MediaWest*Con/MediaWest*Con 1986

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Convention
Name:	MediaWest*Con 1986
Dates:	May 23-26, 1986
Frequency:
Location:	Lansing, Michigan
Type:
Focus:	multi-fandom
Organization:
Founder:
Founding Date:
URL:	1986 convention theme based on the TV show The Prisoner
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Some Facts About the 1986 Convention

front cover of the 1986 program book

back cover of the 1986 program book

video scheduling, includes vids by California Crew

dealers map

• This was the convention's sixth year as "MediaWest*Con." The theme that year was "#6" (based on the character #6 from the TV series The Prisoner).
• A fan remembers: "Who remembers MW*C 6 and "The Prisoner" theme...with the giant Rovers all over the place (including the pool fountain)?"

• there were 615 attendees list in the program book, as well as 35 apocryphal attendees

• from the program book: "The Third MediaWest*Con Film/Video Competition entries will be shown at various times in the Video Room during the convention (check the video room schedule). Each convention member is entitled to vote once," -- two of these videos were a collection by the California Crew and something called "Fade to Black" by "Wisconsin Videos"

• Carolyn Cooper wrote and distributed three daily con newsletters, copies of which were posted at registration, in the con suite, and other locations. Fans who had information for this newsletter were to drop it off at the registration table, at Carolyn's table in the dealers' room, or slip it under her hotel room door before midnight

• there were seating charts at the Saturday banquet, Sunday lunch, and Monday breakfast -- each table sat 10 people, fans had to present their pre-paid tickets in order to "be allowed near the food"

• Sheryl Adsit was in charge of Fannish Jeopardy

• there were many more dealers tables at this con due to a decision to create a category of "Gypsy Dealers," dealers who could set up during the day in common areas to be used later (banquet, presentations) with the understanding they had to move their stuff by late afternoon.
• The convention offered dealers an advertising opportunity in the first Progress Repot:

  SPECIAL ADVERTISING OPPORTUNITY: MediaWest*Con 6 is planning to provide all its attending and supporting members with a handy plastic bag as part of our membership package, suitable for carrying goodies purchased in the dealers' rooms (amongst other things). The MWC 6 logo will be on one side and, you guessed it, your ad can be on the other side! This lasting, moving billboard will be in the hands of over 500 people and can carry your message for only $250. This unique advertising opportunity will be secured by the receipt of payment in full (payable to T'Kuhtian Press. First come, first served. Naturally, all later checks will be returned uncashed. Your photo-ready ad must be received by April 7. Printing will be in black ink on white bags, and must fit within 9" 13" space. No screens, bleeds, or overall printing. Keep it simple, please. Don't be left holding the bag unless your ad is on it!

• the convention offered a raffle for blood drive participants. Winner would get a free membership to next year's MediaWest

• the 3rd Progress report announced that: "Due to possible legal problems, Steve Salaba will not be showing feature films at MediaWest*Con"

• the 3rd Progress Report also apologized to Blake's 7 fandom that MediaWest 1987 was not Blake's 7 themed. Instead, the 007 Spy Theme would "encompass the wide range of spy/espionage/secret agent/even detective and action-adventure media we fans enjoy. "

Fan Q Awards

For specifics, see 1986 Fan Q Awards.

Skit

The fan skit was "Spied Nights." It was written by Paula Smith.

Fan Fund

The 1985 winners of the Fan Fun (Cynthia and David Manship) were listed as possible attendees for the 1986 convention in the first Progress report. That report also indicated that the winners for 1986 would be listed in the third Progress Report.

However by the second Progress Report Deborah Laymon wrote:

Since by the deadline of March 31st, no nominee had enough nominations to qualify for the ballot, there can be no ballot this year. Therefore, I wish to put the question before the members.

Should this year's Fan Fund be:

a) no award

b) should the person(s) who came closest to nomination be awarded a consolation prize

c) should next year's Fan Fund be held later this year (i.e. December)

In the event there is no clear majority, or not enough people respond, I'll have to regard this as a decision of 'no award'. In case of choice 'b', the consolation award would not disqualify the person(s) from nomination for next year's Fan Fund.

Presumably there was no clear majority as no award was announced. The next time the Fan Fund was mentioned was in Progress Report 3.5 after the convention:

The Fan Fund is taking nominations for the Fan Fund of 1987. Nominations will be accepted until December 31, 1986. To be placed on the ballot, a person needs three nominations from three different people. Other than that, the only restriction is that the person in question must never have won the Fan Fund before, and must be an "active" fan (i.e., interested in one or more aspects of one or more fandoms). convention of his/her choice.

