There you are, minding your own business, when you walk into this normally-respectable hotel, and you see a bunch of people running around, some wearing costumes, and all wearing coloured name tags which say, "VCON." "What's going on here?" you ask yourself, "have they run out of room in the insane asylum, and booked the extra lunatics into hotels now?" Don't worry, we're not crazy, we're fans. And we're harmless. Mostly harmless.
Sections:
A Brief History of VCON | About VCON | About The West Coast Science Fiction Association
A Brief History of VCON
VCON: The Vancouver Area Annual Science Fiction and Fantasy Convention
VCON is Vancouver's own long-running science fiction, fantasy, and gaming convention. It is an annual gathering of fans to explore and celebrate those interests we have in common, and, of course, to enjoy ourselves. Essentially, it's a weekend-long combination playing, brainstorming, and partying with friends, new and old. It's where we get together with other fans, and with the pros who inspire us all.
The first VCON was held April 9-10, 1971 at the Hotel Georgia in Vancouver. The Guest of Honour was Ursula K. Le Guin. VCON 1 was sponsored by University of British Columbia's Science Fiction Society, the B.C. Science Fiction Association (an offshoot of the UBC club that had just formed in 1970) and the Simon Fraser University Science Fiction Society (SF3).
VCON is a general interest convention. We don't specialize in one limited area but cover the broad spectrum of fan interests. Convention programming includes fantasy and SF literature, art, movies and television, models and collectables, gaming, personalities and celebrities, comics, music, trivia, writing (a number of our members are published authors), the history of SF, astronomy, space programs past and present, unusual science, in fact - anything at all to do with fantasy and SF that you can think of - and, finally, the phenomenon of fandom in and of itself.
The West Coast Science Fiction Association (WCSFA) and its predecessor, the Western Canadian Science Fiction Convention Committee Association (WCSFCCA), have sponsored many VCON conventions and other fan events since 1971 with Guests of Honour including Robert Bloch, Ben Bova, Hal Clement, Philip K. Dick, Dave Duncan, William Gibson, Frank Herbert, Ursula K. Le Guin, Larry Niven, Frederik Pohl, Samuel R. Delany, Spider Robinson, Bob Shaw, Robert Silverberg, A.E. Van Vogt, Jack Vance, Roger Zelazny, etc.
In short, we have been in existence for 40 years, and fully intend to continue for at least another 40 more
About VCON
VCON is Vancouver BC's premier general-interest science fiction and fantasy convention. It is also the oldest such convention in Canada and the Pacific Northwest. The convention has promoted the interests of science fiction and fantasy fan culture in Vancouver and its environs since 1971, offering events and exhibits focused on a variety of Science Fiction and Fantasy fandom interest areas such as literature, art, media, music, costumes, comics, games, and more.
VCON is organized by a standing subcommittee of the West Coast Science Fiction Association (WCSFA).
About the West Coast Science Fiction Association
The West Coast Science Fiction Association (WCSFA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to the advancement and understanding of science fiction and fantasy fan culture in Vancouver, BC and its environs. WCSFA promotes these values through the education and entertainment offered by the events and functions it sponsors, most notably VCON, an annual science fiction and fantasy convention which has been running since 1971.
WCSFA was incorporated as a legally registered society in the province of British Columbia January 26th, 1993. It replaced WCSFCCA (the Western Canadian Science Fiction Convention Committee Association), which had fulfilled the same function for the previous 10 years.
WCSFA's membership is currently composed of members of the most recently past and the upcoming VCON, and the current membership of the British Columbia Science Fiction Association (BCSFA).
