Every year our Programming & Events Coordinator spends much time and energy sending out invitations to participants and coordinating the schedule for the many programmed events and activities that will be held over the course of the VCON convention weekend. The main fare is discussion panels on all manner of science fiction and fantasy related topics, but there are many other scheduled events too.
To contact the VCON Programming Coordinator with your questions or suggestions, email prog{click-to-expand}@vcon.ca .
Check back for a preliminary Program Grid
in early September!
Sections:
Programming Feedback | Traditional Events & Activities | General Topics & Categories
Traditional Events & Activities
There are many programmed events and activities that have grown to become traditions at VCON. Some are old, hailing back to the earliest years of the convention, and some are young, going back only a few years, but all are things that many of VCON's members expect to see each year. The following list briefly describes the most popular of these events and, for a few, provides a link with additional details for the curious.
- Artists' Reception
- The Artists Reception, VCON's newest "tradition", allows exhibiting artists to come enjoy a moment to meet each other and the VCON Artist Guest of Honour in a relaxed and informal setting.
- Author Readings
- Author Readings have been a part of VCON since the beginning, the convention having started with a focus on science fiction and fantasy literature. Many professional Canadian science fiction and fantasy authors attend VCON every year, some of whom have been regular attendees since before they were authors themselves, and we always try to get a handful or two to do formal readings from their works.
- Authors' Book Launch (Author's Book Launch Details)
- The Authors' Book Launch, an event which is open to the public, brings together Canadian science fiction or fantasy authors who have recently had or will soon have a release of a new book or other literary work and lets them promote their work to VCON members and other book lovers. For information about the authors attending this year, see the Book Launch Details page.
- Cosplay Masquerade (Cosplay Masquerade Rules & Registration)
- VCON's Cosplay Masquerade on Saturday night is a science fiction and fantasy masquerade for amateur costumers. It is, however, more than just a costume competition—a good entry requires plot, planning, practice and performance—where entries may fly solo (and if they actually fly, we’ll be seriously impressed!) or perform in groups of up to six members. For full details about the rules and regulations for the competition, see the Cosplay Masquerade Page.
- Elron Awards
- The Elron Awards – Canada's oldest Science Fiction Awards and North America’s oldest Fandom "spoof" awards – are VCON's annual recognition of the "Most Dubious Achievements in Science Fiction" from the previous year. The Elrons are the oldest VCON tradition, having been presented for the first time at VCON 1. The original concept was to reward the 'worst' of any given category, as for example the 'Worst Novel Elron' awarded to Robert Heinlein in 1971 for his I Will Fear No Evil, with selected excerpts being read out "to hilarious advantage". Over time, however, the mandate of the Elrons expanded to include gentle japes, with less and less emphasis on outright condemnation. Indeed, it is considered an honour to win an Elron, especially for local fans.
- Filk Circles
- Filk Circles occur whenever and wherever fans gather to share Filk Music. Filk Music is what we call music written and performed by the fans of Science Fiction and Fantasy. A music that comes in many different flavours, styles and genres, it has been a part of convention life ever since that famous (or possibly infamous) con which had a typo in the program book where they intended to advertise "folk singing" and got "filk singing" instead. VCON's filk circles encompass guitars, dulcimers, banjos, violins, flutes, penny whistles, drums and keyboards—If you can make music with it, it’s welcome in a VCON Filk Circle.
- Saturday Night Dance Party (Dance Party Details)
- Every year VCON has a Dance Party on Saturday night where members are invited to mix and mingle, shake their booty and boogie the night away. For full details about the dance this year, see the Dance Party Details page.
- Turkey Readings
- You think you know how bad SF and fantasy can get? You don't know nothin'! The Turkey Readings are a horrifying and hilarious revelation. Bid to make the reader stop, but you might be outbid by a masochist (or a sadist) who bids to keep the reading going. The torture stops when the high bid to stop the reading goes unchallenged. Only the strong survive. Proceeds go to the Canadian Unity Fan Fund.
- Video Screenings
- When possible, VCON sets aside some time and space for science fiction and fantasy Video Screenings. Videos may include fan-made films or classic (and not so classic) science fiction and fantasy movies, television and web shows.
- Writers Workshop (Writers Workshop Requirements)
- VCON's Writers Workshops provide aspiring science fiction and fantasy writers with the chance to have their work reviewed and critiqued by professional authors in the field. Participants are required to submit a short science fiction or fantasy story or the first part of the opening chapter of a science fiction or fantasy novel to be critiqued. Workshops run as three hour closed sessions. For full details, see the Writers Workshop Rerquirements Page.
General Topics & Categories
VCON programming covers a wide variety of categories and sub-genres of science fiction and fantasy. The following list may give you a rough idea of the other kinds of events and activities you will find on the VCON programming schedule.
- General Events
- Examples: Author Readings, Masquerade, Opening and Closing Ceremonies, Saturday Night Dance.
- Art, Music and Costuming
- Examples: Artist Presentations, Filk Music Concerts, Anime & Manga, Print & Online Comics, Costuming Demos and Workshops
- Fans and Fan Culture
- Examples: Convention Running, Popular Fan Events
- Games and Gaming
- Examples: Game Design, Game Play, Roleplaying Games, Board Games, Video Games
- Literature and Publishing
- Examples: Author Presentations, Writing Tips, Getting Published, Genre Discussions, Writing Contests
- Science
- Examples: Recent Discoveries, Cool Science and Technology, Science in Fiction, Fantasy Physics
- Media
- Examples: Fan Film Screenings, Upcoming Movie Report, TV and Film Discussion, Blogs and Podcasts
- Religious
- Examples: Scientific Method vs. Religion, Technology vs. Ideology, Star Trek vs. Star Wars