Party Suite and Other Gatherings

• IntroCon had a open party in the Conrad Suite
• filkers were encouraged to used open rooms and impromptu meeting spaces
• Imperial Diplomatic Reception in Pat Grant's room
• 4 of Swords Workshop
• Rebel Fitness Challenge Workouts
• Royal Family of Amber charades
• Who Are You Pulling For, a Star Wars tug-of-war
• Alliance Breakfast
• Supreme Order of Imperial Forces meeting and awards ceremony
• Star Fleet meeting
• Dragon's Teeth zine premier party
• Blue Pencil breakfast and discussion
• Remington Steele Scavenger Hunt
• Arthur Dent's Tea Party
• 4th Annual Remington Steele Soiree
• Spies Like Us Affair, U.N.C.L.E. party
• Fannish Jeopardy

Masquerade Winners

We are looking for any photos of the Masquerade contest and winners.

MASQUERADE WINNERS, MEDIAWESTCON 6

• STAR TREK: Kama, portrayed by Jean Marie Dewey
• STAR WARS: Zeltrons, portrayed by Pat Grant and Lynne Miller
• GENERAL: Robin Hood & Maid Marion, portrayed by John 6 Jeanine Hennig (tie) with Princess Mombi from "Return to Oz," portrayed by Melody Womack HUMOR:
• Akilah 6 Ione, portrayed by Nikki Cadwell & Jane Kaufenberg (all media)
• BEST CHEAP: Harrison Ford's Injuries, portrayed by Ken Keisel & Bryan Effne(all media)
• ORIGINAL: Lady In The Peacock Cloak, portrayed by Darlene Ney
• FANTASY: Piper, portrayed by Diane Carey
• APOCRYPHAL: Blackie Lagoon as Guy of Gillman, owned by Janet Schmidt (all media)

HALL COSTUME WINNERS, MEDIAWESTCON 6

• JUDGES' CHOICE: Eric Greystone & Dirk Blackpool, portrayed by Dawna Snyder & Joan E. Perenyi
• GENERAL: Shan-d Ril (Banzai Universe), portrayed by Janet Maclellan
• HUMOR: Gypsy Dealer, portrayed by Tom Barber (all media)
• BEST CHEAP: Miami Vice, portrayed by Liz Sharpe (all media)
• ORIGINAL: Elizabethan SCA dress, worn by Kathleen B. Retz
• BEST AUTHENTIC: Moroccan Traditional Garb, worn by Melody Womack
• APOCRYPHAL: Porcelain Luke Skywalker Doll, owned & made by Sandi Jones
• BEST LITERATURE: Robin Hood, portrayed by Sue Rutherford
• STAR TREK: Young Anakin Skywalker, portrayed by Tim Knapp
• STAR WARS: Romulan, portrayed by Jenne Bybel

Art Show Awards

Art show winners were selected by popular vote.

ART SHOW AWARDS

• Media (General): "Rick" (Simon & Simon) by Frank V. Lilitz
• Fantasy: "Wanted: The Last Virgin" by Leslie J. Spurlock (scratchboard)
• Humor: "Dueling Computers" (Remington Steele) by Anne Davenport (pen & ink cartoon)
• 3-D: "Entwined Lovers" by Suzanne Rosema (stained glass)
• Mixed Media: "What Price Reality? What Price To Dream?" (Harrison Ford) by R. Carey (shadowbox)
• Theme (The Prisoner): "Be Seeing You" by Hal Lane (46 with profile shadow, pen & ink)

Vid Show

We are looking for any info on the vid show winners.

The Film/Video Contest was discussed in the first Progress Report:

Award categories are not finalized, but will probably include Best Film, Best Video, Most Humorous, Music Video, and Best Over All."

Also:

David Grona is opening up a home video contest of the best video creation to feature Patrick McGoohan, winner to receive an original recording of "Secret Agent Man" by Johnny Rivers as well as accolades from the entire convention contingent!

The winners of the music video award were the California Crew, for "Center Field."

