RAIN Tree

A Science Fiction Weekend.

Dates: February 20^th-22^nd, 1981
Venue: Rembrandt Hotel, Vancouver
Party Guests:

Bill Gibson

...our favourite fan-turned-dirty-pro, with his string of published stories currently topped with the May issue of OMNI...

Denys Howard

...the publisher of Women and Men, the OE of C/RAPA & the editor of a comics zine...

(Sponsored by the "Vancouver in '87" Worldcon Bid.)

Member card depicts Chuckie the Beaver defending a kitten from a witch (?). The witch has a propeller atop her pointy hat. Must be a Wizard of Oz context, as poster art shows Chuckie with a kitten picking apples from an angry tree beside a brick road. Art by Tim Hammel.

Friday, 20^th:

• Room 2401 will be the site of partying, registration & picture-making. We will have our famous Blog, coffee and some munchable goodies. The scavenger hunt will start at this time. Teams or individuals can participate, and a running score will be kept. This is a new activity, and we are hoping for some imaginative scavenging... Be prepared to spend a portion of your time hunting for a Mountie? A bikini-clad person? Something horned?

Friday, 20^th & Saturday, 21^st:

• Van Gogh Room: Tapes of TV shows & movies. "See schedule posted on the door."
• Panels:
  • The Role of SF in Fandom: "A panel to discuss the relationship of science fiction to fandom."
  • The Denys & Bill Show: "Our GoHs discuss and answer questions about their views on comics, SF, punk rock and anything else their eclectic minds can come up with."
  • The B.S. Panel: "Our devious panelists will attempt to tell the biggest, believable lie they can come up with."
  • Canadian Fandom: "A discussion of the past, present & future of Canadian Fandom."
  • The Mystery Panel: "A discussion of some of our favourite mystery authors."
• The Auction: "Auctioneer Georges Giguere will attempt to raise a small fortune for our worldcon bid. Besides the do-it-yourself art, we have some other goodies."
• The Bacchanal: "Super music, a cash bar, & some terrific costumes are all part of our traditional bash."

Sunday, 22^nd:

• "The Con Suite will open bright & early (if it ever closed) to provide some coffee and hair of the dog..."
• "At 11:00 a.m. we will be enjoying the great brunch... (in the Carillon Room Hotel restaurant).... It's easy to participate, just come down and grab a plate, fill it up as much and as many times as you want, and sit in the area marked off for us. You will be entertained by a variety of speeches, awards and plugs... (also prizes for the scavenger hunt.)"

Most Notorious Event at RAIN Tree: Distribution of a BCSFA "recruiting" poster created by Vaughn Fraser. Depicts a dozen nerdy fans in a living room festooned with SF art. 8 are reading, 2 are war gaming, 1 (female) is posing in a brass bra, and 1 (male) is playing with spaceship models. There is a closeup of a fan wearing a propeller beanie & thick glasses, frothing at the mouth and shouting "It's my turn!" Text reads as follows:

The B.C.S.F.A. is ready for society. Is society ready to make room for it?

These people have been out of it for over 10 years. Not because they are retarded or have venereal disease, but because they suffer from an acute fanaticism for the genre of popular commercial publishing known as science fiction."

Typically anal retentive at an early age, the ranks of these individuals have swelled yearly until, by the late 1960s, they could no longer be ignored. With the creation of the British Columbia Science Fiction Association these "fans" ( a colloquial abbreviation coined to deride SF fanatics) have languished in their own obnoxious company. Many spend as much as 20 hours a day reading. Among the few outside activities in which these socially stunted people engage are simple fantasy-based games and toy model building.

These people are clearly vegetating, and are the product of society's neglect. Isn't it about time you did your bit to relate to these people? Isn't it about time you joined B.C.S.F.A.?

Comments by:

Steve Forty:

RAIN Tree has to be the best thing for the Post-Christmas blahs. It's the first chance to see out of town convention friends in the new year; it is also the first major party of the new year.

RAIN conventions have never pretended to be more than parties and this year's was no exception. The guests (Bill Gibson & Denys Howard) were both interesting and easy to approach – a little short on speeches at the banquet but more than made up for by accessability during the con.

The item that drew the most activity was the scavenger hunt, which was fun and innovative.

Jo-Anne has been the spark plug behind Rain... I am sad to see Jo-Anne & Jesse go... Jesse was a big hit just by being there... he was very good when you consider he was born only weeks before the con... At the banquet Jo-Anne was presented with miniature furniture to go with her "fannish" dollhouse. It even had a miniature painting by Ken Macklin that is very detailed even though small.

RAIN Tree made a little money on registration and a lot on a very successful art auction.

Tri-Chairs: Evelyn Beheshti, Stuart Cooper & Jo-Anne McBride
Food: Donna "Munchables" Markbride
Con Suite Host: Tom "Blog Master" Waddell
Bacchanal/Dance: Gay "Time Warp" Maddin
A/V Equipment & Tapes: Al Betz
Printing: Lava Press
Auctioneer: Georges Giguere

Note: The BCSFA archive contains 14 art works from Rain Tree donated by Jim Johnston. Includes "Harlan Ellison meets Dolly Parton" (He is disappearing into her cleavage) and "Harlan Ellison discussing script changes with NBC executives" (more like the Tasmanian Devil.) Both were by "MREA."

Image credits: RAIN Tree ad (which appeared in BCSFAzine) by Tim Hammell.

Bill Gibson