1981 – (May 22-24) – VCON 9 / Canvention 2:
Guest of Honour: VONDA MCINTYRE. Toast Master: JON SINGER. Fan Guest of Honour: JON GUSTAFSON.
Venue: Holiday Inn Harbourside, Vancouver.
Attending: 650.
CONCOM: Chair – Fran Skene; Assistant Chair – Steve Forty; Treasurer – Tim Boulton; Registrar – Gay Maddin; Programming – Stuart Cooper & Steve Forty; Art Show – David Greer, jan howard finder & Lari Davidson; Films – Grandee Englehart; Audio/Visual – Al Betz & David George; Dealer’s Room – Tom Stratton; Canadian SF Award – Fran Skene; Fan Olympics – Tom Stratton; Security – Warren Oddson; Publicity – Helene Flanders; Costume Bacchanal – Cara Elrod & Joanne Burrows; Publications – Con Hiebner; Head Commissioners of the Royal Gopher Patrol – Tom Waddell & Bruce Waddell; Con Suite Bar – Kay Briggs; Bacchanal Master of Ceremonies – Paul Simms; Hotel Liaison – Fran Skene; Trivia Quiz – John Thomson; Short Story Workshop – Fran Skene; Elron Awards – David George.
Sponsored: by BCSFA, the British Columbia Science Fiction Association. Three days of mostly triple-track programming with separate rooms for films, art show, hucksters, gaming & hospitality.
FIRST VCON to feature fannish Olympics, FIRST to open the Con-Suite for partying on the Thursday preceding, and FIRST VCON to host the Canvention.
FRIDAY (May 22/81 – Vcon 9) includes:
– FUTURE TRENDS IN COMICS panel with Leonard Wong, Ron Norton & other Vancouver Comic Book Club members;
– ARMAGEDDEN IN SCIENCE FICTION panel with Jon Gustafson, William Gibson, Jim Welch & Stuart Cooper;
– a READING by Mildred Downey Broxon;
– THE HISTORY OF THE BRASS BRA slide show with Alan R. Betz & Stuart Cooper;
– a READING by Vonda McIntyre; &
– the TRIVIA QUIZ.
SATURDAY (May 23/81 – Vcon 9) has:
– COLONIES IN SPACE slide show by Allan Hildebrandt;
– the NEOFAN slide show with John Thomson;
– RATS IN THE WALL talk on H.P. Lovecraft by Prof. Mason Harris;
– SPACE WARFARE panel with Ed Beauregard, Ed Hutchings, Stuart Cooper & Warren Oddson;
– CARTOON WAR moderated by Jon Gustafson with artists William Warren, Lari Davidson, Vaughn Fraser, Warren Oddson & Tim Hammell;
– UTOPIAS panel with Vonda S. McIntyre, F.M. Busby, M.K. Wren & Frank Robinson;
– FIAWOL VS FIJAGDH debate ( on whether fandom is a way of life or just a God-damned hobby ) with Denys Howard, Stuart Cooper, Georges Giguere, Marg Galbraith-Hamilton, Jim Welch & Steve Forty;
– THE STEVE PANEL with Steve Forty, Steve Fahnestalk & Steve Bard moderated by Gary Farber re organizing clubs, cons, & other fannish things;
– PREVIEWS OF UPCOMING MOVIES with Larry Rothstein;
– TRIVIA QUIZ;
– THE FANNISH OLYMPIAD with the following contests: Collating, Book Sorting, Ice Bucket Race, Bheer Consumption, & Finish the SF Limerick;
– a SUSAN WOOD RETROSPECTIVE showing videos of her panels from past VCONs;
– THE FUTURE OF CANADIAN SCIENCE FICTION FILMS panel with Michael Walsh, Ed Hutchings, Jim Welch & Grandee Englehart;
– SPACE RESOURCES talk by Allan Hildebrandt;
– BANQUET with GoH SPEECHES & Canvention 2 CANADIAN SF AWARD presentation;
– ANISCOPE: A NEW ANIMATION PROCESS film & Talk by Wayne Sterloff;
– MAX FLEISHER RETROSPECTIVE film & talk by Grandee Englehart;
– BUT THEY HAVE A LOVING RELATIONSHIP panel on censorship with William Gibson, Frank Robinson, F.M. Busby & Mildred Downey Broxon;
– REAL VS SCIENCE FICTIONAL COMPUTERS panel with Jon Singer, Tom Stratton & Greg Real;
– COSTUME BACCHANAL & DANCE.
SUNDAY (May 24/81 – Vcon 9) featured:
– the ART AUCTION;
– the ROLE OF FOOD IN FANDOM panel with Jon Singer ( mod ) and Cliff Wind, Teresa Nielsen Hayden & John Thomson;
– GENETICS ENGINEERING AND THE FUTURE OF MANKIND talk by Dr. Steven Wood;
– the ELRON AWARDS BRUNCH presented by David George;
– THE FUTURE OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS talk by Doug Saxton;
– a second ART AUCTION; followed by an auction to raise money for the Down Under Fan Fund and the Susan Wood Scholarship Fund, conducted by jan howard finder;
– a SHORT STORY WORKSHOP with Vonda N. McIntyre, J.T. Stewart & William Gibson;
– TRIVIA QUIZ finals;
– WESTERCON IN 83 bid presentation by Portland fans;
– SCIENCE FICTION HAS BEEN GOOD TO ME panel with F.M. Busby, Jon Singer & Jon Gustafson;
– SCA MEDIEVAL DANCING organized by Winifred the Witty:
– ending with “PARTY IN CON-SUITE”.