California Crew also held some form of contest, as described in Progress Report 3.5

The winners of "The Heat Is On" video contest from the California Crew were:

lst - Elizabeth Ford

2nd - Jean Erdman

3rd - Mary Leonhart

Acknowledgments

• Co-Chairs: Lori Chapek-Carleton & Gordon Carleton
• Security: David and Cindy Manship, Doug and Vicki Carleton, Ealasaid Cutts, Jael O'Connor, Bill Dyer, Bill Hupe, Bryan Effner
• Fan Quality Awards: Kim Dyer
• Fan Fund: Deborah Laymon
• Art Show and Auction: Gordon Carleton, Karen River, Susan W. Perry-Lewis, Jackie Paciello, Bryan Effner, Jeanne Sullivan, Ealasaid Cutts, Keven Lewis
• Masquerade: Jeanne Sullivan, Barbara Gompf
• Fanzine Reading Room: Jan Gosnell
• Video Room: David Grono
• Photographer: Bill Dyer
• Archivist: Keven Lewis
• Dealers: Keven Lewis and Lori Chapek-Carleton
• Programming: Lori Chapek-Carleton & Gordon Carleton

Programming

Friday

• Magnum PI
• Why an Imperial Fandom, who wants to be the bad guy?
• Fancy Meeting You Here, cross-universe stories both fan & pro
• The 2nd Season Syndrome, worse the 2nd time around?
• You Do What?, explaining fandom to the mundanes
• SF in Films & TV, lost in translation?
• "Aye, Captain," the role of the supporting cast in Star Trek
• Vogon Poetry contest & other general silliness
• "The Wraiths," slide show prevue [sic] of the upcoming film
• Return to Oz Worldcon Down Under, a travelogue on the 1985 Aussie II Worldcon utilizing slides and videotape

Saturday

• Manners in the 'Zine Scene
• Watching/Reading/Writing Hurt/Comfort
• Han & Luke Fans, compare and contrast
• Which Came First, The Costume or the Character?
• Where No Man Has Gone Before to The Voyage Home -- the 20 year mission
• Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, dissertation & discussion
• Dinner Banquet and Fan Q Awards
• skit: "Spied Nights" written by Paula Smith
• presentations by Terry Erdman: Coming from 2oth Century Fox: "The Manhattan Project," "Space Camp," "Big Trouble in Little China," "Aliens," "The Fly"
• Costume Competition
• Practical Self-Defense Workshop
• Care, Preservation & Conservation of Collectibles
• The Official Star Wars Fan Club Breakup and Implications
• The Fan Fund's Future
• The Fan Q's Future

Sunday

• A Female View of Males in Fandom
• I Told My Dog "Heel" and He Bit My Foot -- Dog Obedience Demo
• Belly Dance Workshop
• Dress for Success, Costuming
• The Mysticism in Star Wars
• The Equalizer: I Found It in the Classified
• Going Pro: Breaking Into Professional Writing
• The Demon/Lover & Why We Find Him/Her Fascinating
• Mixed Media, how to get the most for your money
• Being There, pro writers
• A Consumer's Guide to Smut
• Can't You See This Horse Loves Me?, Silverado & other fannish westersn
• Steel Hunting Scavenger Hunt
• Horseback Writers International Meeting

Monday

• Blake's 7 -- Britain's Answer to Star Trek?
• Brothers in Arms: Simon & Simon
• Is That a Gun in Your Holster or Are You Just Glad to See Me? -- Romantic Detective Teams
• Exercise in Drawing Workshop
• Deprogramming (Dead Dog Panel)

Convention Reports

A Filk in Honor

In the 1986 issue of Southern Enclave #12, Cheree Cargill penned a filk song in honor of MediaWest*Con.

"In lieu of a con report, the following filk is offered in an attempt to sum up a weekend spent at MediaWest..."

THE BALLAD OF MEDIA WEST*CON by Cheree Cargill

Oh, Lord, won't you get me to MediaWest*Con?

My friends are in Lansing, having lots of fun.

With buttons and photos and zines by the ton.

Oh, Lord, won't you get me to MediaWest*Con?

Oh, Lord, won't you buy me a crate full of zines?

Four dozen buttons to wear on my jeans?

An armload of photos -- it's not what it seems,

But, oh, Lord, won't you buy me a crate full of zines?

Oh, Lord, won't you buy me a Liltz for my wall?

A Wagner or Dunster to hang in my hall?

That portrait of Harrison -- I think I want 'em all!

Oh, Lord, won't you buy me a Liltz for my wall?

Oh, Lord, won't you win me a Fan Q Award?

Worked hard on my fanzine, oh, so very hard.

I'm not a great artist and I'm not a bard,

But, oh, Lord, how I want just one Fan Q Award!

