience and it saddens me to think of the impact events such as this one could have on fandom. I've organized enough big events through the years that I learned right quick that you have to take full responsibility for your own actions. I realized you aren't going to make everybody happy and you are going to make a lot of mistakes in the learning process, but you pick yourself up and move forward and make it 100% better the next time. And above all, you make sure your paying participants come first, make sure they get their money's worth! And when a glich appears, you keep your participants informed at all times, treating them honestly and courteously. However, in the space of 3 1/2 days I encountered not the "Spirit of the Tunnel World" but an atmosphere filled with rumors, distrust, accusations of rudeness, false advertising, and general discord. And whether you want to blame it on fans, the hotel, or an act of God, it doesn't have to be this way, as witnessed by highly- organized conventions held through the years. I talked to first-time convention-goers who were left aghast that this was what fandom was all about. And most of the seasoned fans felt totally ripped off. What happened to all the Tunnels, the treasure hunt, Catherine's balcony, Narcissa's prophecies, the awards ceremony, the well of the legacy, mention of the sweepstakes winners, etc.? If you tell me you need a donation to "Make A Wish" for B & B then I'll make it; but if you tell me I'm paying to learn about and be entertained by participating in a recreated Tunnel World, then I want to see something for my hard-earned money. And unless it all went to Jay, I saw no evidence of where my money went! If there were behind-the-scenes problems, then what was needed was to sit us down as a group and explain honestly, and we would all try to understand. But don't change the game plan constantly and keep the players in the dark. Because we can't share the light if half of the candles are missing!

I realize that the Steering Committee probably worked hard to put a creative event together, but I realize, too, that something obviously went wrong, and I wish I knew exactly what that something was. I also realize that not everyone will share my views about MasqueCon and I don't expect them to, because we all perceive and experience things differently.

But I'm tired of glossing over the rough edges, as I think fans have a right to know the truth; and I'm still trying to pick up all the pieces of my crushed ball and jacks set...