1976 – (May 21-23) – VCON 5:

Guest of Honour: LARRY NIVEN. Special Guest of Honour: TERRY CARR.

Venue: Gage Residence, UBC, Vancouver.

Attending: 375.

CONCOM: Chairman – David George; Executive Assistant – Pat Burrows; Registrar – Ed Beauregard; Treasurer – Norma Beauregard; Programming – Rick Mikkelson; Publicity – Susan Wood; Program Book – Fran Skene; Design – Tim Hammell; Art Show – Tim Hammell; Films – Ed Hutchings; Audio – Al Betz; Hucksters – Ed Beauregard, Jim Johnston & Ken Wong; Accomodation – Tom Balabanov; Elron Awards – David George.

Sponsored: by BCSFA, the British Columbia Science Fiction Association. Three days of single-track programming in the Isabel Macinnes Lounge ( Banquet, speeches & Elrons in the Student Union Cafeteria ), with separate rooms for art show and 10 dealers, plus hospitality suite.

FIRST VCON at the University of BC, FIRST VCON to have a theme ( Hugo Gernsback & AMAZING STORIES ), FIRST to title its costume masquerade the “Costume Bacchanal”, FIRST to feature a gaming room, and FIRST to have a Dead Dog Party ( or at least, first to list it in the program book which, by the way, contained art by Tim & Dale Hammel & also by William Gibson ).

FRIDAY (May 21/76 – Vcon 5) events consisted of:

–          Byron Black showing his SF film THE HOLY ASSASSIN and discussing it with the audience,

–          followed by a COSTUME BACCHANAL which included a judging of the costumes, a skill-at-arms demonstration, and music by Whiskey Creek.

SATURDAY (May 22/76 – Vcon 5) events included:

–     three talks on NON-HUMAN INTELLIGENCE by Computer Scientist H. Abramson, Zoologist Dr. N.R. Liley & Astronomer Dr. M. Ovenden, all from UBC,

–     a panel on NON-HUMAN INTELLIGENCE with Larry Niven & Terry Carr;

–     THE REAL WORLD OF SCIENCE FICTION address by Terry Carr;

–     SEX AND SEXISM IN SCIENCE FICTION by Crawford Kilian;

–     THE DEMONIC AND THE PASTORAL: LITERARY USES OF EXTRATERRESTRIALS IN THE WORKS OF C.S. LEWIS, H.P. LOVECRAFT & URSULA K. LE GUIN by Prof. Mason Harris;

–          and then a BANQUET with SPEECHES

–          and an ELRON AWARDS Presentation by David George.

SUNDAY (May 23/75 – Vcon 5) featured:

–     TEACHING SCIENCE FICTION by Susan Wood;

–          THE DISARRAY IN PARTICLE PHYSICS AND THE ERROR OF REDUCTIONISM lecture by J. Brewer of UBC;

–          Prof. Mason Harris INTERVIEWING H. WARNER MUNN;

–          then a HUGO GERNSBACK 50TH ANNIVERSARY SALUTE visual and aural presentation by Al Betz;

–          Larry Niven’s KEYNOTE ADDRESS;

–          and a panel on SCIENCE FICTION COLLECTABLES.

–          The DEAD DOG PARTY began at 7:00 pm.