1986 convention T-shirt with a theme from The Prisoner

Oh, Lord, let me party each night 'til I drop!

And fill up on junk food, 'til I want to pop!

I'm having a great time -- I don't want to stop!

Oh, Lord, let me party each night 'til I drop!

Oh, Lord, won't you get me next year to the Con?

The weekend just flew past; where has it gone?

But it's on to the airport; farewell to Hilton.

Oh, Lord, won't you get me next year to the Con?

(to the tune of "Mercedes Benz" by Janis Joplin)

A Miami Vice Party

This "VICER" just came back from Mediawest which was in Lansing Michigan. There I hooked up with other "VICERS" for the very first time... Needless to say I had wonderful time. There I met [Susan H], [Lucy C], [Dani L], & [Mary P]. Mary & I roomed at the convention together. It was many long nights of Vice talk. We also met other fans that had an interest in Vice. We all got together for a Vice Party on Friday night to watch, what else, MIAMI VICE. It was fun. The art show was to die for. Mary & I walked away with what we feel [to be] the two best pieces of art in the show. Yes, the old check books were pretty low after that, but it was well worth every penny. We all had a great time. It was so much fun meeting and talking Miami Vice with others who enjoy the show as much as I do.

General Reports

A con that I was looking forward to very much was MEDIA WEST since I'd heard so very much about it. But I tell you folks, I was greatly disappointed - yes, they had a great art show, and yes, the dealers room was nice. But can you believe they only had a handful of K/S zines, one - which was mine and the other being NOME. Cathy from DATAZINE had others from the gals down LA way but that was all folks. I knew this and it still didn't stop me from buying my other media zines.

The kicker to this con was the unforgivable way they treated Star Trek. Star Trek was like a disease that no one wanted to talk about. I think the thing that pissed all us Trekkers off was the way in which they handled the Fan Q awards. Syn won for best Trek writer and the person who was handing out the awards didn't even mention the category or who won; she just said "Gee, we have a problem here; I don't know how to get this award to the winner." Half the people never knew who won until Barbara Story of NOME finally yelled "I know her and I'll see that she gets it." Barbara then proceeded to ask the presenter to announce the award like it should be. When it came to Caren Parnes winning for Best Artist, they ran out of certificates. But my friends, the funny part to all of this is - NO AWARD for best Trek zine won over zines like. Mainly Trek, Mind Meld, and Nome. Come on! - I just can't believe that. Now I know its only hearsay, but the announcer was heard to comment "What do you expect when you have four pieces of drek" - of course, no award would win. There's more to tell. Neither Joey Shoji or Flora Post won for best Trek filkers - I find that very hard to believe. Joey is a very close personal friend of mine and I know that a large number of people have heard his filks along with other songs that he has written. You mean to tell me that no award is a best choice for these two Trekkers.

I'm sorry - I really wanted to like this con. I had heard so much about it and was thinking of going each year. I can't in all honesty support a con whose attitude towards Trek is such that it shows it doesn't care. If you were a new fan into Trek you sure wouldn't have a good time there unless you knew some of the Trekkers. If you didn't know one of the people in the know you'd feel left out. Not a nice way to treat other fellow fans. When it comes to a good convention my vote goes for SHORE LEAVE every time. No matter what you're into - be it K/S or whatever - YOU are always welcome! After all, Trekkers are the nicest people around. I know myself that if I meet a new fan for the first time I really try to make that person feel a part of the whole scene.

MediaWest Con is basically media... it's the big gathering of the fan-writers and fanzine readers in Lansing, run by the remnants of the U. of Michegan [sic] (or is it Michegan State?) STar Trek club... the emphasis is MEDIA, and especially fanzines. This is THE place to stock up on 'zines... if a fanzine doesn't sell there, it's dead, Jim! I sold a LOT of 'zines! (I also picked up some to sell back East... but that's another story!) I had story conferences, I did the "Revolting Troll" costume (didn't win anything), and I did some filking... there was a 'round robin' on Sunday nite... Laurel Gugin and I playing "can you top this" for three hours during the Art Auction (I picked up a snappy drawing of Don Johnson as Sonny Crockett, and an enamel-painted ring)... The real fun came when there was a small disturbance in the hotel that brought the Michegan State Troopers in... just about the time we hit the raunchier verses of "That REAL Old-Time Religion"... the Trooper looked in for several choruses, then decided we weren't holding a Revival after all.