1975 – (Feb 21-23) – VCON 4:

Guest of Honour: ROBERT SILVERBERG.

Venue: Sheraton Landmark Hotel, Vancouver.

Attending: 600.

CONCOM: Chairman – Mike Bailey; Treasurer – Vicki Bushell; Registrar – Gary Walker; Programming – Ed Beauregard; Publications – Nick Grimshawe; Publicity & Art – Allan Dikeson; Hucksters – Ken Wong; Films – Ed Hutchings; Recordings – Al Betz; Elron Awards – Brent McLean.

Sponsored: by BCSFA, the British Columbia Science Fiction Association. Three days of single-track programming in the ballroom, with separate rooms for art show and dealers, plus hospitality suite.

FIRST VCON to feature a separate room for film showings ( in addition to those shown in the ballroom ), FIRST to have an art auction, FIRST to have a dance, and FIRST to broadcast videos on the hotel’s closed circuit TV. FIRST VCON attended by William Gibson. Famed comic artist Vaughn Bode also dropped by to promote his book DEADBONE.

FRIDAY (Feb 21/75 – Vcon 4)) began with:

–          a showing of FORBIDDEN PLANET;

–          followed by OPENING CEREMONIES

–          and then THE IMPERIAL COSTUME BALL featuring the Free Air Ensemble, SCA dancers and the Synergy Lady Dancers, at which an antlered Bill Broxon got into trouble with his live snake. Lord High Reveller was Allan Dickson.

SATURDAY (Feb 22/75 – Vcon 4)) events included:

–          SOME OBSERVATIONS ON THE LARGE SCALE STRUCTURE OF THE UNIVERSE by Gregory Fahlman;

–          TRIUMF: SOME FACTS AND FALLACIES by J. Brewer & T. Masterson;

–          a NON-HUMAN INTELLIGENCE discussion;

–          JOANNA RUSS AND THE PLACE OF WOMEN IN SF talk by Doug Barbour;

–          PROPAGANDA IN SF by Crawford Kilian;

–          a BANQUET with ELRON AWARDS presented by Brent McLean,

–          followed by A READING BY ROBERT SILVERBERG;

–          and the showing of several films, including BAMBI MEETS GODZILLA.

SUNDAY (Feb 23/75 – Vcon 4) events included:

–          THE TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS OF FANZINE EDITING moderated by Mike Bailey with panelists Susan Wood, Elinor Busby & Frank Denton;

–          KEYNOTE ADDRESS by Silverberg in which he announces he’s quitting writing SF ( he did in fact quit for several years );

–          SCIENCE FICTION IN THE YEAR 2000 panel with authors Mildred D. Broxon, F.M. Busby, Michael G. Coney & John Park;

–          VAN VOGT’S ‘THE WEAPON SHOPS OF ISHER’ — 1984 REVISITED by Jerry Wasserman;

–          and concluded with SCIENCE FICTION AS THE DREAM AND NIGHTMARE OF PROGRESS by Prof. Mason Harris.