1980 – (May 23-25) – VCON 8:
Guest of Honour: ROGER ZELAZNY. Special Guest of Honour: JOHN BYRNE. Toast Master: TED WHITE. Fan Guest of Honour: GEORGE METZGER.
Venue: Delta River Inn, Delta.
Attending: 750.
CONCOM: Chairman – Vaughn W. Fraser; Treasurer – Norma Beauregard; Publications – Barbara Przeklasa; Operations – Ed Beauregarde; Technical Support – Alan R. Betz; Films – Ed Hutchings & Grandee Englehart; Art Show – Lari Davidson & Kipy Poyser ( Auctioneer ); Publicity – Jo-Anne McBRide & Jim Welch; Trivia Quiz – Stuart Cooper; Secretary – Becky Bennett; Programming – Vaughn W. Fraser, Ed Beauregard, Ed Hutchings & Joanne Burrows;VCBA Liaison – Leonard S. Wong; Registration – Steven Forty & Savid E. Wilson; Dealers – Ken Wong & Terry Rutherford; Bacchanal – John Thomson & Becky Bennett; Hospitality Bar – David Greer; Head Go Fer – Chris Bell; Security – Jordan Brooks & Vancouver Star Trekkers; BCSFA Liaison – Steve Forty; Logo – Dean Motter. ( Elron Awards not presented. )
Jointly sponsored: by BCSFA, the British Columbia Science Fiction Association, and VCBC, the Vancouver Comic Book Club . Three days of triple-track programming with separate rooms for films, art show, hucksters, gaming & hospitality. Theme: comic & graphic SF art.
FIRST VCON to be jointly sponsored with another local club ( the first two don’t count since the members of the two university clubs also belonged to BCSFA ), FIRST to feature three-track programming, FIRST to host a Cartoon War, and FIRST to show THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW ( or at least, first to mention it in program book ).
FRIDAY (May 23/80 – Vcon 8) stuff included:
– Opening rounds of the TRIVIA QUIZ with defending champion team from Victoria;
– WOMEN IN COMICS slide show by Trina Robbins;
– NEOFAN slide show by John Thomson;
– a GUEST RECEPTION;
– then a HEAVY METAL ROAST of Ted White, HM Editor;
– ending with a showing of THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW with the following notice in bold face in the program book: “Note: Proper decorum must be observed during the showing or the film will be discontinued. NO audience participation!” What Brainiac came up with that? A policy soon reversed.
SATURDAY (May 24/80 – Vcon 8) featured:
– a VCBC BREAKFAST with speakers John Byrne & Trina Robbins;
– MARS IN 3-D film followed by a slide presentation of photos taken by the VIKING LANDERS ON MARS given by Bill Copeland;
– the ART MARKET panel on collecting SF art, with Steve Fahnestalk, Kipy Poyser, Darrel Anderson & John McLauglin;
– PSYCHOLOGY OF ROBOTS lecture by Alan Mackworth of UBC;
– “GRAPHIC STORY WORKSHOP” with artists Steve Leialoha, John Byrne, George Metzger & Ken Stacy;
– “CANADIAN SCIENCE FICTION” panel with Susan Wood;
– SEX & DRUGS & SCIENCE FICTION discussion with with George Metzger, Trina Robbins & Artie Romero;
– SHORT STORY WORKSHOP with William Gibson, Eileen Gunn, George Gutherbridge & John Shirley;
– a MODEL BUILDING WORKSHOP;
– a slide show IMPRESSIONS OF ‘THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK’ & OTHER SF MOVIES by Jim Welch;
– GROWN UP COMICS with Ted White, Mike Friedrich & Dean Motter;
– THE SWORDSWOMEN OF ART, HISTORY AND MYTH by Jessica Amanda Salmonson;
– a COSTUMING WORKSHOP;
– F.M. Busby INTERVIEWS ROGER ZELAZNY;
– a GRAPHIC ART TECHNIQUES demonstration by Darrel Anderson;
– the JOHN BYRNE INTERVIEW;
– a TRIVIA QUIZ;
– a CARTOON JAM hosted by Steve Fanestalk with artists Geoge Metzger, Trina Robbins, John Byrne, Marv Newland, Artie Romero, Tim Hammell, Darrel Anderson, Steve Leialoha & others;
– a BACCHANAL with COSTUME CONTEST & dance demonstrations by the Mid-Eastern Dance Association and Betty Bigelow,
– followed by a DANCE with music by ‘Kingdom’.
SUNDAY (May 25/80 – Vcon 8) Started with:
– an ART AUCTION ( Kipy Poyser as auctioneer );
– a BANQUET BRUNCH in the pub ending with SPEECHES by Roger Zelazny, George Metzger & Ted White;
– ANIMATION THAT LIVES panel with Michael Walsh ( mod ) & Marv Newland, Mel Collette, & Wayne Sterloff;
– BEYOND THE SOLAR SYSTEM talk by Tom Tothill;
– a PUPPET SHOW by Fran Skene,
– a FANZINE WORKSHOP complete with Gestetner co-ordinated by Jo-Anne McBride;
– another TRIVIA QUIZ round;
– NATURALLY YOU RETAIN CREATIVE CONTROL talk on converting written SF into Graphic Art with Roger Zelazny, Ken Stacey, Dean Motter & Mike Friedrich;
– STAR TREK panel moderated by Barb Dryer;
– THE SACRED AND THE PROFANE in which Dean Motter & Ken Stacey discuss their collaboration;
– ALTERNATE UNIVERSES discussion of SF & Comics fandoms with Ted White & Artie Romero;
– SCIENCE FICTION HAS BEEN VERY GOOD TO ME informal rap session with Roger Zelazny, Ted White & others;
– and finally the DEAD DOG PARTY.